The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has come against proposals to add additional fees on Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans to pay for the so-called ‘doc-fix’ for Medicare reimbursements of physicians and for the temporary extension of unemployment insurance.
‘I would urge policymakers to refrain from dipping back into the housing piggybank and paying for unrelated policy items on the backs of America's homebuyers,’ says David H. Stevens, president and CEO of the MBA. ‘Thought leaders have been nearly unanimous that we need to get the housing market on track before we will see broader economic recovery. Increasing the cost of buying a home for the next 40 years to pay for a 10-month extension of benefits will have exactly the opposite effect."
Stevens notes that ‘leading voices around the country,’ including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have, argued this approach would create increased uncertainty on the home loan markets.
‘Sending the message that it is open season on homebuyers will only increase uncertainty and make it less likely that Americans will want to get into the real estate market and lead the economic recovery,’ Stevens explains.