Urban Institute Fellow Robert I. Lerman, author of the PPI policy memo “Homeownership Vouchers: A Plan to Reinvigorate the Economy While Helping Low-Income Families,” is featured in this month’s HousingWire magazine:
“It’s been three years since the housing market collapsed. Millions of people have lost their homes, millions more are underwater on their mortgages, and the banking system continues to hold billions of dollars in overvalued mortgages. The crash in housing constructions shows no sign of recovery. Sales of new single-family homes are down 80% from their 2005 peak. Jobs in homebuilding have dropped nearly a half. While economists know it’s next impossible for the economy to recover without a recovery in the housing sector, Washington has been unable to come up with a solution.
“Policymakers are missing an easy way to take the existing funding for low-income rental housing support and instead use it to help stabilize the housing market. The plan is simple: Create 1 million homeownership vouchers, patterned largely on the nation’s existing rent voucher program. Pay for it by phasing out the low-income housing tax credit.”
