美国不动产协会(NAR, National Assocation of Realtors)的代表日前在国会听证会上呼吁美国住宅委员会（FHA,Federal Housing Adminstration）进行进一步改革，在鼓励按揭贷款创新和增加灵活性的同时，为按揭贷款市场发展提供更多保障，起到更好的保驾护航作用。

NAR代表Joanne Poole在参议院交通、住宅与城市发展拨款委员会举行的听证会上提出NAR的主张，FHA的住房按揭贷款应该取消目前3%的最低首付要求，让首付更加灵活，根据按揭的风险程度定价/息，提高FHA贷款总额上限。Poole认为FHA贷款应该成为按揭贷款市场的领头羊，而不是像现在这样只是按揭贷款市场的最后屏障。FHA于1934年创建，目标是为了提供给居民救急住房按揭贷款，帮助居民度过经济危机难关，让商业按揭市场不置于临时性危机时候普遍坏账而崩溃，被认为是住房按揭市场的保护伞。曾经在90年代占全美按揭贷款市场的12%份额，但目前只占3%。

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2007031501?OpenDocument

FHA Reforms Could Bring Alternatives to Risky Loans
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® has called on Congress to enact legislation that will allow the Federal Housing Administration to conform to today's mortgage environment by offering safe alternatives to risky loans.

“Because FHA has not changed with the times, a growing number of home buyers are deciding to or are being forced to use one of several types of nontraditional mortgages,” said Joanne Poole, a REALTOR and broker-owner from Maryland. She spoke on NAR's behalf at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development.

If the FHA had an effective alternative to offer home buyers, “it's not hard to imagine a lessening of those risky products, and therefore a lowering in the rising number of mortgage delinquencies,” Poole said.

NAR: Eliminate 3% Down Payment Rule

NAR spoke out in favor of many proposed changes to FHA, including eliminating the statutory 3 percent minimum cash down payment, offering down payment flexibility; allowing the FHA to offer risk-based pricing; and increasing the loan limits for FHA loans.

The FHA was established in 1934 to provide consumers with an alternative during a lending crisis. Since then, the agency has insured more than 34 million properties. However, because FHA has not evolved, its market share has been dropping, Poole said: FHA loans accounted for about 12 percent of the market in the 1990s, compared with less than 3 percent today.

Poole also noted that FHA loans have a foreclosure rate lower than many of the riskier, nontraditional mortgage products, and the program has never needed a federal bailout.

“When formed, FHA was a pioneer of mortgage products, but today it has become like a lender of last resort,” Poole said.

History of Helping the Housing Market

The universal and consistent availability of FHA loan products is the principal hallmark of the program that has made mortgage insurance available during periods of prosperity or depression, Poole said.

For example, when the housing market was in turmoil during the 1980s, FHA continued to insure loans when others left the market. FHA also devised a special loan forbearance program after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks for those who temporarily lost their jobs, and enacted a foreclosure moratorium after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita for borrowers who were unable to pay their mortgages on time.

“FHA has helped to stabilize housing markets when private mortgage insurance has been nonexistent or regional economies have faltered,” Poole said. “Now, more than ever, FHA needs to be strengthened to continue to be useful and available to borrowers. FHA is a leader in preventing foreclosures.”

— REALTOR® Magazine Online