The August edition of At a Glance, the Housing Finance Policy Center’s reference guide for mortgage and housing data, shows the cash-out share of all refinances remaining elevated at 74 percent in July, the agency cash-out volume remaining low, and in a reversal, the FHA cash-out refinance volume now exceeding that from other agency channels.
Our Issues
America’s housing finance system is at a crossroads. Housing markets have slowly recovered in the wake of the Great Recession, but pressing questions remain. Regulators and other policymakers are making critical decisions each day, and they need information, evidence-based analysis, and solutions.
HFPC was created to fill this need. Our work connects capital markets and housing markets. We provide timely, impartial data and analysis on housing finance; show how the housing finance system affects households, communities, and the broader economy; and contribute to sound public policy, efficient markets, and economic opportunity.
Our Approach
- Our researchers connect the fields of housing policy and housing finance. We bring together data, research, and market and policy expertise from both fields and serve as a knowledge-sharing hub for policymakers, industry participants, academics, and banking and finance experts.
- We offer detailed, data-driven critiques of legislative and regulatory policy proposals in the housing finance space with a clear focus on consumers, underserved communities, and system efficiencies.
- We act as a repository of a large amount of complex housing finance data that we share with academics, policymakers, communities, advocates, the media, and the public. We provide tools and resources to help participants make informed decisions and arguments in high-stakes policy debates.
- We embrace mapping and data visualization, blogging, and social media to share insights from our analysis as issues are debated.
Our Impact
Senior policy officials frequently consult our experts for high-quality, fact-based analysis of housing finance policy alternatives, and our work is cited extensively—on both sides of the debate—in written testimony and congressional hearings. Our recommendations on housing finance reform proposals, borrower relief programs, and credit accessibility have shaped debate, informed policy, and drawn substantial media coverage and attention from key policymakers and market players. Just one example: HFPC’s extensive analysis of the tight credit box has contributed significantly to how the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Federal Housing Administration have addressed credit accessibility.