Obama Administration Rethinks Home Ownership

The administration published a report on Feb. 11 that analyzed the option of dissolving Fannie and Freddie and how to replace their function. The report noted doing such would most certainly "raise the cost of mortgage loans and push homeownership beyond the reach of some families." The administration doesn't appear to be deterred by that possibility though.

"...administration officials said they had concluded the country could no longer afford to sustain its commitment to minting homeowners. Better to help some people rent."

The government "must help to ensure that all Americans have access to quality housing that they can afford," the report said. "This does not mean our goal is for all Americans to be homeowners."

From History News Network: Origins of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae?: "Fannie Mae was created in 1938 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. The collapse of the national housing market in the wake of the Great Depression discouraged private lenders from investing in home loans. Fannie Mae was established in order to provide local banks with federal money to finance home mortgages in an attempt to raise levels of home ownership and the availability of affordable housing...."