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| Making Home Affordable | |
|---|---|
| Name | Making Home Affordable |
| Formed | 2009 |
| Dissolved | 2016 |
| Jurisdiction | United States |
| Parent agency | United States Department of the Treasury; United States Department of Housing and Urban Development |
Making Home Affordable
Making Home Affordable was a federal initiative launched in 2009 to stabilize the housing market and assist homeowners during the United States housing crisis. It coordinated programs across the United States Department of the Treasury and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development while interacting with financial institutions such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and private mortgage servicers. The plan followed legislative and regulatory actions influenced by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and policy debates in the 111th United States Congress.
Launched in response to the subprime mortgage turmoil that followed the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the collapse of institutions like Lehman Brothers, the initiative aimed to reduce foreclosures and restore liquidity to mortgage markets. Administrators drew on analyses from the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Congressional Budget Office to design interventions that complemented measures such as the Home Affordable Refinance Program and regulatory oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Policymakers including members of the Obama administration, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan cited lessons from prior episodes like the Savings and loan crisis and international responses coordinated by the International Monetary Fund.
The initiative encompassed multiple programs and components, notably the Home Affordable Modification Program, the Home Affordable Refinance Program, and targeted efforts for unemployed homeowners coordinated with the Hardest Hit Fund. Implementation required partnerships among Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, private lenders such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and servicers including Ocwen Financial Corporation. Oversight and evaluation involved entities like the Government Accountability Office, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and academic centers at institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of California, Berkeley. Financial tools and standards referenced guidelines from the Interagency Guidance on Nontraditional Mortgage Product Pricing and compliance regimes associated with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act.
Eligibility criteria tied to mortgage performance, loan-to-value ratios, and documentation standards developed alongside servicer protocols from organizations including the Mortgage Bankers Association and investor directives issued by Ginnie Mae. Borrowers generally needed to demonstrate financial hardship through forms and notices overseen by HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and nonprofit partners such as NeighborWorks America and National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Enrollment processes required interactions with loan servicers, loss mitigation departments, and automated systems that referenced investor requirements at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while dispute resolution options intersected with casework patterns observed at state attorney general offices and Legal Services Corporation programs.
Evaluations by the Government Accountability Office, independent researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and analysts at the Brookings Institution produced mixed assessments about foreclosure mitigation, borrower outcomes, and cost-effectiveness. Supporters highlighted reductions in foreclosure rates cited in reports by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, while critics from advocacy groups such as the Center for Responsible Lending and the National Consumer Law Center pointed to implementation shortfalls, servicing errors, and limited reach among homeowners in cities like Detroit, Las Vegas, and Miami. Academic critiques published in journals associated with Yale University, Columbia University, and University of Chicago emphasized modeling assumptions and distributional effects, and litigation involving banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup raised questions addressed in state courts and federal district courts.
Programs associated with the initiative wound down during the mid-2010s as housing markets recovered and enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remained under conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Policy legacies influenced later housing policy debates in the 114th United States Congress and reform proposals advanced by officials at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Long-term effects continue to be examined by scholars at the Urban Institute, the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, and international observers such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Category:Housing in the United States Category:Economic policy of the United States