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Housing

Congresswoman Pelosi talks with constituents at a housing foreclosure workshop in San Francisco.

All Americans should have access to a safe, decent and affordable place to call home. However, in San Francisco and across the nation, there is a significant, growing need for affordable housing, and problems in the subprime mortgage markets have pushed the housing market into its worst slump in decades.

Strengthening our nation’s housing market is essential to the American economic recovery. I am working to stabilize the housing market, preserve public housing, expand affordable mortgage loan opportunities, and strengthen consumer protections against risky loans. We must ensure that all of our citizens can secure the affordable, safe, and energy-efficient homes they deserve.

Home Ownership
As a part of our efforts to strengthen America’s housing market, Democrats created the successful first-time homebuyer tax credit, which helped more than 4 million families achieve the dream of homeownership, and in doing so, gave a boost to our economy. Building on this success, Congress chose to extend the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers until October 1, 2010, and expand the credit to allow for a $6,500 refundable tax credit for existing homeowners.

Additionally, we passed laws extending single family loan limits for the Federal Housing Administration and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the end of fiscal year 2011. Expiration in the higher loan limits could have done great harm to our fragile economy, especially in the Bay Area where housing costs are among the highest in the nation.

Foreclosures
For too families across America, home foreclosures remain a critical concern. As a result of the overall housing slump, tens of millions of homeowners have seen the value of their home—their primary investment—drop in value. Unfortunately, California stands on the front lines of the foreclosure crisis and is ground zero for some of the worst effects of the downturn in our housing sector.

President Obama has initiated the Making Home Affordable program to assist borrowers refinance into a more affordable mortgage, get a loan modification to make monthly payments affordable, or help individuals transition to more affordable housing. For more information on these programs, you can call 1-888-995-HOPE (4673) to speak with a HUD-approved housing counselor for free.

The Democratic Congress also passed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, building on the President’s initiative to stem the foreclosure crisis, with significant incentives to lenders, servicers, and homeowners to modify loans.

Housing Assistance
In San Francisco, public housing, rental assistance vouchers and housing for seniors and the disabled are crucial to ensuring safe, affordable housing for very low-income families and individuals.

To end the long waitlists, I have long advocated increasing funding for housing assistance programs, including support for public housing authorities, replacement and refurbishment of distressed public housing units and for Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA). Additionally, I have fought to bring millions of federal dollars to replace obsolete public housing units such as at Valencia Gardens, Hunters View and Sunnydale.

Affordable Housing
The low-income housing tax credit and the National Housing Trust Fund are a vital source of funds for the preservation and further development of affordable housing stock. In these tough economic times, frozen credit markets and sparse capital availability have presented enormous challenges for advocates of affordable housing. For this reason, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we included $2.25 billion in gap financing to restart low-income housing construction effected by the housing and credit crisis.

I look forward to continuing to work with affordable housing community leaders in San Francisco and advocates nationwide to examine ways to strengthen affordable housing.

Homeless
The City and County of San Francisco, with the financial support of the federal government, has developed innovative and effective programs to deal with this critical issue, and in so doing become a model for local governments across the nation and around the world. However, homelessness continues to be a serious challenge facing the city.

In order to assist those who have become or are at imminent risk of becoming homeless due to the economic downturn, we included $1.5 billion for the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Please know that reducing homelessness and ensuring safe, affordable housing will remain top priorities in my work in Congress.