Fannie, Freddie, And The Sinking Housing Market

Will the housing market ever hit bottom? We’ll look at  still-sinking home prices in Seattle and Atlanta, and White House plans to wind down market makers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

We’re still getting used to the new realities of life after the panic and crash of ’08. Above all, maybe, in housing.

For decades, it was Americans’ number one investment and dream.

Now, millions have lost their homes, and prices keep falling. Next up is the unplugging of the two giants that have helped keep mortgage loans rolling for years – and were bailed out in the crash: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. With them could go the 30-year mortgage and a whole lot more. Then what for housing?

We discuss the future of American housing.
- Tom Ashbrook
Guests:

Gretchen Morgenson, assistant business and financial editor at the New York Times

Barry Zigas, director of housing policy at the Consumer Federation of America

Susan Wachter, professor of Real Estate and Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

David Streitfeld, financial reporter covering real estate for the New York Times