MORE FROM THIS ISSUE

• The Painful Impact of the Housing Downturn on Low Income and Minority Families

  The current downturn in housing has seized the markets, pushed home prices down further than any time in generations and has sparked the worst recession since the Great Depression. At the same time, nearly 18 million households are severely burdened with housing costs that consume over half their household incomes. While few have escaped the fury of the recent downturn in housing, tenant, low-income, and particularly minority, households have fared the worst.

• What Does the Future Hold For Fannie & Freddie?

  The functions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — liquidity, stability, and access — remain important for the housing economy. Indeed, the two companies today are providing more than 70 percent of all the financing for housing even while under conservatorship. But their collapse into the federal government’s arms is causing a wholesale reevaluation of how best to provide those functions in the future.

• Cleaning Up After The Foreclosure Tsunami: Tackling Bank Walk-Aways and Vulture Investors

  The story of the American foreclosure crisis begins with reckless and abusive lending that leads to a wholesale emptying out of homes. But the story is far from over.