The Week Ahead: Tackling the Nation’s Housing Shortage Dilemma

On Tuesday, November 14 at 8:30 a.m. Central, the Urban Institute and NCST (National Community Stabilization Trust) will present a day-long discussion “Challenges and Policy Responses to the Affordable Single-Family Housing Supply Problem” at the Urban Institute’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.

Today’s housing supply problem is one of the biggest threats looming over the future of homeownership. A lack of new construction, in combination with rising interest rates, racial disparities in homeownership rates, and climate change, have all compounded to create an evolving housing crisis. How can first-time homebuyers gain and sustain access to the existing housing stock, a traditional yet overlooked source of affordable homeownership?

The Urban Institute and NCST will highlight the impact of those challenges on households and communities, and explore solutions for change.

The event will feature a number of housing industry dignitaries, including:

• Keynote address from Julia Gordon, Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Welcome Remarks from Janneke Ratcliffe, VP for Housing Finance Policy at the Urban Institute; Christopher Tyson, President of NCST; and Stacy Spann, Head of Housing Access & Affordability, Wells Fargo Foundation
• The featured presentation from Laurie Goodman, Institute Fellow, Urban Institute; Marcos Morales, Executive Director, Hogar Hispano Inc.; Sasha-Gaye Angus, President and CEO, MANNA Inc.; Anthony Simpkins, President and CEO, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago Inc.; and Elisabeth Coats, Director of Homeownership Alliance, NCST, who will serve as moderator
• A presentation on “Policy Reforms to Increase Affordable Supply” from Laura Arce, SVP for Economic Initiatives for UnidosUS; Matthew Josephs, SVP for Policy, Local Initiatives Support Corporation; David Sanchez, Special Policy Advisor, Federal Housing Administration, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development; and Michael Neal, Equity Scholar and Principal Research Associate for the Urban Institute, who will moderate the presentation
• The State of REO and Distressed or Defaulted Mortgaged Properties session featuring Molly Boesel, Principal Economist with CoreLogic; Melissa Bussey, Executive Principal, Client Relations for Xome; Matthew Martin, SVP for Subservicer Oversight, Lakeview Loan Servicing; Marlene Robinson, Senior Program Adviser, Asset Sales Office, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Carlos Alcazar, COO of NCST, who will serve as moderator of this session

Delivering the Keynote Address at the event, Julia R. Gordon currently serves as the Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner at HUD. Gordon was nominated for this role by President Biden, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 12, 2022.

Throughout her career, Gordon has been both a strong advocate for and hands-on practitioner working to achieve equal justice, fairness and equity in housing, and consumer protections.

As Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner, Gordon is responsible for HUD’s policies, programs, and operations supporting the nation’s homebuyers, homeowners, renters, and communities. She is responsible for the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Single Family, Multifamily and Healthcare mortgage insurance programs which currently serve more than 7.5 million homeowners, some 1.4 million renters, and approximately 4,000 healthcare facilities across the U.S. and its territories. In addition, Ms. Gordon is responsible for HUD’s Multifamily assisted housing portfolio which serves more than 1.2 million low-income residents, the administration of HUD’s housing counseling program, and the development and oversight of federal standards for the design and construction of manufactured homes.

Prior to joining HUD, Gordon was most recently the President of NCST, where she was a passionate advocate and leader for housing equality and neighborhood investment, launching multiple new initiatives supporting neighborhood stabilization and affordable housing. From 2012 through 2015, Gordon was a senior leader at the Center for American Progress, where she led the Center’s work to address access to affordable homeownership and rental housing, and safe financial products and services.

In previous roles, including a leadership role the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), Gordon was instrumental in grassroots efforts to shape mortgage and housing finance laws, regulations, and programs to protect homeownership and family wealth, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act and the Making Home Affordable program.

Click here for more information or to register for this event.

Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead:

• FORCE Group: Preparing for Hedge Fund Listings Course (Monday)
• Right to the City Alliance Housing Affordability Press Conference (Monday)
• Fannie Mae's Refinance Application-Level Index (RALI) (Tuesday)
• MBA Weekly Applications Survey (Wednesday)
• Realtor.com Weekly Housing Market Recap (Wednesday)
• Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (Thursday)
• U.S. Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (Thursday)
• Senate Banking Committee Hearing: Oversight of Financial Regulators: Protecting Main Street Not Wall Street (Thursday)