When the Federal Reserve Bank wrote to Congress suggesting that concern about losses at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is getting in the way of economic recovery, the agency got a first-pumping "yes" from the National Association of Home Builders.
“The Federal Reserve’s report to Congress confirms what we have been saying for some time: That extraordinarily tight credit conditions are preventing creditworthy borrowers from obtaining home loans and this is harming the housing market and the broader economy,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev.
In its 26-page white paper, the Fed said that the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which took over the sinking Fannie and Freddie, is putting too much emphasis on stanching losses and has made mortgages too hard to get.
Normally, NAHB said, housing accounts for more than 17 percent of the nation’s economic output. The group said its numbers show that building 100 new homes "creates more than 300 full-time jobs, $23.1 million in wage and business income and $8.9 million in federal, state and local tax revenue."
