Affordable Housing For The Affluent

The conventional wisdom that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are for the benefit of the poor and middle class might need to be revised in light of recent Senate action . A measure that would raise the limit on mortgages issued by Fannie and Freddie to $729,750 was adopted last week after being introduced by Senator Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat. The measure was approved less than a month after the limit on so-called conforming loans was automatically reduced to $625,500. Inasmuch as the measure passed by a vote of 60 to 31 it is obvious that it had Republican support. Why the government should be subsidizing the purchase of a nearly three quarter million dollar home when the median home price is, as of August, $209,000 should be raised at the presidential debates and Occupy Wall Street demonstrations alike. For non statisticians median means half the homes in the US are worth less than $209,000 and half worth more so clearly Senator Menendez has a soft spot in his heart for the not so down trodden.