By Mark Huffman | Consumer Affairs
In the wake of the financial crisis and the collapse of the housing market, mortgage lenders raised standards for qualifying for loans and Congress approved tighter regulation of the mortgage market.
It was not an unreasonable response after nearly a decade of very loose lending standards that resulted in many consumers buying homes without being required to prove they could actually afford them.
But Realtors complained from the beginning that the reaction went too far, choking off the housing market’s recovery. They pointed out that each month, nearly a third of home buyers paid with cash without having to borrow the money.
Now, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is pressing its case to Congress, telling the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee that some of the new regulatory requirements are unnecessary and are blocking otherwise qualified, credit worthy consumers from buying a home.
