In a move strongly opposed by NAHB, housing, consumer advocacy and banking groups, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced they will charge a 0.5% fee on refinance mortgages they purchase as of Sept. 1.

NAHB believes this action was ill-conceived and could not have come at a worse time. Housing has been keeping the economy afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, so it makes absolutely no sense for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase financing costs for mortgage borrowers during an economic crisis.

This move, approved by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), will hurt families trying to make ends meet in these challenging times and goes against President Trump’s recent executive action calling on federal agencies to do all they can to help renters and home owners to weather the economic effects of this pandemic.

Joint Statement in Opposition

NAHB joined with 19 other housing and banking organizations — including the American Bankers Association, Center for Responsible Lending, Mortgage Bankers Association and National Association of Realtors — to issue the following joint statement in opposition:

“Wednesday night’s surprise announcement by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs) conflicts with the Administration’s recent executive actions urging federal agencies to take all measures within their authority to support struggling homeowners. The additional 0.5% fee on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinance mortgages will raise costs for families trying to make ends meet in these challenging times. In addition, the September 1 effective date means that thousands of borrowers who did not lock in their rates could face unanticipated cost increases just days from closing.

“In spite of the fragility of the national economic recovery, the mortgage market has been able to withstand many of the most severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent refinance activity has not only helped homeowners lower their monthly payments, but it is also reducing risk to the GSEs and taxpayers. At a time when the Federal Reserve is purchasing $40 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities per month to help reduce the cost of buying or refinancing a home and stimulate the broader economy, this action by the GSEs raises those costs, contradicting and undermining Fed policy.

“The pricing increase is particularly harmful for our nation’s low- and moderate-income homeowners and for the emerging, but unsteady improvements to the national economy. The undersigned organizations strongly urge the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which had to approve this policy, to withdraw this ill-timed, misguided directive.”

NAHB sent a letter to President Trump expressing the housing industry’s growing concern and seeking prompt action regarding soaring lumber prices and supply shortages that are harming the housing sector and the economy.

NAHB is urging the White House to play a constructive role to alleviate this growing threat to housing and the economy by calling on domestic lumber producers to ramp up production to ease growing shortages and making it a priority to work with Canada on a new softwood lumber agreement that would end tariffs averaging more than 20% on Canadian lumber shipments into the United States.

As the nation fights to rebound from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, housing has been a bright spot for the U.S. economy, particularly single-family construction, with permits running 3.4% higher during the first half of 2020 compared to the first half of 2019.

However, builders are seeing shortages of lumber resulting in an 80% increase in lumber prices since mid-April. Framing lumber prices reached a record high in late July, while oriented strand board prices have increased 138% over the past year. These sharp increases are unsustainable, particularly in light of the housing affordability crisis.

NAHB’s letter to the White House stressed that housing can do its part to create jobs and lead the economy forward; but in order to do so, we need to address skyrocketing lumber prices and chronic shortages.

NAHB recently sent a similar message to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Zoltan van Heyningen, executive director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition.

View NAHB’s letter to President Trump.

This year’s Solar Decathlon Design Challenge was held virtually in the wake of COVID-19. Collegiate teams compete in categories such as mixed-use multifamily, urban single family and suburban single family; winning projects feature innovative designs for buildings that excel in affordability, efficiency and occupant health.

If you’re wondering how your company can get involved with this annual Department of Energy competition, consider participating as a mentor in the Design Partners program.

Your company could gain exposure by providing student teams with real-life experience working on buildings and homes with your clients. Whether you’re a seasoned high-performance builder or relatively new to the market, the Design Partners program allows you to mentor students and receive a zero-energy design — i.e., a building that produces as much energy as it consumes — for a new or existing building in your project portfolio.

The program requires a 20- to 30-hour commitment over the course of a year of in-person or remote consultation with the student team to discuss your design requirements and give them ongoing feedback leading up to the competition. There are also minimum parameters depending on the building type. For example, in the urban single-family housing division, the building must be between 300 and 2,500 square feet, and the lot size can be up to 5,000 square feet.

In return for completing the consultation hours and fulfilling basic design parameters, your company will:

• Have the chance to mentor and work with students;
• Establish relationships with the younger workforce and build your company’s exposure for potential future employees;
• Receive a zero-energy design for a real project in your portfolio that you are already contracted to design and build; and
• Receive a basic cost estimate for the building.

To see how other organizations have contributed and interacted with the Design Partners program, visit the Solar Decathlon’s project profiles page or see how other NAHB members have mentored previous winners. If you have a project in mind and are interested in participating, the Design Partner form is now available.

For more information about NAHB’s sustainable and green building programs, contact Program Manager Anna Stern. To stay current on the high-performance residential building sector with tips on water efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and other building science strategies, follow NAHB’s Sustainability and Green Building team on Twitter.