American Enterprise Institute (AEI) resident fellow Edward J. Pinto is the codirector of AEI’s International Center on Housing Risk. He is currently researching policy options for rebuilding the US housing finance sector and specializes in the effect of government housing policies on mortgages, foreclosures, and on the availability of affordable housing for working-class families. Pinto writes AEI’s monthly Housing Risk Watch, which has replaced AEI’s FHA Watch. Along with AEI resident scholar Stephen Oliner, Pinto is the creator and developer of the AEI Pinto-Oliner Mortgage Risk, Collateral Risk, and Capital Adequacy Indexes.
An executive vice president and chief credit officer for Fannie Mae until the late 1980s, Pinto has done groundbreaking research on the role of federal housing policy in the 2008 mortgage and financial crisis. Pinto’s work on the Government Mortgage Complex includes seminal research papers submitted to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission: “Government Housing Policies in the Lead-up to the Financial Crisis” and “Triggers of the Financial Crisis.” In December 2012, he completed a study of 2.4 million Federal Housing Administration (FHA)–insured loans and found that FHA policies have resulted in a high proportion of working-class families losing their homes.
Pinto has a J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Housing Finance Watch: Active Listings Continue to Trend Higher But Remain Below their 2018-2019 Levels, Indicating an Unhealthy Market By Edward J. Pinto | Tobias Peter | Sissi Li October 23, 2024 Key takeaways: The median purchase rate increased from 6.25% to 6.38% in week 41, 2024. According to Mortgage News Daily, the avg. 30-year rate was 6.85% on Oct. […]
On August 16, presidential candidate Kamala Harris unveiled a series of housing proposals that recycle the same failed strategies that have plagued federal housing policy for decades. Among the key components are subsidies for the construction of 3 million new housing units over four years, as well as a total of $100 billion over four years in […]
American home prices have risen nearly 50 percent in just 4 years, and the two sides of the housing reform wars haven’t budged an inch. One side wants high density apartments and the other opposes any changes to single-family detached zoning. Is there a third way that can bring prices down? One American city suggests there […]
The American Enterprise Institute‘s Ed Pinto joins Robert to talk about the state of the American housing market. They discuss the harmful effects of government regulation, policies that can increase affordability, and advice for homebuyers today. Ed is a senior fellow and the co-director of the AEI Housing Center. His work focuses on the role of federal, […]
By Edward J. Pinto | Tobias Peter | Sissi Li PDF to full report Key takeaways: The median purchase rate rose 1/8 ppts. to 7 5/8% in week 42, setting a new series record. Mortgage News Daily reported a daily avg. 30-year rate of 7.90% on October 24th. Purchase volume was down 46% from the same week in 2019 and […]
We’re living through one of the greatest housing crunches the U.S. has ever known. It’s resulted in record numbers of homelessness and entire generations certain they will never become homeowners, that critical milestone of the middle class. But there is a simple solution to the problem. The answer to our housing crisis is to legalize […]
Over the past few years, Vienna’s social housing model– where about 60% of residents live in municipally owned or supported apartments at subsidized rents–has been portrayed as a success of socialism over market forces in numerous news stories. For example, the New York Times recently called Vienna a “renters’ utopia”; the Financial Times “a success […]
Housing Finance Watch(Week 22, 2023) By Edward J. Pinto | Tobias Peter | Sissi Li Key takeaways: Median rates stayed at 6 5/8% while daily 30-year rates retreated from their recent peak of 7.14% to 6.89% on June 5th, according to MND. Purchase volume was 42% below 2019’s level. Y-o-y HPA is projected to be around 1% in May, June, […]
This report tracks trends for GSE appraisal waivers monthly and provides data on the risk characteristics of these loans. To download the most recent data, please click here. To read our comment letter to FHFA on appraisal-related policies, practices, and processes, please click here. PDF to most recent report Slide deck on GSE Appraisal Waiver Report AUTHORS […]
Summary The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were unprecedented in terms of widespread lockdowns, skyrocketing unemployment, and a financial market crash. The Federal Reserve took aggressive expansionary efforts in the form of Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP) and quantitative easing (QE) to stabilize the economy, while Congress enacted massive fiscal stimulus. However, one of the […]
National Home Price Appreciation (HPA) Index – November 2022 Key takeaways: National YoY HPA for November 2022 averaged 6.7%, down from 8.5% a month ago and 16.7% a year ago. Historically, HPA in the low price tier has outpaced HPA in the upper price tiers. YoY HPA varied significantly among the 60 largest metros. It […]
This report tracks trends for GSE appraisal waivers monthly and provides data on the risk characteristics of these loans. To download the most recent data, please click here. To read our comment letter to FHFA on appraisal-related policies, practices, and processes, please click here. PDF to most recent report Slide deck on GSE Appraisal Waiver Report AUTHORS […]
Home Prices are Down in Every One of the Top 58 Metros According to the Latest AEI Data. But Cities in this Region Have Taken the Biggest Hit so Far. In the Fortune article below Shawn Tully discusses recent declines in the housing market and their variability between regions with Ed Pinto, the Director of AEI’s Housing […]
Key takeaways: The 10-year old seller’s market continues, evidenced by: Modest purchase volume declines, in spite of a cumulative 39% increase in constant quality HPA since January 2020, Historically tight supply, The work from home revolution, and Arbitrage opportunities due to metro & regional price differences. Purchase volume for week 35 is down 31% & […]
In the Fortune article below Shawn Tully interviews Ed Pinto and cites AEI Housing Center data on HPA to discuss the cooling housing market. He also writes about the geography of these changes, as western metros face the most drastic downturns in HPA. It’s finally happening. After soaring 40% from pre-pandemic levels in the greatest […]