Fed Economist: "It Will Be Difficult for the Housing Market to Return to Normal"

The government, for all practical purposes, now controls the entire housing mortgage market.

A senior economist at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, John Krainer, said in a report that that government sponsored enterprise intermediation of mortgage lending will make it difficult for the housing market to "return to normal."

Krainer said that GSEs such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae now guarantee over 80% of originations, while non-agency mortgage securitization and loans have pretty much dried up. (more)