Ellen Seidman, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, discusses the role of housing instability for the latest post in the The Hidden Financial Lives of America's Poor and Middle Class blog and webinar series. Seidman points out that even if regulation helps to preserve America's limited stock of affordable housing, household income fluctuations still present barriers to home ownership:
Income volatility can also impact the process of getting a mortgage. In addition to savings, lenders make mortgages based on a potential buyer’s income. Traditionally, borrowers must have two years of stable earnings, and the only income lenders take into account for underwriting is that of the borrower and co-borrower. When families have multiple earners (who may change over the course of a year—let alone the much longer term of a mortgage) whose income is variable, this can present serious difficulties.
Research from the US Financial Diaries provides evidence that income and expense volatility makes it difficult for households to build assets, including housing.
You can read Seidmans's complete post here and also register for the series' February 4th webinar, here.
Editor’s Note: I’m going to assume that you are seeing plenty of AI content (news and papers, not AI slop, though I’m sure you’re getting plenty of that too) from other sources, so I’m trying to think hard about the marginal value that the faiV can provide. As far as I’ve gotten so far: a) make sure that directly AI-related content does not take up more than 2 of the 5 items, and b) try to focus specifically on the cybersecurity issue for financial inclusion. Beyond that, I’m open to feedback on the value you get from the faiV in relation to AI to help guide us in the future. On a different note, I’ll be making a brief cameo appearance at the e-MFP Inclusive Finance Conference to moderate the opening plenary. If you haven’t registered, do so and I hope to see you there! - Tim Ogden