CAI-NJ Oct. 2019(w)

NATIONAL TRENDS... from page 89.

ownership,” says Thomas M. Skiba, CAE, CAI’s chief executive officer. “FHA’s bureaucratic process meant many of these households were shut out of condominium homeownership.” HUD data shows condominium unit mortgages currently account for fewer than 2% of all FHA-insured mort- gages, exposing a critical failure of federal housing policy. The changes announced by FHA are intended to allow the agency to expand home- ownership for many Americans. Millions of homebuyers could bene- fit from the changes. The Foundation for Community Association Research (FCAR) estimates 40% of the nation’s 27 million community association households call a condominium home, accounting for approximately 10% of the nation’s housing stock. “Following the housing crisis in 2008, the FHA condominium approv- al process severely impacted access to FHA-insured mortgages, which hurt homeowners and household forma- tion. This is counter to FHA’s statutory mission—its reason for being,” says Dawn M. Bauman, CAE, CAI’s senior vice president for government and public affairs. “A balanced, data-driv- en condominium approval process at FHA has been a long-term pub- lic policy priority for CAI. Today’s announcement marks a return for FHA as a key long-term partner for condo- minium associations.” Key elements of

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