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Bank of Des Moines Boosting Housing Credit Liquidity
At a time when a tightening of the mortgage market points to the importance of meeting the large credit needs of the nation’s housing industry, NAHB last week cited the successful efforts of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines to include single-family construction loans as eligible collateral for member loans.
The Des Moines Bank on Sept. 10 received approval from its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Board, to accept one-to-four family construction loans as part of a basket of other real estate collateral that may back the bank’s secured lending, or “advances,” to member financial institutions in its district, which includes Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota.
With this regulatory approval, the Bank of Des Moines can move forward with developing specific collateral criteria for implementing its expanded authority in the near future.
“In adding construction loans to its collateral menu, The Des Moines Federal Home Loan Bank has shown outstanding responsiveness to credit needs in its district,” said NAHB President Brian Catalde. “The collateral expansion is an important signal that the Bank of Des Moines is making every reasonable effort to support the home mortgage lending of its member institutions, in addition to establishing a long-term foundation for housing production credit availability. This news further highlights the very positive role of the Federal Home Loan Banks in supplying credit during the current mortgage market difficulties.”
“NAHB is a strong supporter of the Federal Home Loan Bank System,” Catalde added. “NAHB’s members are primarily small businesses with limited capital of their own who rely on the FHLBank System for credit to develop land and build homes. More than 90% of all loans for residential land acquisition, development and construction (AD&C) come from commercial banks and thrifts, many of which are FHLBank members. NAHB regards the Federal Home Loan Banks as a critical element of the housing finance system.”
For more information, e-mail Blake Smith at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8583.
 Attend the Fall Construction Forecast Conference on Oct. 24
Plan to attend NAHB's Construction Forecast Conference on Oct. 24 at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. The conference brings together the nation's premier housing economists and finance experts for an in-depth examination of the economic outlook for the housing industry.
Can't attend? Watch the conference webcast live.
For more information, or to register for the conference or webcast, visit www.nahb.org/cfc.
 Want to Know the Housing Forecast for the Top 100 Metros?
Find out in HousingEconomic.com’s 2007-2008 Metro Forecast (free preview). Get the metro forecast with in-depth analysis, overviews and downloadable Excel tables.
To learn more, visit www.HousingEconomics.com.
 Free NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Navigate the Slowdown
What was once expected to be a relatively mild housing slump following three years of record new home construction and sales has given way to a significant downturn.
To help members navigate the uncharted waters of this slowdown, NAHB has compiled a comprehensive “Back to Basics” online toolkit — the best of the basics, the tried and true and the truly new. To access the toolkit, click here.
To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.
For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.
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