The Resolution Trust Corporation's Affordable-Housing Mandate

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), the agency in charge of the thrift bailout, is directed to expand the supply of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households by reserving less valuable residential real estate for sale through the Affordable Housing Disposition Plan (AHDP). The author examines the evolution of the AHDP and the disappointing performance of both the single-family and multifamily portions of the program. Two principal explanations for the RTC's poor performance are assessed: The agency is subject to competing mandates that undermine a focus on housing, and the AHDP has not resolved the institutional and credit constraints that undermine affordable-housing efforts in general.