Scholar to Address Housing Finance & Mortgage Reform

As part of its Hankin Distinguished Lecture Series, Penn State will host Kent Colton, president of The Colton Housing Group & Senior Scholar at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, at 4 p.m. on Nov. 6 at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College.

Colton, with more than 30 years of experience as a housing scholar and expert in the field of mortgage finance and housing policy, will present “Framing the Future of Housing Finance: A Practical Guide to Reforming the System,” a lecture on the future of the nation’s housing finance.

Colton, who resides in McLean, Va., said his lecture will address the great recession and the resulting housing finance crash.

Since then, he said, the nation has been “limping along” because reform has not occurred in housing finance.

It’s difficult for people to get a mortgage, he said, so he plans to talk about how to frame the future of the market and come up with an approach to reform the system while protecting the government.

Colton also said his lecture will address the challenges that have occurred in the housing sector in the past, as well as the benefits of the housing finance system. He aims to identify what went wrong and develop a framework for a new system, he said.

Principles needed for a more effective future, Colton said, include private capital being out front, and for the private sector to set aside money to cover risk. Care must be taken to make sure people need to be qualified prior to getting a mortgage.

Colton said his lecture is open to the public, and will be made understandable to anyone who wants to attend.

“It will really try to lay out … the criteria going forward,” he said.

The Hankin Distinguished Lecture Series was established in 2006 in honor of the late Bernard Hankin. World-class speakers are invited to Penn State to address students and faculty, according to Penn State.

The lecture is free. An information reception will follow.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: 2013 Hankin Distinguished speaker Kent Colton, president of The Colton Housing Group & Senior Scholar at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, will present “Framing the Future of Housing Finance: A Practical Guide to Reforming the System.”

WHEN: 4 p.m. on Nov. 6

WHERE: Nittany Lion Inn, State College

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call (814) 865-2341