The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was
established in 1934 to improve housing
standards and conditions and to provide an
adequate home financing system through
insurance of mortgages. Families that would
otherwise be excluded from the housing
market were finally able to buy the homes of
their dreams.
During the 1940s, FHA
programs helped to finance military housing
and then homes for returning veterans and
their families.
In the '50s, '60s and '70s, FHA helped to
stimulate the production of millions of
units of privately owned apartments for
elderly, handicapped, and lower income
Americans. When soaring inflation and energy
costs in the 1970s threatened the economic
viability of thousands of private apartment
buildings, FHA's emergency financing kept
cash-strapped properties afloat.
When a deep recession prompted private
mortgage insurers to pull out of oil
producing states in the 1980s, FHA moved in
to stabilize falling home prices. During the
difficult '80s, FHA programs made it
possible for potential homebuyers to get the
financing they needed.
In the more than 60 years since inception of
the FHA, a great deal has changed and
Americans are now arguably the best housed
people in the world. FHA has contributed
substantially to that achievement.
Today, FHA is particularly important to
minority and first-time homebuyers. With the
National Homeownership Strategy in place
since 1995, FHA has placed a great deal of
emphasis on marketing and outreach to
minorities and first-time homebuyers.
Improving Urban
Neighborhoods
In
1995, FHA piloted the Safe Neighborhood
Action Plan (SNAP) in 14 urban communities
to improve life in HUD-assisted project
areas. With volunteers from the
AmeriCorp Volunteer Service, the SNAP
initiative is focused on eliminating drugs
and crime in high-risk urban areas. SNAP has
also provided after-school programs and
other organized activities for project
residents.
FHA has also fostered
Neighborhood Network Centers in rental
projects to help community residents become
more self-sufficient and employable. The
Centers provide opportunities to assisted
housing residents for learning computer job
skills. Many Centers have tutors from local
colleges and area businesses and operate
with locally donated computer equipment.
