The U.S. housing and mortgage industry has faced many difficulties in the past couple years, with widespread foreclosures occurring, home sales down, and lenders having to be “bailed out” by the government. Voter concern about the economy has become one of the most important issues in this election. So what do the 2008 presidential candidates plan to do about housing? Here are some details about each of the candidates housing plans, at a glance.

Barack Obama: The presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, Senator Barack Obama plans to take various measures aimed at assisting homeowners and regulating the housing industry. He calls for instituting a mortgage tax credit to benefit owners who don’t itemize their deductions, creating a scoring system that makes it less difficult to compare mortgage offerings, and initiating a program to encourage the conversion of present mortgages to fixed-rate thirty year loans. Senator Obama also supports additional efforts to detect and punish those guilty of mortgage fraud.

John McCain: Senator and Republican presidential nominee John McCain also plans to introduce a program that would help subprime loan holders change to fixed rate 30-year mortgages. He calls for some limitations on federal bailouts, but supports aiding banks if it is necessary to avoid “systemic risk”. McCain plans to help housing related non-profits which work to assist homeowners. Part of a speech by Senator McCain in March urged lenders to “do everything possible” to help the economy and prevent people from losing their homes. He opposes mortgages involving little or no downpayment.

Other Candidates: Libertarian presidential candidate and former Congressman Bob Barr has criticized the bailout for Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, subprime mortgage holders, and others in the housing industry. He accuses Congress, President Bush, former President Clinton, and the Federal Reserve of helping to bring about the subprime crisis. Independent candidate Ralph Nader calls for greater regulation of trading in derivatives (investors have bought derivatives of mortgage revenues from Freddie Mac and others) and he supports the increased building of energy efficient housing and infrastructure.

Basically, the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates housing plans both support the bailout, along with efforts to penalize mortgage fraud and convert subprime mortgages to 30-year fixed rate loans. However, Obama puts somewhat more emphasis on government assistance to homeowners. Each of the candidates plans to support additional regulation and/or government intervention, with the exception of Bob Barr, who opposes govt. involvement in the economy.