'Nimbility' at the National Council of State Housing Agencies Annual Conference in San Diego

We subscribe to the Down Payment Resource newsletter. We spotted this interesting article today:

Steve Auger of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation was credited as the originator of the term “nimbility.” Bob Kucab, Executive Director of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, quoted Auger while giving Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) a bit of a pep talk during a special session at the NCSHA conference called “Innovating Amid Adversity.” To be sure, the HFAs need some optimism during these challenging times and achieving “nimbility”, becoming nimble, creative, innovative and fearless is surely what’s needed in the face of today’s reality.

However, the frequency in which the word “fear” came up at the conference was, well, a little frightening.  Whether as-in, “fear is a great motivator” or “overcome the fear of trying new things,” and “I don’t buy into fear—don’t let fear drive decisions,” fear was definitely on the minds of many speakers and panelists.

And, understandably so, given the uncertainty about the future role of HFAs. During one of the last sessions, “Housing Finance of the Future,” Garth Rieman, Director Housing Advocacy and Strategic Initiatives for NCSHA, outlined various finance reform proposals crafted by House members that could drastically affect or even eliminate the ability of middle class households to finance homeownership in the future.