CREF Policy Update: FHA Stat Limits–MBA Leads Coalition Effort Supporting the Housing Affordability Act
FHA Stat Limits: MBA Leads Coalition Effort Supporting the Housing Affordability Act
Last Tuesday, MBA led a coalition of major industry groups in sending a letter in support of the recently introduced Housing Affordability Act (S. 1527). Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and David McCormick (R-PA) introduced the Housing Affordability Act on April 30.
• If enacted, this legislation would immediately leverage significant private investment to expand workforce housing supply by updating the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)’s statutory loan limits. It would also use a better inflationary index, the Price Deflator Index of Multifamily Residential Units Under Construction.
• In an April 30 press statement supportive of the bill, MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB, said that “MBA has long advocated for Congress to update FHA multifamily loan limits to levels that are consistent with housing and economic conditions.”
Why it matters: FHA’s multifamily statutory loan limits have not been adjusted since 2003 and the inflationary adjustments have been using the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which does not accurately reflect increases in construction costs. The statutory limits were put into place to prevent coverage for luxury housing; however, they are now significantly below multifamily construction costs which, in conjunction with using CPI, have stifled workforce housing projects across the country.
What’s next: MBA and its coalition partners will work to grow bipartisan Senate support for the legislation and seek to have it included in a yet-to-be scheduled markup before the Senate Banking Committee. MBA is also building support with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to have a companion bill introduced in the House as soon as possible.
For more information, please contact George Rogers at (202) 557-2797 or Ethan Saxon at (202) 557-2913.
House GOP Seeks Consensus After Tax Package Clears Committee
Early last Wednesday morning, after dozens of amendment votes during a marathon markup session, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith’s (R-MO) tax policy package amendment (and the Committee’s reconciliation instructions) were both passed favorably, both by party-line votes of 26 to 19. Here is the letter MBA sent to the Ways and Means members prior to the markup.
The Ways and Means product – one of the threshold efforts needed to enable Republicans to extend the 2017 Trump tax reforms – protects almost all of the current law priority items (both commercial/multifamily and residential) identified by MBA’s Board-approved Tax Task Force.
For more information, please contact Bill Killmer at (202) 557-2736, Madisyn Rhone at (202) 557-2741 or Rachel Kelley at (202) 557- 2816.
MBA Responds to OMB RFI on Deregulation
Last Monday, MBA submitted a comment letter in response to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) request for information (RFI) on ideas for deregulation. MBA suggested that several rules should be rescinded in their entirety, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Nonbank Registry rule. MBA also suggested that the administration amend several other rules to better address the current realities of the mortgage market, including the Loan Officer Compensation rule, RESPA and the Regulation X servicing rules.
Go deeper: MBA supports the rulemaking process to provide clear rules of the road through a stable and informed process. In repealing these rules, agencies should continue to use existing legal avenues – for example, through sufficient notice and comment – to effectuate these rule recissions in a way that considers informed feedback by industry.
What’s next: MBA will continue to monitor this deregulation effort and provide updates as necessary.
For more information, please contact Justin Wiseman at (202) 557- 2854 or Alisha Sears at (202) 557-2390.
New in CREF Research: Q1 Data on CREF Originations and Delinquency Rates
Last week, MBA Research published two releases, highlighting first-quarter 2025 results from its Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations, and its CREF Loan Performance Survey.
The rundown: Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were 42 percent higher in the first quarter of 2025 compared to a year earlier and decreased 40 percent from the fourth quarter of 2024.
What they are saying: “Commercial and multifamily mortgage originations posted a strong rebound in the first three months of the year, increasing 42 percent compared to year-ago levels,” said Reggie Booker, MBA’s AVP of Commercial Real Estate Research. “The first quarter of the year is typically the slowest, so this level of activity — particularly the strong gains in office, health care, and multifamily lending — signals renewed momentum and growing confidence in key segments of the market.”
In addition…the latest CREF Loan Performance results show that the share of loans that were delinquent increased for some property types, particularly office and lodging, decreased for industrial and retail properties, and remained roughly constant for multifamily properties.
MBA’s AVP of Commercial Real Estate Research, Judie Ricks said, “The delinquency rate for commercial mortgages increased again in the first quarter of 2025, driven by higher delinquencies on lodging and industrial properties and rising delinquencies on GSE and FHA loans.”
Added Ricks, “MBA is closely watching delinquency trends, as there have been increases in both later-stage and new delinquencies. Economic growth will slow in 2025, which could lead to further increases in mortgage delinquencies through the second half of the year.”
To view both releases, click here.
For more information, please contact Reggie Booker at (202) 557- 2863 or Judie Ricks at (202) 557-2745.
Upcoming MBA Education Webinars on Critical Industry Issues
MBA Education continues to deliver timely commercial/multifamily and single-family programming that covers the spectrum of challenges, obstacles and solutions pertaining to our industry. Below, please see a list of upcoming and recent webinars – all complimentary to MBA members:
• Mastering Commercial Insurance Modeling: Key Insights and Applications – May 27
• Introduction to Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities – May 28
• MBA Roundtable with CMF Council Leadership – June 12
• Decoding Blanket Property Insurance for Commercial and Multifamily Properties – June 26
• Trends in Commercial Non-Bank Lending: Evolving Strategies & Creating Operational Advantages – Sept. 9
MBA members can register for any of the above events and view recent webinar recordings by clicking here.
For more information, please contact David Upbin at (202) 557-2931.
