American Banker, Dec. 17, 2018–Hannah Lang (subscription)Recent steps allowing more lenders to skip outside appraisals are seen as removing a key hurdle to closings, but appraisers say they could be collateral damage from the deregulatory policies.
Category: Top National News
FHA Commissioner to Serve as HUD’s Acting No. 2
National Mortgage News, Dec. 17, 2018–Hannah Lang (subscription)Brian Montgomery, commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, will serve as the acting No. 2 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development following the resignation of Deputy Secretary Pam Patenaude.
The Continued Impact of the Housing Crisis on Self-Employed Households
The Urban Institute, Dec. 17, 2018–Karan Kaul, Laurie Goodman, Jun ZhuAlthough self-employed households continue to earn higher incomes than salaried households, this brief shows that they were hit harder by the housing crisis and have been slower to recover.
Will 2019 See a Boom in Home Equity Lending?
HousingWire, Dec. 17, 2018–Jessica GuerinCertain dynamics shaping the housing market have led the occasional forecaster to predict a pending boom home equity lending.
Trouble in Housing? It’s More 1994 Than 2007
Bloomberg, Dec. 14, 2018–Conor SenThe U.S. can’t reprise the last downturn: This time there are strict lending standards and tight housing stock.
MBA: Commercial, Multifamily Mortgage Debt Just Hit All-Time High
HousingWire, Dec. 14, 2018–Ben LaneAccording to newly released data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, outstanding commercial and multifamily mortgage debt climbed to a record high of $3.32 trillion in the third quarter, topping the previous high of $3.27 trillion, which was set in the previous quarter.
Here’s What Mortgage Rates Will Do Next Year, From the People Who Usually Get it Wrong
MarketWatch, Dec. 14, 2018–Andrea RiquierRates for home loans have spent the past decade or so doing anything but what’s expected of them. (MBA mention)
Zumper: The American Dream of Homeownership Fades
HousingWire, Dec. 14, 2018–Alcynna LloydAs 2018 comes to an end, Zumper, a rental listing site, has revealed that for many Americans, the dream of homeownership is fading.
Residents Increasingly Fleeing New York, Los Angeles and Chicago
Bloomberg, Dec. 14, 2018–Alexandre Tanzi, Wei LuEven migration is bigger in Texas. Dallas leads all U.S. cities as the largest net gainer with 246 people arriving daily, according to a Bloomberg analysis of 2017 Census data on migration to the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Chicago, New York and Los Angeles saw an exodus of more than 100 people every day.
The Border Wall Fight is Killing Chances of Year-End Banking Reforms
American Banker, Dec. 14, 2018–Neil Haggerty (subscription)As the Trump administration tussles with congressional Democrats over border wall funding and the threat of a government shutdown looms, the budget battle has all but killed the chance of more financial services reforms before the end of the year.