Wall Street Journal, Sept. 21, 2015–Kusisto, Laura Renting is unlikely to get easier anytime soon. An estimated 11 percent more households will pay more than half of their incomes in rent in 2025, according to a new report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and Enterprise Community Partners.
Category: Top National News
Wells Fargo to Raise Minimum Credit Scores on FHA Loans
National Mortgage News, Sept. 18, 2015–Berry, Kate
Wells Fargo is raising minimum credit score requirements on Federal Housing Administration loans, part of the ongoing jockeying by large banks to limit lawsuits by the Justice Department for defective FHA loans.
Locked Out of Boom, Buyers Hunt for New Housing Hot Spots
Miami Herald, Sept. 18, 2015–Nehamas, Nicholas For South Florida’s middle class, the dream of owning is slipping out of reach. Home prices in the region are up nearly 45 percent since 2012, but local wages have stayed flat, lagging well behind inflation.
Fewer Underwater Mortgage Holders
New York Times, Sept. 18, 2015–Prevost, Lisa
The share of underwater mortgage holders dropped by more than half since peaking in early 2012, driven by rising home values at the lower end of the market, a turnaround from last year.
Homebuyers Find New Loan Forms Easier to Digest, But Closings Could Take Longer
Columbus Dispatch, Sept. 20, 2015–Welker, JimConsumers who buy a home after Oct. 2 should find their loan documents easier to understand, thanks to new federal rules. But they will probably wait longer to close on the loan and might pay more for it.
Mortgages are Becoming More Available, Studies Show
Daily Herald, Sept. 19, 2015–Woodard, Jim Mortgage qualification requirements are easing, making them more available for homebuyers and owners who want to refinance their existing loans, according to several sources.
New FHA Rules Hamper Mortgages for Student-Loan Borrowers
UPI, Sept. 20, 2015–Connolly, Amy The Federal Housing Administration just made it more difficult for first-time homebuyers with outstanding student loans to get low down payment mortgages with changes to the crucial debt-to-income calculation.
Top Strategist: Fed Mistake to Delay Rate Hike
Bloomberg Surveillance, Sept. 21, 2015BMO Chief Investment Strategist Brian Belski discusses why the next step for the Federal Reserve must be a rate hike.
Americans Aren’t Ready for an Interest Rate Hike
Newsweek, Sept. 17, 2015–McGrath Goodman, Leah
This summer, Americans raced to buy and refinance their homes, with new mortgage applications climbing more than 20 percent from June to mid-August, says Joel Kan, associate vice president of industry surveys and forecasting for the Mortgage Bankers Association. This, he said, is allowing some Americans to regain a bit of financial footing.
Former MBA Chairman Brings Four Decades of Industry Experience To EquityKey
MortgageOrb, Sept. 17, 2015
John Robbins, CMB, former chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association and founder of the American Residential Mortgage Corp., has joined the advisory board at EquityKey, a San Diego-based home finance company.