The Lede

Urban Institute, Apr. 7, 2016--Zandi, Mark In today's housing finance system, two behemoth institutions, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, control most of the core infrastructure of the secondary market and take on most of its credit risk. While in many ways this system has served the nation well by providing a broad range of borrowers access to credit and a level playing field for lenders of all sizes, our reliance on this duopoly created perverse incentives that ultimately led to too much risk taking, forcing taxpayers to shoulder the resulting cost. 

National Mortgage Professional, Apr. 7, 2016--Hall, Phil For Joan Youngman, author of the new book A Good Tax: Legal and Policy Issues for the Property Tax in the United States, the animosity aimed at property taxes has more to do with its ubiquity than any toll it takes on a homeowner's budget.

Washington Post, Apr. 7, 2016--Orton, Kathy  Mortgage rates followed long-term Treasury yields downward, plummeting to lows not seen in more than a year.

MarketWatch, Apr. 7, 2016--Riquier, Andrea Americans are becoming more and more credit-worthy, especially when it comes to home equity.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 7, 2016--Glazer, Emily In a proxy released Thursday morning, J.P. Morgan pushed back against a shareholder proposal for a bank breakup, pointing to its business synergies, benefits of scale and value to clients.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 7, 2016--Collins, Brian  The housing market has been improving but mortgage credit remains "stubbornly" tight on loans bought by the government-sponsored enterprises, according to a chief housing adviser at the White House.

National Mortgage Professional, Apr. 7, 2016--Hall, Phil Two new data reports on the commercial real estate sector offer very different visions regarding the sector's vibrancy, with one detailing a healthy 2015 and the other forecasting a bumpy near-term future.

NJBIZ, Apr. 7, 2016--Bader, Emily Freedom Mortgage Corp. has agreed to acquire the correspondent origination assets of JPMorgan Chase's rural housing business. The Mount Laurel-based national mortgage banker said in a news release that it will operate the business unit under its Freedom Mortgage banner and will keep the existing employees.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 7, 2016--Mitchell, Josh More than 40% of Americans who borrowed from the government's main student-loan program aren't making payments or are behind on more than $200 billion owed, raising worries that millions of them may never repay.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 7, 2016--Kellard, Joseph Consumers are feeling a growing pessimism about the direction of the economy that appears to be spilling over into the housing market in March, Fannie Mae said.

HousingWire, Apr. 7, 2016--Swanson, Brena One of the most notable mortgage issues still on the table is the bureau's legal battle with PHH, in what is one of the first cases of a business successfully challenging the bureau.

Reuters, Apr. 7, 2016--Mutikani, Lucia Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting the labor market continued to strengthen despite tepid economic growth.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 7, 2016--Passy, Jacob The total number of loan programs being marketed declined in March, as fewer conventional offerings offset a loosening of standards on government products, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

MBA Education's four-part Residential Underwriting Basics Webinar series continues April 12, 19 and 26, online.