The Lede

Forbes, Dec. 20, 2016--Dorfman, Jeffrey With talk of tax reform buzzing around Washington, D.C. and a new administration that is unconventional more than anything else, this may actually be a moment when tax reform could include if not the elimination of, at least a diminished role for, the mortgage interest deduction.

Bloomberg, Dec. 20, 2016 Donald Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, has said he wants to put housing finance back into private hands. Sensible as the goal may be, the hard part will be getting there.

National Mortgage News, Dec. 20, 2016--Passy, Jacob Loans originated in the third quarter were among the highest in credit quality since 2000, according to CoreLogic.

HousingWire, Dec. 20, 2016--Swanson, Brena Banks are now consistently loosening their credit standards every year as they slowly ease up from the strict standards set in place after the financial crisis.

HousingWire, Dec. 20, 2016--Ramirez, Kelsey Negative home equity decreased in the third quarter, with the greatest decreases seen among lower-end homes, according to the Q3 Negative Equity report from Zillow.

CNBC, Dec. 20, 2016--Pei, Annie  Homebuilding stocks have been some of the hottest postelection trades, but there's a chance that they could be standing on some shaky ground.

National Real Estate Investor, Dec. 20, 2016--Anderson, Bendix  It's easy to assume that higher interest rates will naturally lead buyers of apartment properties to demand higher yields on their investments. But investor yields and interest rate often move in different directions.

CBS St. Louis (Mo.), Dec. 20, 2016--Kelly, Brian When it comes to the St. Louis real estate market in 2016, it's been a tale of two halves.

U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 20, 2016--Soergel, Andrew The Federal Reserve forecasts more rate hikes on the horizon, but Trump's White House could complicate things.

Mortgage Daily, Dec. 20, 2016 As U.S. residential lenders saw mortgage production soar on a quarterly basis, non-bank originators grabbed market share from their financial institution counterparts.

Mortgage Daily, Dec. 20, 2016 More home-lending originators are registered in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System than at any time since there registry went live.

Mortgage Daily, Dec. 20, 2016 Despite a 50-basis-point increase in expected long-term mortgage rates during the first half of next year, the reduction to forecasted originations was modest.

GoRion, Dec. 20, 2016--Bourgi, Sam The Fed raised interest rates last week and signaled a faster path of hikes in 2017 and 2018. The banking sector's prime rate went up immediately, and mortgage rates could soon follow.

Newsday (N.Y.), Dec. 20, 2016--Schwartz, David M. Suffolk lawmakers passed a new $300 fee on mortgage recordings for 2017 at their meeting Tuesday night, as supporters lashed back at industry criticism that increases are driving people off Long Island.

Wall Street Journal, Dec. 20, 2016--Adamy, Janet; Overberg, Paul The U.S. population this year grew at its lowest rate since the Great Depression, and the state of New York shrank for the first time in a decade, according to Census Bureau data released Tuesday.

Final Class in School of Mortgage Banking Series