MBA Newslinks Archive

“The idea that nearly one in six American homeowners views ‘keeping up with regular household bills’ as an appropriate reason to borrow from home equity speaks to how far some households are stretched on a monthly basis.”–Bankrate.com chief financial analyst Greg McBride.

“While the gain [in housing starts] was larger than consensus estimates, it does not signal a significant improvement in home building. Most of the gain was in the volatile multifamily segment, and both multifamily and single-family starts remain below the pace seen earlier this year.”–Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C.

“In the first full week following Labor Day, applications bounced back. Purchase applications slowed earlier in the summer, but have shown year-over-year increases for the past five weeks.”–MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan.

“We still expect regulators to enforce the rules. We expect them to respond to violations, and protect consumers’ interests. Mick Mulvaney committed the Bureau to protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive practices and enforcing the law consistently. But he also committed the Bureau to identifying and addressing outdated and unduly burdensome regulations that impede competition, as required by law. This is a welcome change.”–MBA President and CEO Robert Broeksmit, CMB.

“With home prices reaching new heights in many metro areas, it’s no surprise people are continuing to move away from expensive metros in search of homeownership. Last year’s tax reform poured fuel on the fire. By capping mortgage interest and state and local tax deductions, there is an even greater incentive for homebuyers to consider moving to a lower-tax state.”–Taylor Marr, senior economist with Redfin, Seattle.

“Low inventory of homes for sale has been an issue this year, and newly constructed units have been one way to ease the shortage. Growth in August was focused in the lower price tiers. In fact, for the first time in four months, monthly growth was driven by the lower half of the market, based on application size.”–Joel Kan, MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting.

“Because home prices are rising, and demand is strong, most mortgage fraud in this type of market is motivated by bona fide borrowers trying to qualify for a mortgage. Undisclosed real estate liabilities, credit repair, questionable down payment sources and income falsification are the most likely misrepresentations.”–Bridget Berg, principal of Fraud Solutions Strategy for CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif.

“A law or regulation has the force and effect of law. Unlike a law or regulation, supervisory guidance does not have the force and effect of law, and the agencies do not take enforcement actions based on supervisory guidance. Rather, supervisory guidance outlines the agencies’ supervisory expectations or priorities and articulates the agencies’ general views regarding appropriate practices for a given subject area.”–From a statement by five federal agencies clarifying the role of regulatory guidance.

“Overall credit availability saw a slight decrease in August, for the first time in four months, as the jumbo index retreated from its record high in July. Strong month-over-month increases in the jumbo index reversed because of a reduction in the number of jumbo programs. The decline in jumbo credit availability was offset partially by an increase in the conforming index, which increased over the month due to the addition of low down payment programs.”–MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan.

“Even as a strong market broadly benefits homeowners, it’s still very hard for people starting with less money ever to catch up. On an absolute-dollar basis, homeowners in minority communities became wealthier, but still fell further behind.”–Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman, on an analysis of home values in white, minority and mixed-race neighborhoods between 2012 and 2018.