MBA Newslinks Archive

“A new, emerging trend is that the much cleaner loans of commercial mortgage-backed securities 2.0 are beginning to show cracks as a small chunk of newer production hits inevitable difficulties. Maintaining less than one-third of one percentage point in delinquent loans is unnatural through the credit cycle.”–Brian Olasov, Executive Director of Financial Services Consulting with Carlton Fields, New York.

“Even after accounting for the unusual volatility in the Midwest, overall starts were still extremely weak and suggest that the housing sector has lost momentum. The recent weakness in housing starts is perplexing, given continued tight supply of homes available for sale and fairly high levels of builder confidence.”–Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C.

“The overwhelming majority of mortgage-related complaints are the product of misunderstandings rather than company mistakes or instances of wrongdoing. Given that they were satisfactorily resolved with an explanation, these mortgage-related complaints are much more akin to consumer inquiries. Unfortunately, they are not treated like consumer inquiries. They are classified as complaints and carry all the obvious negative connotations associated with the term ‘complaint.’ They are displayed on the public-facing complaint database alongside valid complaints based on actual regulatory violations.”–MBA Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Industry Relations Stephen O’Connor, in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding the Bureau’s Complaint Database.

“Although Baby Boomer homeownership has been stable so far, the ranks of Boomer owner-occupants will eventually contract as they voluntarily transition to other living arrangements or are forced to exit homeownership because of frailty or death, thereby triggering a rise in the number of older adults exiting homeownership. The coming acceleration of older adults departing homeownership adds urgency to industry and public policy efforts to facilitate a smooth handoff of housing assets from older to younger generations.”–From a Fannie Mae paper warning of an “exodus” of Baby Boomers from homeownership and its implications for the housing market.

“Over the course of his tenure as a staffer on Capitol Hill, Mr. Appleton developed a substantial working knowledge of housing policy and he was instrumental in the development of the bipartisan Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, which received unanimous votes in both the House and Senate in 2016…he has gained a deep understanding of the challenges facing HUD, as well as the critical role the department plays in helping millions of American families.”–MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, in a letter to Senate leadership urging approval of Seth Appleton as HUD Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.

“By prohibiting a subset of VA-guaranteed refinances from serving as collateral for Ginnie Mae MBS, HUD’s determination effectively ‘orphans’ these loans, reducing their liquidity and lowering their market value. As such, the lenders that originated these loans in accordance with the VA and Ginnie Mae requirements in place at the time will likely take losses, which in some cases may be substantial.”–From an MBA letter to HUD regarding its treatment of certain mortgage-backed securities under the recently passed Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act.

“Our sense is that builders remain constrained by the tight job market for construction labor and rising input costs, particularly lumber costs.”–MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni.

“Americans deserve certainty and stability in the flood insurance marketplace to be able to protect their homes and loved ones. A lapse of the NFIP, especially during the height of hurricane season, will leave millions of Americans at risk and result in severe disruption in the over 20,000 communities across the United States that depend on the NFIP.”–From a joint MBA/trade group letter to House and Senate leadership urging Congress to pass an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program ahead of a July 31 deadline.

“Today’s empty parking spaces can be seen as a land bank in some of the most convenient city locations, or, taken another way, a future is arriving where builders will be able to provide more of everything else and fewer parking spaces.”Eric Scharnhorst, Principal Data Scientist with Parkingmill,, in a new RIHA study, Quantified Parking: Comprehensive Parking Inventories for Five Major U.S. Cities.

“Transparency is increasingly important for commercial real estate, where investors are allocating ever more capital. The availability and quality of information–from prices to ownership–is crucial when trying to make investment decisions, especially in new markets.”–Jeremy Kelly, Director of Global Research with JLL, Chicago.