MBA Newslinks Archive

“We’ve heard from our members on this issue probably more than any other issue–and we’re on it.”–MBA President and CEO Robert Broeksmit, CMB, in a new MBANow video on loan originator compensation.

“At 3.1 percent, the year-over-year increase in average hour earnings followed a similarly strong increase in the wages component of the ECI released earlier this week. This is a positive for the housing market, for which home price appreciation exceeding wage growth has been an issue in recent years.”–Joel Kan, Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasts with the Mortgage Bankers Association.

“With tight inventory and appreciating home prices affecting real estate market conditions across the country, many people are pursuing fix and flip markets as strategic income opportunities. There is noticeable activity in the Southern and Midwestern markets, which may be less competitive. As more buyers seek smart investment opportunities, we can anticipate this trend of fix and flipping homes to continue.”–Patrick G. McClain, Senior Vice President of Hubzu Auction Services.

“The housing market always lets up a little in the fall, when kids are back in school and the home shopping season wraps up for the holidays. But this fall and winter are shaping up to be more favorable for those buyers who have struggled to get into the housing market for several years amid red-hot competition.”–Zillow Senior Economist Aaron Terrazas.

“Purchase applications inched backward from the previous week, as well as compared to one year ago–the first year-over-year decline in purchase activity since August. Purchase applications may have been adversely impacted by the recent uptick in rates and the significant stock market volatility we have seen the past couple of weeks.” –MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasts Joel Kan.

“A streamlined process could be beneficial to both lenders and RHS. However, we are concerned that this proposal, as drafted, will result in increased losses for lenders on properties that take a significant time to liquidate following foreclosure sale. Whether or not this concern is a reality depends largely in part on the valuation model employed. Unfortunately, this proposal does not provide enough detail on the valuation model to assuage these concerns.”–MBA Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Industry Relations Stephen O’Connor, an an MBA letter to the Rural Housing Service on its proposed rule to revised its loss-claim and loss-mitigation procedures.

“MBA members and the mortgage industry enthusiastically support Opens Doors’ mission, and their strong support is deeply appreciated. The generosity shown at MBA’s Convention will have a considerable impact on helping families. To put the $685,175 raised into perspective, the average grant provided to an ODF family is roughly $1,800. That means in two days we raised enough money to help 380 families stay in their homes.”–Debra W. Still, CMB, president and CEO of Pulte Mortgage and Chairman of the MBA Opens Doors Foundation’s Board of Directors.

“The multifamily lending market in 2017 benefited from improving fundamentals, rising property values and low interest rates. The result was larger loan sizes and record levels of overall borrowing and lending.”–MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell.

“The TCPA should not expose legitimate businesses to unquantifiable uncertainty and the threat of costly liability for placing legitimate informational and other non-telemarketing calls to their customers. Unfortunately, the recent wave of litigation had led to this very situation.”–MBA Senior Vice President of Residential Policy & Member Engagement Pete Mills.

“The LO Comp rule causes serious problems for industry and consumers due to its inflexible prohibitions on adjusting compensation and its amorphous definition for what constitutes a proxy for a loan’s term or conditions. The rule harms the efficiency of the mortgage loan market by limiting lenders’ ability to compete and consumers’ ability to shop.”–From an MBA-sponsored letter signed by nearly 250 executives of MBA members companies to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, asking modifications to the Bureau’s Loan Originator Compensation rule.