MBA Newslinks Archive

“Credit availability in April was unchanged overall, but the components told different stories. Government credit tightened slightly as investors continued to pull back on streamline refinance products, while conventional credit availability increased, driven mainly by an expansion in jumbo credit.”–MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan.

“In terms of brick-and-mortar stores and the real estate that supports it, the phrase ‘retail apocalypse’ is no hyperbole. Store footprints are continuing to shrink and we are seeing droves of traditional retail assets being repurposed or simply demolished.”–Ten-X Chief Economist Peter Muoio.

“As more Millennials reach the prime home buying age of 29 to 32 years old, they are finding a mortgage experience leveraging technology that is fast and engaging in ways that their parents couldn’t imagine when they were buying their first home.” –Joe Tyrrell, executive vice president of corporate strategy for Ellie Mae, Pleasanton, Calif.

“Last year was a record for commercial and multifamily borrowing and lending. Lending terms remain extremely attractive, and we expect another strong year in 2018, although perhaps not quite as strong as 2017.”–MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell.

“The consensus among economists is that the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage will approach 5 percent by the end of this year. All else held equal, this will make housing more expensive. However, some perspective is important. The historical average for the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is about 8 percent so, even with the expected increase, mortgage rates will still be low by historical standards.”–First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming.

“Receipt of a CID can cause lasting reputational harm to the recipient and frequently requires significant resources to respond. For these reasons, the Bureau’s CIDs should be targeted and limited, with a clearly defined process to challenge them if necessary. Such a process will allow the Bureau to investigate specific allegations to their satisfaction without requiring CID recipients to answer broad and vague requests for information under very tight timelines.”–MBA President and CEO David H. Stevens, CMB, in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on its Civil Investigative Demands process.

“While demand is buttressed by healthy consumer fundamentals such as low unemployment and robust job growth, chronically low inventory and skyrocketing prices plagues the housing market.”–Cheryl Young, senior economist with Trulia, San Francisco.

“This year’s home-shopping season is shaping up to be even crazier than last, and sadly, the group that will have the hardest time is first-time and lower-income homebuyers. These buyers will be competing for the few entry level homes on the market, which are also the ones appreciating the fastest because of extremely high demand.”–Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell.

“I recognize that tax reform was the initial priority of this Administration, but we have to be capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time. I’m hopeful that the Administration and the Treasury Department will engage with Congress and move forward with comprehensive housing finance reform.” –Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., speaking at the MBA National Advocacy Conference.

“Comprehensive housing reform remains my highest priority. While we have bipartisan cooperation on housing reform, we do not have a final solution, but we are working on it.”–Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, speaking yesterday at the MBA National Advocacy Conference.