MBA Newslinks Archive

“While March has signaled the peak in applications for new homes for the last two years, we may see more sustained activity throughout the balance of this year as demand for new homes continues to increase and strong house price growth continues to motivate home building.”–MBA Vice President of Research and Economics Lynn Fisher.

“A long-term reauthorization will protect residential and commercial real estate markets from serious harm, and provide stability for those that sell and administer the policies to millions of consumers across the country.”–MBA Senior Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Bill Killmer, in an MBA letter to the House Financial Services Committee on reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program.

“Two-thirds of the growth came from increases in multifamily mortgage debt outstanding, and 80 percent of that growth came from portfolios and [mortgage-backed securities] and held or guaranteed by federal government agencies and these government-sponsored enterprises.”–MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell.

“Homes have gotten so expensive in many major cities that even with low mortgage rates, monthly costs for homes that are currently for sale are starting to be unaffordable. Down payments are a top concern for today’s homebuyers, but the reality is that monthly costs are becoming unaffordable as well.–Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell.

“The rising cushion of home equity is one of the main drivers of improved mortgage performance. It also supports consumer balance sheets, spending and the broader economy.”–Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

“Credit availability slipped in May, primarily driven by investors consolidating their offerings for government insured loans. These decreases were partially offset by continued expansion among jumbo loan programs. The Jumbo MCAI has increased in 13 of the last 15 months.”–MBA Vice President of Research and Economics Lynn Fisher.

“The drop in overall production volume in the first quarter of 2017 resulted in the highest per-loan production expenses reported since inception of our study in the third quarter of 2008. While higher production revenues mitigated a portion of the cost increase, production profitability nonetheless declined by more than half the previous quarter.”–MBA Vice President of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh.

“While we have recently noted that part of the rise in overall risk is due to the market’s shift toward riskier purchase transactions, the fact that risk in refinance transactions is also on the rise underscores the need for caution.”–First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming.

“Brian has been active within MBA for more than twenty years as a thought leader in the commercial/multifamily space and as a member of the MBA Board of Directors. He brings technical knowledge, leadership and vision to the role and will clearly be an asset to MBA and the industry as a whole.”–MBA Chairman Rodrigo Lopez, CMB, on nomination of Brian Stoffers, CMB as 2018 MBA Vice Chairman.

“f you’re not plugged into the world, that’s not good. If you’re in your 40s or 50s, the world will continue on as you know it for a while, but it will be quickly supplanted.”–Scott Keith, managing director with RealINSIGHT, Irving, Texas.