MBA Newslinks Archive

“If sea levels rise as much as climate scientists predict by the year 2100, nearly 300 U.S. cities would lose at least half their homes, and 36 U.S. cities would be completely lost. One in eight Florida homes would be underwater, accounting for nearly half of the lost housing value nationwide.”–From a Zillow Inc. report on the potential impact of Antarctic ice shelf melting.

“There are many conceptualizations of how to measure housing affordability and there are many affordability indexes. All measures are based on judgments of which components of housing costs should be included and judgments about when these costs should be considered excessive.”–Donald Haurin, emeritus professor of economics at the Ohio State University and author of a Research Institute for Housing America study on performance and methodologies of housing affordability indexes.

“MBA appreciates the CFPB’s efforts to update and clarify certain aspects of the ‘Know Before You Owe’ rule. This particular regulation has a big impact on both borrowers and lenders, so it’s important that the Bureau and stakeholders continually reassess the implementation process to ensure its effectiveness. We look forward to commenting on the rule, and continuing to work with the CFPB to gain further clarity in order to improve this and other rules and regulations.”–MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB.

“It’s pretty clear that there is a general lack of clarity in the regulations, so we expect there will be revisions. Most of the problems that we have seen with TRID have been caused by different interpretations of the rule, and to date, the CFPB’s guidance on these issues has not been much help. This general lack of clarity hits smaller lenders particularly hard because they are least able to afford attorneys or other resources they need to help them.”–Wade Hamby, national director of sales and marketing with The Stonehill Group, Atlanta.

“Low interest rates combined with strong commercial property market fundamentals to further support lending and to keep overall borrowing levels on pace with last year’s strong level.”–MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell.

“Refinance applications decreased 15 percent last week as rates increased across all product types in our survey.”–MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni

“In lieu of MHA and HAMP, servicers and investors will need to use proprietary loss mitigation programs–either existing or new–and determine the appropriateness of such programs in a more economically stable, post-crisis environment. Such a framework should incorporate–and modify as necessary–the best practices and guiding principles that have led to positive outcomes for all stakeholders, including homeowners, investors and servicers.”–From a federal agencies’ white paper on future foreclosure mitigation programs.

“Homes are selling faster than ever as the home shopping season hits its peak. Adding to this difficult buying environment is low inventory–there simply aren’t many homes to choose from. And while this looks like a good time to be a seller, potential move-up buyers may hesitate to list their homes and become buyers. Until the supply increases, it will remain a tough market to find a home.”–Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell.

“While MBA believes that energy efficient home improvements can be beneficial for homeowners, we have had significant concerns for years about PACE programs in general . Unfortunately, FHA’s new PACE guidance does little to ameliorate those concerns and raises important new questions about the lack of consumer protections, increased risks to the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, and significant compliance and indemnification risks for lenders and servicers.”
–Pete Mills, MBA senior vice president of residential policy and member engagement.

“Markets are resilient, but it’s important to have clarity. Markets will adapt to intelligent, well-reasoned regulations and provide innovative solutions.”–Mortgage Bankers Association Chairman-Elect Rodrigo Lopez, CMB, during a webcast yesterday at the Republican National Convention.