MBA Newslinks Archive

“At this point, the inclusion of the subject question would only create confusion, uncertainty and potential liability. Given the implications across federal agencies, we urge the FHFA to abandon this proposal or, at the very least, seek broader interagency and stakeholder input before proceeding further with this addition to the URLA.”–From an MBA/trade group letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency expressing concern over a proposed question addition to the Uniform Residential Loan Application on language preferences.

“Chris has held leadership roles within MBA and the California MBA in recent years, and his experience in these positions, as well as his knowledge and understanding of the industry, will help him serve our diverse membership and their broad range of issues.”–MBA Chairman Bill Emerson, on the nomination of Christopher George as 2017 MBA Vice Chairman.

“Production profits in the first quarter of 2016 showed modest improvement over the fourth quarter of 2015 despite declining volume and an increase in per-loan production expenses. On the servicing side of the business, a drop in mortgage interest rates resulted in mortgage servicing right impairments and hurt profitability.”–MBA Vice President of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh.

“Strong fundamentals and property prices, as well as still low interest rates, continue to support the performance of commercial and multifamily mortgages.”
–MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell.

“We’re now in the heart of the spring home buying season and, as has been true for several years, there are still reports of tight inventory.. One driver is that while delinquent borrowers are still more than twice as likely to list their homes for sale, there are far fewer of these borrowers, as well as a much lower share of such homes listed for sale, than in 2012.”–Black Knight Data & Analytics Senior Vice President Ben Graboske.

“TRID treats large changes in circumstances differently than small ones and this can create problems for lenders who think they have 10 percent tolerance for certain kinds of fees when in fact they don’t.”
–Michael Cremata, corporate counsel with ClosingCorp, San Diego. 

“Gains in credit availability caused by the continued roll-out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac low down payment programs were offset by modest tightening among government loan programs that serve borrowers in high cost areas.”
–MBA Vice President of Research Lynn Fisher.

“The economy is supporting the price increases with improving labor markets, falling unemployment rates and extremely low mortgage rates. Another factor behind rising home prices is the limited supply of homes on the market.”–David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee with S&P Dow Jones Indices, New York.

“Down payment assistance programs meet a critical need by providing important resources to access homeownership. These programs help responsible families overcome barriers that would prevent them from moving into homeownership. In many ways, these are the very families FHA was designed to help.”–HUD Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing Ed Golding, in a directive on down payment assistance programs provided by housing finance agencies.

“With Easter occurring in March, April effectively had one more weekend of sales, and this extra activity looks even better after seasonal adjustment. Even with this boost, however, the rise in home sales reflects real economic gains and underscores the improving housing outlook.”
–Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C.