MBA Newslinks Archive

“SCRA provides the brave men and women of our military with the certainty they won’t lose their home when they transition back to civilian life. That’s something that should never happen. Our industry is committed to helping members of the military stay in their homes and we are grateful Congress has renewed this vital homeownership tool.”
–MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, following House passage of a bill extending the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act through 2017.

“Whether they made their money lobbying lawmakers at the Capitol or cashed in on a tech IPO, rich millennials are clustered in cities where there are lots of high-paying professional jobs. Tech hubs made the list, but young people are doing well in older job markets, too.”–Emily Heffter, researcher for Zillow Inc., Seattle.

“With many economists expecting interest rates to rise over the next few years, MBA anticipates that the number of assumption requests will grow as well. Yet, certain FHA guidelines surrounding assumptions have not been updated since the mid-1980s, making it virtually impossible for lenders to recover the actual costs that are incurred while processing them.–MBA Senior Vice President Residential Policy and Member Engagement Pete Mills, in a letter to FHA urging the department to update its loan assumption guidelines.

“Lending for new residential development has increased and steady gains in household formation have cut the number of vacant homes for sale or rent. The number of homes under construction around the country has steadily edged higher over the past year. Apartment projects had accounted for much of the gain in previous years. The momentum now appears to be shifting toward single-family construction.”
–Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securitiets, Charlotte, N.C.

“The ability to serve and support sustainable and affordable homeownership has been a core mission of both FHA and lenders across this country. Having the confidence to lend demands clear and reasonable accountability. This has been the goal of all stakeholders.”
 –MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB.

“There’s been a lot of speculation about TRID’s impact and its value to consumers. Consumers who have bought homes and gotten mortgages both the new and the old way suggests that TRID is making it easier for consumers to understand the costs and fees that they’ll face at closing. But at the same time, the new rules are adding time and anxiety to the closing process.”
–Brian Benson, CEO of ClosingCorp, San Diego.

“By preventing g-fees to be used as a funding offset, this budget point of order gives lawmakers a vital tool to prevent homeowners from footing the bill for unrelated spending.”
–From MBA/trade group letters to House and Senate Budget Committee leadership, urging them to prohibit use of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac guaranty fees for unrelated Fiscal 2017 appropriations.

“Post-funding QC identifies areas of risk and trends to create better sampling for pre-funding QC, which leads to improved loan quality, fewer defects and less risk to the organization.”
–Avi Naider. chairman and CEO of ACES Risk Management Corp.

“Mortgage applications to homebuilder affiliates increased across the board in our survey for February as continued low interest rates and fairly mild weather helped to kick off the spring buying season.”
–MBA Vice President of Research and Economics Lynn Fisher.  

“When first-time home buyers move into homeownership or existing homeowners upgrade to a larger, more expensive home, new debt is created. This trend is finally dominating the accelerated amortization from borrowers paying a little extra each month or paying their mortgages in full, and foreclosure activity is also greatly diminished.”
–Amy Crews Cutts, chief economist with Equifax, Atlanta.