MBA Newslinks Archive

“With taxpayers currently backstopping the U.S. housing finance system, the GSEs should not be allowed to recapitalize without congressionally approved reforms in place.”
–From an MBA/trade group letter urging House support of a bill that would prohibit use of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac assets in the congressional appropriations process.

“Mortgage performance for the third quarter improved yet again as the rate at which new foreclosures initiated dropped to the lowest level in 10 years and as overall delinquencies and foreclosure inventory rate declined.”–MBA Associate Vice President of Economic Forecasting Joel Kan.

“Rental appreciation has started to slow down in part due to more rental supply. Many of the bigger multifamily rental projects that were begun a couple years ago in cities nationwide are finally starting to open for occupancy, easing pressure on rents somewhat.”
–Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell.

“Rising student debt levels and payment burdens among young renters are likely to impact this group’s long-term finances and their decisions to transition to homeownership. Delinquency and default can harm the ability of young renters to access low-cost credit and qualify for a home-purchase mortgage. Furthermore, student loan payments reduce young renters’ discretionary income and can delay the accumulation of savings toward a down payment on a home.”
–Irene Lew, research assistant with the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

“Growth in the renter segment will most likely occur through multifamily properties as more than half of those currently renting single-family properties are planning to become homeowners in the near future. Single-family renters are increasingly more dissatisfied than multifamily renters.”–David Brickman, Freddie Mac executive vice president of multifamily.  

“A nationwide housing market recovery, resolution of long-standing troubled loans that eventually proceeded through the foreclosure process and an improving employment outlook that provided distressed borrowers viable alternatives to foreclosure all contributed to the lower delinquency and foreclosure numbers.”
–MBA Vice President of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh. 

“FHA and its leadership should be commended for protecting the program, as well as the American taxpayer. One interesting thing to note is the overweight impact that the HECM program is having on the actuarial review. While only 10 percent of the overall portfolio, the HECM program has been responsible for a large part of the value swing in recent years, which is something that policymakers might want to be looking at. That, however, does not diminish what is really good news today, that the capital reserves are now forecast to exceed the 2 percent statutory minimum.”
–MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, on the FHA fiscal 2015 annual report released yesterday.

“You’d have to go back 74 years to observe similar living arrangements among American young women. Young men, too, are increasingly living in the same situation, but unlike women their share hasn’t climbed to its level from 1940, the highest year on record.”
–Pew Senior Researcher Richard Fry, on high percentages of Millennial-aged women and men still living with family.

“On top of normal seasonal slowdown, the October decline in mortgage applications to builder affiliates was likely amplified by some applications being pulled forward into September ahead of the implementation of the Know Before You Owe Rule on October 3. Despite the decrease, our estimate of new single-family housing sales for October was up more than 7 percent from a year ago.” –MBA Vice President of Economics and Research Lynn Fisher. 

“We are grateful that both House and Senate bills continue to fund FHA’s administrative costs through regular appropriations processes, as has been the practice for decades, and reject HUD’s unprecedented request to charge a fee on residential lenders that will undoubtedly be passed on to borrowers and raise the cost of homeownership.”  
–MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, in a letter to House and Senate appropriators on HUD Fiscal 2016 funding.