MBA Newslinks Archive

“By prohibiting a subset of VA-guaranteed refinances from serving as collateral for Ginnie Mae MBS, HUD’s determination effectively ‘orphans’ these loans, reducing their liquidity and lowering their market value. As such, the lenders that originated these loans in accordance with the VA and Ginnie Mae requirements in place at the time will likely take losses, which in some cases may be substantial.”–From an MBA letter to HUD regarding its treatment of certain mortgage-backed securities under the recently passed Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act.

“Our sense is that builders remain constrained by the tight job market for construction labor and rising input costs, particularly lumber costs.”–MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni.

“Americans deserve certainty and stability in the flood insurance marketplace to be able to protect their homes and loved ones. A lapse of the NFIP, especially during the height of hurricane season, will leave millions of Americans at risk and result in severe disruption in the over 20,000 communities across the United States that depend on the NFIP.”–From a joint MBA/trade group letter to House and Senate leadership urging Congress to pass an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program ahead of a July 31 deadline.

“Today’s empty parking spaces can be seen as a land bank in some of the most convenient city locations, or, taken another way, a future is arriving where builders will be able to provide more of everything else and fewer parking spaces.”Eric Scharnhorst, Principal Data Scientist with Parkingmill,, in a new RIHA study, Quantified Parking: Comprehensive Parking Inventories for Five Major U.S. Cities.

“Transparency is increasingly important for commercial real estate, where investors are allocating ever more capital. The availability and quality of information–from prices to ownership–is crucial when trying to make investment decisions, especially in new markets.”–Jeremy Kelly, Director of Global Research with JLL, Chicago.

“Our cities are evolving into places that are more diverse and more interesting than ever, with a mix of neighborhoods defined by distinct characteristics that are drawing different residents and workers for different reasons. There are very few urban areas in which housing is not mixed in or very close to commercial uses.”J. Ronald Terwilliger, Founder and Chairman of the ULI Terwilliger Center.

“The value of Bureau guidance materials lies in their reliability. Unfortunately, the Bureau’s practice of using disclaimers to make guidance non-binding on the Bureau erodes much of its reliability. Regulated entities must be able to rely on guidance to ensure they are operating within the rules. MBA therefore asks that the Bureau stand by its guidance and use disclaimers only when absolutely necessary and provide the rationale for doing so.”–MBA Senior Vice President of Residential Policy and Member Engagement Pete Mills, in a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“Most of the pressure buyers are feeling is from competition for a very limited number of homes for sale. The fact that such a small share of buyers will scrap their plans to buy a home if rates surpass 5 percent reflects their determination to be a part of the housing market.”–Taylor Marr, senior economist with Redfin, Seattle.

“It’s likely that all of the investment in more digitized, automated and efficient mortgage manufacturing and underwriting technology that’s been made in recent years is beginning to pay off. Now the question is, how much lower will it go?”–First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming.

“Historically low mortgage rates and increasingly favorable employment conditions should have generated a far greater number of home purchases by young adults, especially in the last five years. Unfortunately, home-price and rent growth above incomes–driven primarily by a severe shortage of housing supply–have been too high of a hurdle for many would-be buyers to clear.”–Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater.