MBA Newslinks Archive

“Rules should be clear; accountability should be rational. Credit, including private capital, must be accessible.”–MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB.

“While the Federal Reserve Bank will likely increase interest rates later this year, rates would have to turn sharply higher to push the rent vs. buy decision towards renting. Nationally and in the 100 largest markets, rising home prices are more likely to have an impact on homebuyers’ bottom line than increasing rates.”–Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist with Trulia, San Francisco.

“Multifamily mortgage borrowing and lending set a new record in 2015. Demand for mortgages was driven by strong property fundamentals, increasing property values, a robust transaction market and low interest rates.”
–MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell.

“mPower is designed to recognize and promote the rise of women in the real estate finance industry, as well as the overall workforce. Our goal is to provide information, events and a networking platform to help women maximize their overall potential.” –MBA Chief Operating Officer Marcia Davies.

“From the beginning, collaboration has been key to MISMO’s mission to serve the mortgage industry. MISMO Connect builds upon this tradition of collaboration by providing a rich, interactive environment where MISMO members can discuss ideas, share resources and receive up-to-the-minute information on MISMO workgroup activities.” –Jan Davis, Vice President of MISMO.

“The sharing economy’s de-emphasis on ownership will be reflected in soaring demand for rental units. Well over half of the new households created over the next decade will rent, including those who have never owned and those making the switch from owning to renting as they age.”–From an Urban Land Institute report on homeownership/renter demographics.

“The average credit score for a borrower today is about 40 points higher than it was back in 2000–by most accounts a healthy time for the market–and overall, the market is simply taking on much less credit risk that it was back then. With their lower average credit scores, Hispanics are disproportionately affected by this tightening, particularly at the Federal Housing Administration.”–Jim Parrott and Yamillet Payano, authors of an Urban Institute report on Hispanic homeownershp rates.

“MBA has for decades advocated for a bright line between primary and secondary markets,” the letter said. “One aspect of this bright line is that primary market lenders select front-end credit enhancements, while the GSEs structure back-end credit enhancements.”
–MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, in a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

“We recognize that the CFPB does important work to protect consumers and that this case is far from settled and expect the government to continue to litigate it. We will continue to fight on behalf of our members, particularly on the RESPA and due process issues, as they go to the heart of a core argument that MBA has been making for several years now–that lenders need clear, consistent and reasonable interpretations of the rules in order to be able to best serve their borrowers and contribute to a smoothly functioning real estate market.”–Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, on yesterday’s court decision ruling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s current structure as “unconstitutional.”

“A low inventory of REO and short sale properties is a sign of a healthy mortgage industry, but also indicates an overall shortage of homes available on the market in the area, as even less desirable homes with potential condition-related issues are moving increasingly quickly off the market.”–Alex Villacorta, Vice President of Research and Analytics with Clear Capital, Reno, Nev.