MBA Newslink Wednesday 6-1-16

“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.

MBA Newslink Tuesday 5-31-16

“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.

MBA Newslink Friday 5-27-16

“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.

MBA Newslink Thursday 5-26-16

“Borrowers who cannot obtain credit due to a limited credit history often turn to predatory options such as payday lending, which come with sky-high interest rates. Others may have to delay major transactions, like buying a car or purchasing a house. In turn, this can spiral into financial ruin. For these reasons, industry participants must be more inclusive and actively seek out ways to score the previously ‘unscoreable.’ Otherwise, we may be overlooking a large proportion of credit-worthy borrowers including many potential first-time home buyers.”
–Barrett Burns, president and CEO of VantageScore Solutions, Stamford, Conn.

MBA Newslink Wednesday 5-25-16

“We’ve seen some small borrowers who have provided financial statements handwritten on paper or on napkins or otherwise lacking the sophistication that they need. Making sure borrowers have the right financial professionals engaged is important.”–Bonnie Hochman Rothell, Partner with Morris, Manning & Martin LLP, Washington, D.C., on small balance lending.

MBA Newslink Tuesday 5-24-16

“This is an important piece of bipartisan legislation which will help all lenders recruit experienced mortgage loan officers without unnecessary barriers to employment mobility and job opportunity.”–MBA President and CEO David Stevens, CMB, on yesterday’s unanimous House passage of H.R. 2121.

MBA Newslink Monday 5-23-16

“Condo prices are garnering media attention as markets like Miami are beginning to lose some of their momentum.”–Mark Vitner, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C.

MBA Newslink Friday 5-20-16

“Despite peak value concerns, the strength of Manhattan’s underlying economy and the robust demand for properties are enough to inspire optimism in the majority of New York City commercial real estate professionals.”
–William Jennings, Partner-in-Charge of Marks Paneth’s Real Estate Group. 

MBA Newslink Thursday 5-19-16

“Policies driven by the government appear to be geared toward expanding the credit box. But incentives within the system appear to challenge the ability of lenders to expand the credit spectrum…our challenge is to strike the right balance.”–Faith Schwartz, senior vice president of government affairs with CoreLogic, Washington, D.C.

MBA Newslink Wednesday 5-18-16

“We need to focus on how to make better credit decisions. Demographically, we have a lot more minority home buyers coming into the market and it’s going to force us all to figure out how to address these new households. In some cases, we will have multiple families living in the same house and we need to create products that appeal to those situations.”
–Dave Lowman, executive vice president of single-family business with Freddie Mac, McLean, Va.