MBA Newslinks Archive

“Certainly the U.S. apartment market has well exceeded expectations, and barring a major slowdown in the broader economy, those trends should continue.”
–Jay Parsons, director of analytics and forecasts with MPF Research, Dallas.

“There were plenty of reasons for the office metrics to slump this quarter: financial market volatility, China’s economic slowdown, the rapid appreciation of the U.S. dollar and uncertainty regarding monetary policy along with the possibility of a government shutdown. [However,] the property markets are proving time and time again to be resilient in the face of all of these headwinds.”
–Kevin Thorpe, chief economist with Cushman & Wakefield, Los Angeles.

“We are deeply concerned about how marketing services agreements are undermining important consumer protections against kickbacks, Companies do not seem to be recognizing the extent of the risks posed by implementing and monitoring these agreements within the bounds of the law.”
–Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, who said marketing services agreements carry legal and regulatory risk for lenders under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.   

“Irrespective of potential future interest rate hikes and the effect they may have on the current velocity of commercial real estate capital changing hands within or between countries, real estate has earned its place as a core portfolio holding and is producing favorable total returns against alternative investment options.”
–Mark Rose, chairman and CEO of Avison Young, Toronto.

“The number of applications for purchase and refinance mortgages soared last week due both to renewed rate volatility and as many applications were filed prior to the TILA-RESPA regulatory change.”
–MBA Vice President of Research and Economics Lynn Fisher.

“A temporary legal safe harbor for lenders will ensure the new requirements are implemented in an orderly manner and that consumers are not confused or, worse yet, impaired in their ability to purchase a home or refinance a loan.”
–From an MBA Mortgage Action Alliance Call to Action urging support for House legislation that would give lenders a safe harbor period for compliance with new TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure rules. 

“If and when interest rates do rise, likely occurring by the end of 2015, it will be timed with a decrease in real estate market activity typical through the fall and winter seasons. This unfortunate pairing will most likely cause a slowdown in price growth for most markets, which already seems to be in motion across much of the country.”
–Alex Villacorta, vice president of research and analytics with Clear Capital, Reno, Nev.

“Even in the unlikely event that income growth greatly outpaces rent gains, the number of severely cost-burdened renters will remain near current record levels.” 
–Christopher Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

“The financial crisis had a big impact on the way the mortgage industry approaches quality management. It created the impetus to dramatically change how the industry thinks about quality. Regulators and investors are now looking for banks and other lenders to have comprehensive and detailed quality programs in place.”
–Jeffrey Hulett, managing director with KPMG LLP, Tysons Corner, Va.

“MBA believes the Know Before You Owe rule will make the mortgage process better for consumers. However, as the survey shows, implementation has proven far more difficult than both industry and the CFPB anticipated due in large measure to the complexity of the technology and systems that have put in place over the years and the challenges of integrating separate systems across the industry. There also continue to be reports that some vendors have not delivered systems in working shape. These issues are not isolated, as a significant proportion of the industry is concerned that their customers are at risk of failing to close or incurring additional costs in the first few months following the October 3 effective date.”
–MBA Senior Vice President Residential Policy and Member Engagement Pete Mills.