Category: Top National News

HousingWire, Aug. 30, 2018–Ben LaneReis currently provides analysis and forecasts for 275 metropolitan markets and 7,700 submarkets in multifamily, affordable housing, office, retail, student housing and senior housing.

Washington Post, Aug. 29, 2018–Kenneth R. HarneyFrom January through March of this year, the average credit score for new-home purchase loans was 672, according to FHA data. By contrast, the average was 701 during the same period in 2011. Refinancings where borrowers replace their existing FHA loans with new ones carried average FICO scores of 709 in mid-2012; earlier this year, that had plummeted to 661.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 29, 2018–Hannah Long (subscription)More than three years after a Supreme Court ruling validated “disparate impact” as a legal argument in fair-lending cases, the banking industry and housing advocacy groups are still at odds over how to interpret the decision.

Mortgage Daily, Aug. 29, 2018A more than 20-basis-point drop in delinquency on securitized commercial real estate loans left the rate at its lowest level in nine years, said Moody’s Investors Service.

Wall Street Journal, Aug. 28, 2018–Lalita Clozel (subscription)The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency took the first step Tuesday toward rewriting rules for lending in lower-income neighborhoods, an effort that could allow institutions to redirect billions of dollars spent on loans and investments.

HousingWire, Aug. 28, 2018–Kelsey RamirezThe Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Tuesday its new proposed rule which would amend its rule on golden parachute payments in order to reduce compliance burdens.

Reuters, Aug. 28, 2018–Katanga JohnsonThe Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday that it charged Moody’s Investor Service with failing to clearly define and consistently apply credit-rating symbols in a first-ever ratings-related enforcement action by the regulator.

RESPA News, Aug. 27, 2018The Fair Housing Act standard on disparate impact is dated and should be amended, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association and eight other trade groups.

NPR, Aug. 27, 2018–Cory TurnerIn a scathing resignation letter, Seth Frotman, who until now was the Student Loan Ombudsman at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, says current leadership “has turned its back on young people and their financial futures.” The letter was addressed to Mick Mulvaney, the bureau’s acting director.

American Banker, Aug. 27, 2018–Hannah Long (subscription)The Congressional Budget Office has found that restructuring the mortgage market would save the government tens of billions of dollars, but could also increase the cost of housing, presenting yet another hurdle for lawmakers looking to reform mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.