Category: Top National News

HousingWire, Aug. 22, 2018–Ben LaneHUD said Wednesday that it will continue moving forward in its effort to change a controversial Obama-era fair housing rule now that a federal court has struck down a challenge to the Trump administration’s moves.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 22, 2018–Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)Better consumer credit quality helped push the serious mortgage delinquency rate to its lowest level since the Great Recession, but originations remain low due to a combination of tighter underwriting standards and eroding homebuyer affordability, according to TransUnion.

Mortgage Daily, Aug. 22, 2018More than a billion dollars in single-family loans that were previously non-performing are being moved from Freddie Mac’s balance sheet to a securitized trust.

HousingWire, Aug. 21, 2018–Ben LaneAccording to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the GSEs’ expansion into single-family rentals was conducted on a “test and learn” basis, designed to determine if the GSEs were needed to support the growing single-family rental market. But FHFA said that it has since learned that the market can function without the GSEs.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 21, 2018–Hannah Long (subscription)Scrutiny of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt continues to mount as he faces an equal-pay lawsuit from the employee who alleged he sexually harassed her and mainstream news outlets report more details about the growing scandal.

HousingWire, Aug. 22, 2018–Ben LaneThe Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight announced early Wednesday morning that all of the servicers under its oversight have completed their servicing obligations and the monitor’s work is now complete.

Mortgage Daily, Aug. 21, 2018Serious delinquency on first mortgages was little changed last month, as has been the case for a half-decade, said S&P and Experian. In Miami, serious consumer delinquency plunged more than 60 basis points.

Mortgage Orb, Aug. 20, 2018–Patrick BarnardThe delinquency rate on one-to-four-unit residential properties fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.36% as of the end of the second quarter, down 27 basis points from the 4.63% previous quarter, but up 12 basis points from 4.24% a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

National Mortgage News, Aug. 20, 2018–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)HUD’s move, along with a separate statement of interest by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in a case filed by fair housing advocates, indicated the practices allegedly continued even after Facebook reported disabling those features after their existence became common knowledge nearly two years earlier.

American Banker, Aug. 20, 2018–Kate Berry (subscription)Late last year, 17 state attorneys general pledged to fill the gap if Consumer Financial Protection Bureau slowed its enforcement activity under acting Director Mick Mulvaney. But their efforts to compensate for a less aggressive CFPB have so far been a mixed bag.