Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte – both onstage last month at MBA Secondary and in several media interviews – has stressed that he is focused on lowering consumer costs and improving efficiency across the mortgage ecosystem, writes MBA President & CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB.
Category: News and Trends
Hidden Costs of Homeownership Average $21,400 Annually, Bankrate Reports
The average annual hidden costs associated with homeownership for a single-family home in the United States total $21,400, a new study from Bankrate found.
Chart of the Week: SERC Mortgage Credit Risk Index
An updated measure of GSE-eligible credit risk was recently released by the Smith Enterprise Risk Consortium (SERC) at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Servicing Quote of the Week
“Mortgage delinquency rates held steady at a low level in the first quarter of 2025. Roughly 40% of metropolitan areas showed increases in the overall delinquency rate, comparable to the share from the fourth quarter of 2024,”
–Molly Boesel, Senior Principal Economist at Cotality
Advocacy Victory: Maryland OFR Rescinds Mortgage Trust Licensing Policies Following Enactment of MBA-Supported Legislation
Recently the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) announced that it rescinded its previous guidance that required the licensing of passive mortgage trusts following advocacy from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the Maryland Mortgage Bankers and Brokers Association (MMBBA).
Cotality: Mortgage Delinquencies Steady in March
Cotality, Irvine, Calif., released its Loan Performance Indicators, finding that delinquencies were flat in March on an annual basis.
Neptune Flood: Texas at Risk of Flood Insurance Shortfall
Neptune Flood, St. Petersburg, Fla., released an analysis of flood risk for Texas, finding that only 7% of residential properties statewide have flood insurance, despite considerable chance of flooding.
ICE Mortgage Monitor: Record Levels of Home Equity, Falling Rates Drive Highest HELOC Withdraws Since 2008
U.S. mortgage holders carried a record $17.6 trillion in home equity entering the second quarter–with $11.5 trillion considered “tappable”–according to ICE Mortgage Technology, Atlanta.
MISMO Creates Standard for Electronic HELOCs
MISMO, the real estate finance industry’s standards organization, announced that it is seeking public comment on the SMART Doc V3 eHELOC Specification.
Redfin: Value of Homes on the Market Hits Record
Redfin, Seattle, released a new report finding that there are $698 billion in homes currently on the market–the highest dollar amount ever recorded.