The Lede

Whether it's because of a growing family or need for more space, upgrading to a larger home comes with a price-in some cases, as much as a 50 percent increase in monthly mortgage payments, said Zillow, Seattle.

If housing is the driver of the economy, then property taxes are apparently the driver of government.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rates increased again in March as another wave of loans turned newly delinquent, reported Trepp, New York.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's annual National Secondary Market Conference & Expo returns to the New York Marriott Marquis April 30-May 3.

The Mortgage Bankers Association Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference takes place May 21-24 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.

The Mortgage Bankers Association launched the MBA Servicing Transfer Matrix, a new member benefit to help MBA members navigate the regulations, investor standards and suggested practice governing servicing transfers.

Reuters, Apr. 5, 2017--Eric WalshU.S. President Donald Trump hopes to sign "several more" measures into law before the end of April to roll back Obama-era regulations under the time-limited Congressional Review Act, a White House official said on Wednesday.

Mortgage Daily, Apr. 10, 2017For the second time since late last year, the parent of United Wholesale Mortgage has reached a settlement with government authorities. The latest action was due to interest overcharges.

Mortgage Daily, Apr. 7, 2017Genworth Mortgage Insurance announced a reduction in the cost of its mortgage insurance premiums in a variety of lending circumstances.

Washington Post, Apr. 9, 2017--Kenneth R. HarneyThough no major reform plan would eliminate the mortgage-interest deduction, House Republicans' early blueprint would side-step it by almost doubling the standard deduction from $12,600 to $24,000 for joint filers ($12,000 for single filers).

New York Times, Apr. 7, 2017--Gretchen MorgensonYou may not know much about Craig S. Phillips, special counselor to Steven Mnuchin, the United States Treasury secretary. Getting to know Mr. Phillips and his background is a worthwhile exercise, especially because he's determining the Trump administration's path forward on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants that remain in conservatorship.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 7, 2017--Ian McKendry (subscription)A Senate Republican effort to use an obscure legislative process to restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could derail any bipartisan agreement on targeted changes to the Dodd-Frank Act.

HousingWire, Apr. 7, 2017--Ben LaneTwo of the nation's largest PACE lenders, Renovate America and Renew Financial, issued statements in response to the introduction of the PACE Act and the rhetoric surrounding it, stating that the bill is actually a Trojan horse designed to destroy the PACE industry.

HousingWire, Apr. 6, 2017--Ben LaneA new report from Standard & Poor's Global Ratings shows that residential mortgage-backed securities-related issuance doubled in the first quarter compared to last year.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 6, 2017--Robert PatrickA federal appeals court upheld a jury award of $500,000 to an Overland woman, saying that jurors had "ample evidence" to find that her mortgage services company, Nationstar Mortgae LLC, "acted with a reckless indifference to her rights."

Mortgage Daily, Apr. 6, 2017Past-due payments rose on three-out-of-four housing-related consumer loan types at banks--with mobile-home loan delinquency exploding.

HousingWire, Apr. 6, 2017--Ben LaneThe bipartisan House and Senate bills received support from both the Mortgage Bankers Association and the California Association of Realtors.

GoRion, Apr. 4, 2017--Mark FogartyAlternative mortgages will present investors a $150 billion minimum choice versus agency product in 2017, even if the overall origination market declines, according to one executive whose firm is starting to securitize non-QM loans.

Mortgage Daily, Apr. 5, 2017Federally insured reverse mortgage production jumped to the highest level since the summer of 2015 despite a drop in the number of originators.

Bloomberg, Apr. 5, 2017--Benjamin Bain; Robert SchmidtPresident Donald Trump's push to roll back Wall Street regulations is being held up by his inability to fill open seats at the two main agencies charged with overseeing the financial industry.

HousingWire, Apr. 5, 2017--Ben LaneOn Wednesday, Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, appeared before the House Financial Services Committee for his twice-a-year Molotov cocktail of compliments and insults from the committee's Democrats and Republicans.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 5, 2017--Ben Eisen; Min Zeng (subscription)The Federal Reserve has been buying up fewer mortgage bonds in recent months thanks to a flameout of the American refinancing boom, one factor that economists say is likely to help shape Fed officials' thinking as they consider shrinking their giant bond portfolio.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 5, 2017--Kirsten Grind (subscription)Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced legislation Wednesday that would require private lenders in a loan program known as Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, to be regulated much like traditional mortgage lenders.

NPR, Apr. 4, 2017--Anya KamenetzAttending college can boost your earning power, but student debt can affect your chances of owning a home, a new Federal Reserve Bank of New York report said.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 4, 2017--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Over the next 18 months, 35% of the millennials responding said they would consider applying for a HELOC versus 15% of Gen-Xers and 4% of baby boomers, a survey of over 1,350 U.S. homeowners conducted for TD Bank found.

Reuters, Apr. 4, 2017--Lisa Lambert; Sarah N. LynchThe clock began running out this week on a strategy that has provided U.S. Republicans in Congress with their only notable legislative successes this year: aggressive use of an obscure U.S. law known as the Congressional Review Act.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 4, 2017--Emily Glazer (subscription)J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Chief James Dimon laid out his wishlist of regulatory changes in his annual shareholder letter Tuesday, calling for simpler and better coordinated rules that could help to spur more lending and in turn economic growth.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 4, 2017--Ian McKendry (subscription)Although the Dodd-Frank Act made some positive changes, including requiring stress tests and giving government the power to unwind large banking companies, the weight of its regulations is killing small banks, Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, said Tuesday.