Administration Announces Steps to Increase Affordable Housing Supply

The Biden Administration on Wednesday announced a number of steps aimed at creating, preserving and selling to homeowners and non-profits nearly 100,000 additional affordable homes for homeowners and renters over the next three years, with an emphasis on the lower and middle segments of the market.

MBA MAA ‘Call to Action’ on GSE ‘G-Fees’

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s grassroots advocacy arm, the Mortgage Action Alliance, issued a ‘Call to Action’ on Monday to its 70,000-plus members urging them to tell their elected officials to not use government-sponsored enterprise guaranty fees (g-fees) as a source of funding offsets.

MBA, Trade Groups Reiterate Opposition to G-Fee Offsets

Fresh off of last week’s regulatory victory in which the Federal Housing Finance Agency withdrew its controversial adverse market refinance fee, the Mortgage Bankers Association and several dozen industry trade groups took fresh aim at another controversial practice—a move in Congress to use the government-sponsored enterprises’ guaranty fees—known as “g-fees”—to offset funding for non-housing programs.

MBA Asks FHFA for Clarity on GSE Short-Term Rental Policies

The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a July 6 letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, asked FHFA for more definitive guidance on the government-sponsored enterprises’ policies on mortgages for properties that include short-term rental units.

Freddie Mac: Moratoria Staved Off Eviction Crisis During Pandemic

Freddie Mac, McLean Va., said federal and local moratoria in response to the COVID-19 pandemic largely prevented an eviction crisis involving property renters—but the amount of back rent still owed is a “concerning factor” going forward.