FEMA: Partnerships and Progress – $10 Billion in Disaster Assistance in the Hands of Texans
AUSTIN, Texas – More than $10 billion in state and federal resources and plenty of hard work by resilient Texans pave the way to recovery from Hurricane Harvey. Here’s a snapshot of recovery 90 days after the Category 4 storm struck Texas: $1.4 billion in federal grants were approved for 350,000 homeowners and renters. $2.6…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Decreased in October 2017
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from September to October, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts. The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 3.98 percent for loans closed in late October, down 2 basis points from 4.00 percent in September….
Federal Reserve: FEDS | Bank Failures, Capital Buffers and Exposure to the Housing Market Bubble
Bank Failures, Capital Buffers, and Exposure to the Housing Market Bubble (PDF) Gazi I. Kara and Cindy M. Vojtech Abstract: We empirically document that banks with greater exposure to high home price-to-income ratio regions in 2005 and 2006 have higher mortgage delinquency and charge-off rates and significantly higher probabilities of failure during the last financial crisis…
HUD: $616 Million in Grants Awarded to Help Florida Recover from Hurricane Irma
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded $615,922,000 to help hard-hit areas in the State of Florida to recover from Hurricane Irma. The grant announced today by the Trump Administration is provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program and will support the repair of damaged homes,…
FHFA: U.S. House Prices Rise 1.4 Percent in Third Quarter 2017
U.S. house prices rose 1.4 percent in the third quarter of 2017 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI). House prices rose 6.5 percent from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for September was up 0.3 percent from August. The…
HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report for October 2017
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau today jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for October 2017: NEW HOME SALES Sales of new single-family houses in October 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the Department…
FHFA: 2018 Multifamily Lending Caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Announced
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced that the 2018 multifamily lending caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will be $35 billion for each Enterprise, down from $36.5 billion in 2017. The caps are based on projections of the overall size of the 2018 multifamily originations market, which FHFA expects to…
CFPB: Identification of Language Preference on the Uniform Residential Loan Application
The Bureau issued an official approval of the final redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA), which will include a question about mortgage applicants’ language preference starting as early as July 2019. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to add this question to the URLA, which is a form that…
CFPB: VA Refinancing Offers that Sound Too Good to Be True
By Patrick Campbell and Anthony Vail – NOV 20, 2017 Situation The CFPB and VA are issuing their first WARNO, “Warning Order,” to servicemembers and veterans with VA home loans. If you have a VA home loan, then there is a good chance that you have already come into contact with unsolicited offers to refinance…
FEMA: Resources for Smart Rebuilding After Hurricane Irma
If your property was damaged by Hurricane Irma, there are resources available to help you build back stronger and safer to prevent damage from future disasters. Start repairs to make your home safe and livable again as soon as possible. Get a building permit from your local building department before beginning structural work. As you…