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…
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…
FHFA: Maximum Conforming Loan Limits Announced for 2018
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2018. In most of the U.S., the 2018 maximum conforming loan limit for one-unit properties will be $453,100, an increase from $424,100 in 2017. Baseline limit The Housing and Economic…
FDIC: Webinar Announced on Resources for Accessing Affordable Mortgage Credit for December 8th
Printable Format: FIL-61-2017 – PDF (PDF Help) Summary: The FDIC is hosting a webinar on December 8, 2017, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The webinar will highlight the FDIC’s Affordable Mortgage Lending Guide, and panelists will discuss state and federal mortgage products. The goal is to increase lenders’ awareness and understanding of…
CFPB: Five Ways Banks and Lenders Work with People Who Speak or Understand Limited English
By Alice Chang and Dubis Correal and Holly Zaharchuk More than one out of every 12 people over the age of five in the U.S. are limited English proficient (LEP), meaning that they speak English less than very well, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 American Community Survey One-Year Estimates. LEP consumers may…
Joint Release: Agencies Amend CRA Regulations to Conform to HMDA Regulation Changes and Remove References to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program
The federal bank regulatory agencies have amended their respective Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations primarily to conform to changes made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to Regulation C, which implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Since 1995, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and…
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…
FHFA: Total Refinance Volume Ticks Up Slightly in Third Quarter 2017
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today reported that more than 362,934 refinances were completed in the third quarter of 2017, compared with 356,707 in the second quarter. FHFA’s third quarter Refinance Report also shows that more than 6,913 loans were refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), bringing the total number of HARP…