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…
Census Bureau: Declining Mover Rate Driven by Renters
The rate at which renters moved in 2017 was at a historic low of 21.7 percent, compared to 35.2 percent in 1988, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data released today from the Current Population Survey. However, renters still moved at a higher rate than owners (21.7 percent compared with 5.5 percent, respectively). “Although renters…
HUD: FHA Releases 2017 Annual Report to Congress
Capital Reserves remain above statutory minimum for third straight year The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today released its 2017 Annual Report to Congress on the economic condition of the agency’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMI Fund). FHA reports that at the end FY 2017, the MMI Fund had a total economic net worth of $25.6…
CFPB: Newly Available Data Shows Lowest Mortgage Delinquency Rate Since the Financial Crisis
Newly Available Data Shows Lowest Mortgage Delinquency Rate Since the Financial Crisis The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced the launch of a new Mortgage Performance Trends tool that tracks delinquency rates nationwide. Information newly available through this tool shows that mortgage delinquency rates nationally are at their lowest point since the financial crisis….
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Decreased in September 2017
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from August to September, 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 4.00 percent for loans closed in late September, down 5 basis points from 4.05 percent in August….
FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.7 Percent in August 2017
U.S. house prices rose in August, up 0.7 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.2 percent increase in July was revised upward to 0.4 percent. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages…
ABA: ABA to Congress – GSE Reform Essential to Stability of Housing Finance
The American Bankers Association outlined a set of key principles that should guide GSE reform, and explained why legislative action is needed to preserve access for lenders of all sizes and from all regions of the country in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee today. Brenda Hughes, senior vice president and director of mortgage…