The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Board of Directors approved a final draft rule governing the registration of mortgage lenders and individual origination employees. It's the latest step in federal and state agencies’ continued implementation of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing (SAFE) Act.

As one of a number of agencies involved in regulating institutions affected by the SAFE Act, the FDIC needed to implement the law’s regulations in its own set of guidelines. Other agencies that have approved final rules or are in the process of doing so include the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Farm Credit Administration and National Credit Union Administration.

The FDIC’s approved rule tracks the definition of a mortgage loan originator, as outlined in the SAFE Act, and requires financial institutions and mortgage originators to register with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLSR).

Along with the federal agencies implementing SAFE Act rules, states legislatures are passing laws to implement the act as well. The deadline for implementing state registration systems was in August, but each state's law creates its own deadline for individuals to register.

Write to Austin Kilgore.

Sellers cut asking prices on housing in the UK by £3,744 (US$6,262.99) this month as the market prepares to move into a seasonal winter lull similar to the one typically seen in the US around the winter holiday months, according to UK property database Rightmove.

Average UK prices are down 1.6% from October but up 1.6% from November 2008. The annual increase reflects seven of 10 regions in positive year-on-year territory as recovery extends to northern regions.

"While the market has recovered from some dreadful lows, this month’s price fall proves that it does not yet have the strength to buck seasonal trends," said commercial director Miles Shipside in commentary on the monthly house price index. "We therefore expect three months of asking price falls before a tentative recovery in early spring… ."

The UK market saw a continued shortage of stock in November, which helped to keep prices somewhat stabilized although the low volume also means the market is more sensitive to seasonal volatility, Rightmove said. The low volumes of both transactions and new property listings indicate liquidity remains restricted, which impairs workforce mobility and keeps people stuck in homes that are too large, too small or too far away from jobs.

There was no apparent rush in November to take advantage of the moratorium on a land stamp duty, Rightmove noted, as lenders' high down payment requirements typically around  25% or more essentially erased the benefits of the incentive. The moratorium is set to expire December 31.

Write to Diana Golobay.

Existing home sales will increase 13.6% in 2010, with 5.69m houses sold during the year, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) projections.

NAR also projects as many as 2.4m first-time homebuyers took advantage of the $8,000 tax credit in 2008. First-time buyers accounted for 47% of home sales in 2009, up from 41% in 2008 and a low of 36% in 2006, NAR added.

NAR projects existing home sales will total 5.01m in 2009, up 2% from 2008, and will increase again to 5.69m in 2010.

“A steady draw down of inventory will help home values to turn positive in 2010, but risks such as unemployment remain in the economy,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

Other NAR projections include new-home sales at 397,000 this year, and increasing to 549,000 in 2010. NAR projects housing starts, including multifamily units, are expected to total 564,000 units in 2009 and grow to 752,000 in 2010.

NAR projects that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will average 5.3% during Q409, but will increase to 5.8% by the Q410.

“We’ve seen a steady downtrend in housing inventory for well over a year and home prices appears to be in the early stages of stabilizing. With expansion of the tax credit to additional buyers through the middle of next year, and no major unforeseen events impacting the economy, home prices should rise between 3 and 5 percent in 2010, but with wide geographic differences,” Yun said.

Write to Austin Kilgore.

President Obama didn't just extend the the homebuyer tax credit's deadline when he  signed the Worker, Homeownership and Business Act of 2009. He extended the credit to repeat buyers and also allowed corporations to recoup certain losses through back taxes.

A report Friday from John Burns Real Estate Consulting advised builders and lenders to staff for higher construction and sales volume than originally planned when selling move-up or move-down homes. The new law allows a tax credit up to $6,500 for move-up buyers that owned and resided in a home for at least five consecutive years of the eight years before the purchase.

The first-time homebuyer tax credit originally scheduled to expire on Dec. 1, 2009, HR 3548 allows first-time buyers to claim 10% of the purchase price of their home, up to $8,000 for single or married taxpayers filing jointly, if they close on the purchase by midnight June 30, 2010. Taxpayers must purchase or be locked into a contract to close before midnight on April 30, 2010.

Some investment banks, however, have reported that the extension could only delay the inevitable. Analysts at the Royal Bank of Scotland said that the housing demand propped up by the tax credit may only delay its fall.

“We don’t believe this is enough money to stimulate more purchases, but it is enough money to get buyers who have been sitting on the fence to get off the fence," John Burns Real Estate Consulting said in the report. "Active adult builders are likely to be the big beneficiary.”

Individuals aren't the only ones benefiting from the Act, which includes a provision for business to recoup certain losses through a tax refund.

Depending on the corporate structure, some institutions can receive a tax refund for selling real estate assets at a loss, according to the John Burns report. Current law usually allows company to recoup taxes over the last two years, but the new Act allows companies to get back taxes from 2003, according to the report.

Known as net operating loss (NOL) carrybacks, the law lets a company that made money and paid taxes on those profits in a past year obtain a tax refund if the company loses money in another year. While the law applies to all US businesses, real estate lawyer Chris Hunter, of the San Francisco bay area law firm Morgan Miller Blair, told HousingWire it’s most applicable to home builders.

“Builders are selling projects at a loss and using that to offset taxes paid in previous year,” Hunter said. "Builders take the tax credit and use it to fund another project in a more desirable, stronger-recovering market.”

There’s a short window for the extended NOL carryback, Hunter added. Businesses selling at a loss must complete the deals before the end of their fiscal year, usually the end of the calendar year.

“Everyone is scrambling and trying to make sure their deals close by Dec. 31,” he said.

The majority of the deals Hunter is working on involved parcels of undeveloped land. Deals are less likely to be done for developed land with completed or semi-constructed homes because of additional insurance and liability concerns.

“The deals that will ultimately close will be land deals between investors with a long-term horizon, which frees up cash for home builders to work on projects where the markets are better,” Hunter said.

Write to Jon Prior.

Austin Kilgore contributed to this report.