U.S. Housing Market Commentary
Last week's testimony by Ed DeMarco, current acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, in front of the House Financial Service Committee touched a nerve with many, many people.
HousingWire reporter Christina Mlynski lead coverage of the events by writing about the protesters and lawmakers who were "firing off questions" to DeMarco. With so...
In recent weeks we have seen a number of articles written about compliance, and about the risks of not following best practices and accepted audit and oversight guidance. Those articles point out, correctly, that the risk of noncompliance is significant, and that servicers are holding you accountable for your supply chain. As a result, there has been a flurry of activity across the industry to respond to new mandates and evolving third-party guidelines. Compliance is arguably more of an...
There are two types of legal questions – those that are solved by bright-line rules created through code or court precedent. And those that linger without set-in stone standards, just waiting for a plaintiff’s attorney to take up the case and head to the courthouse hoping for a favorable ruling and possibly establishing precedent along the way.
In my experience, the mortgage space as of late is dominated by the...
Online Editor's Note:
Working at HousingWire puts two things into perspective. The first is the realization that housing will always be a critical part of the nation's economy. And the second, and perhaps most significant, is the recognition that the long path to getting housing back on track means listening to a variety of viewpoints and giving all sides of the conversation a chance to be heard.
In response to a recent article...
CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association David Stevens appeared live on CNBC Squawk Box Friday morning.
The video was geared to inform viewers about the housing market make-up this spring.
However, at the latter end of the 4 minute video the reporter nonchalantly asks Stevens, "Can we get rid of mortgage deductibility? W...
An interesting reaction on Twitter Thursday morning followed a strange trajectory into press reports.
First, the National Association of Realtors stated housing inventory posted this huge monthly leap, nearly 10%.
This was quickly followed by Trulia chief economist and VP of Analytics Jed Kolko commenting on the news.
Several mortgage finance reporters jumped on the latter...
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may catch a lot of flack for his full-speed ahead approach to mortgage-backed securities purchases and low interest rates, but no one can accuse ‘Bernie’ of being out-of-touch with the people, according to Forbes.
A reporter asked Ben Bernanke something rather personal Wednesday. Something along the lines of when was the last time he spoke to a person who is unemployed?
If reporters were looking for Bernanke to come...
It's a monumental day for anyone involved in mortgage lending in England.
During the delivery of his 2013 budget to Parliament, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne revealed a sweeping mortgage stimulus package that is modeled after the Federal Housing Administration guarantee.
It's a major vote of confidence for the American model of housing finance, to see a notoriously difficult mortgage market, such as in England, help...