U.S. Housing Market Commentary

Posted by Brena Swanson on 4/23/13 at 3:42pm

It is now common knowledge that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is implementing new regulations on January 17, 2014, trickling down through the grapevine to yesterday’s news. However, the news ends on the issue that there are new regulations, few go into detail about what the new rules entail.

The CFPB amended and issued the final ruling on Regulation Z, the Truth in Lending Act, and Regulation X, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, on January 10, 2013...

Servicing
Posted by Kerri Ann Panchuk on 4/23/13 at 11:23am

Want to be a top mortgage servicer? It's possible with the implementation of key customer service guidelines, industry analysts claim.

The best way to improve the overall mortgage servicing experience is to streamline communications, ensuring borrowers know whenever a serviced loan is being transferred or changed in some way, said Craig Martin, director of consulting firm J.D. Power and Associates.

While speaking to a crowd at the SourceMedia...

Servicing
Posted by Megan Hopkins on 4/23/13 at 10:21am

It looks like supply and demand isn’t only pushing home prices up, indicating a strong and healthy housing recovery — it is also forcing rent to increase, widening the affordability gap. 

In suburban Cook County in Illinois, the affordability gap skyrocketed 25% between 2007 and 2011. But in the midst of all of this, the amount of renters grew by 11% in the suburbs in the same time period, according to a ...

Real Estate
Posted by Megan Hopkins on 4/22/13 at 11:05am

Everybody seems to be an activist on Earth Day. However, there are a number of big homebuilders that enforce sustainability efforts on a regular basis.

KB Home ($23.99 -0.09%), for instance, has delivered more than 1,000 solar homes, opened new ZeroHouse 2.0 model homes (net-zero-energy homes) and introduced new water efficient...

Real Estate
Posted by Kerri Ann Panchuk on 4/22/13 at 9:42am

The problem with the housing recovery – and the lingering foreclosure issue – is everyone wants to do something, but not everyone is in agreement. What does the mortgage market need to step bravely into the future and resolve existing housing issues going forward?

States have launched sweeping legislative reforms tied to housing, while federal housing policy is continuing to extend its reach far away from Washington D.C.

California may in fact become an example of what happens...

Servicing
Posted by Kerri Ann Panchuk on 4/18/13 at 4:35pm

You may be focused more on originations than servicing, or vice versa, but in a market where lending is now picking up speed and servicing is starting to wind down, diversification may be the way to go.

The new CEO of MortgageDocs Christian Redmond believes in this concept of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

In his role for only two weeks, Redmond told HousingWire that while his company’s clients are mostly...

Servicing
Posted by Christina Mlynski on 4/18/13 at 12:26pm

Ed DeMarco, current acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, was surprisingly greeted by members of the Senate Banking Committee with warm remarks.

They even applauded DeMarco for his work since he is overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two very complex systems.

However, it wouldn’t be a showdown in the committee room unless a few sparks flew.

One of the biggest decisions DeMarco...

Investments
Posted by Megan Hopkins on 4/17/13 at 11:42am

After months of house hunting — constant checking of MLS sites, evening neighborhood drive-bys and weekends filled with house touring — I believe I’ve found the secret sauce: personalizing your offer. 

My husband and I have placed offers on two different homes over the past few months, one of which had 10 other offers. The Dallas-area markets are brutal for buyers right now. Not only were we feeling dejected, but we were beginning to feel...

Real Estate
Posted by Jonathan Corr on 4/17/13 at 11:41am

Is the mortgage origination market reverting to the mean? By that, of course, I mean the traditional 60/40 or 70/30 relationship between purchases and refinances.

It sure sounded that way yesterday when the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reiterated its forecast for this year and next. According to MBA economist Mike Fratantoni, the most likely outcome for 2013 is an origination market with $835 billion in refinances and purchases growing to $597 billion.

If...

Lending
Posted by Jacob Gaffney on 4/17/13 at 10:58am

Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, is a rumored candidate to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Sitting FHFA director Ed DeMarco has been at the center of housing debate for a few years now, with the Obama...

Servicing