Over the summer, the Department of Justice gave up its five-year pursuit of former Jefferies managing director and mortgage-backed securities trader Jesse Litvak, ending the DOJ’s effort to jail the trader for allegedly lying to customers about mortgage bond trades. And now, the Securities and Exchange Commission has done the same thing.

In 2018, the housing market experienced its fair share of up and downs, attributed to many factors including affordability and inventory concerns. But as the year comes to an end, homebuyers will be walking into 2019 with more pep in their step. Here’s why.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is facing serious management challenges that are causing longstanding performance and accountability issues. An annual report released by HUD's Office of Inspector General outlines the top six management challenges facing the agency in 2019, and the details aren’t pretty.

In a move that strikes a blow against decades of racial inequality and could prove to a boon to multifamily developers, the city of Minneapolis is on the verge of ending single-family residential zoning. Under the plan, duplexes and triplexes would be allowed in neighborhoods that only previously allowed single-family housing.

Long-time housing finance reform advocate Mark Calabria is reportedly the Trump administration's choice to lead the FHFA after Mel Watt's term ends early next year. Calabria currently serves as Vice President Mike Pence's chief economist. As Pence's economist, Calabria famously called for the end of the conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Is that a sign of things to come?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced Monday that they will not be evicting any families during this holiday season. The suspension will last through the new year, but during that time legal and administrative proceedings will continue.

Sources continue to inform HousingWire of new information regarding CoesterVMS as it appears it may be running out of money and leaving some appraisers unpaid. Plus, find out what the housing industry thinks of the new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The good news is that mortgage brokers continue to outpace their retail counterparts in business growth, a trend that has lasted the better part of two years now, especially as the market has been so heavily dominated by purchases.