Homeownership

HUD: Commemorating Fair Housing Month and 50 Years of the Fair Housing Act

Nearly 50 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and fair housing became law.  In signing the landmark measure, President Johnson declared, “Now, with this bill, the voice of justice speaks again. It proclaims that Fair Housing for all, all human beings who live in this country, is now part…

HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report for February 2018

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for February 2018: New Home Sales Sales of new single-family houses in February 2018 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 618,000. This is 0.6 percent (±13.3 percent)* below the revised January…

FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.8 Percent in January 2018

U.S. house prices rose in January, up 0.8 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI).  The previously reported 0.3 percent increase in December was revised upward to 0.4 percent. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages…

FHFA: Report Shows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Foreclosure Preventions Surpass 4 Million

Hurricanes Impact Delinquency Rate The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its fourth quarter Foreclosure Prevention Report, which shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 67,569 foreclosure prevention actions in the fourth quarter of 2017, bringing the total number of homeowners helped to 4,040,258 since the start of the conservatorships in…

HUD: Secretary Carson Launches New Financial Controls Including Grant Modernization

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson today announced new measures to protect the financial integrity of the agency and correct lax internal processes and controls. Secretary Carson directed HUD’s newly appointed Chief Financial Officer, Irving Dennis, to design and implement a transformation plan and lead an internal taskforce to combat…

OCC: Report Shows Mortgage Performance Data Unchanged in Fourth Quarter 2017

Performance of first-lien mortgages remained largely unchanged during the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with a year earlier, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) quarterly report on mortgages. The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report, Fourth Quarter 2017, showed 94.5 percent of mortgages included in the report were current and performing at…

CFPB: Final Rule Issued to Help Mortgage Servicers Communicate with Certain Borrowers Facing Bankruptcy

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today issued a final rule to help mortgage servicers communicate with certain borrowers facing bankruptcy. The final rule gives mortgage servicers more latitude in providing periodic statements to consumers entering or exiting bankruptcy, as required by the Bureau’s 2016 mortgage servicing rule. The Truth in Lending Act requires mortgage…

Census Bureau: Housing Vacancy Survey Annual Results Available for 2017

Today the U.S. Census Bureau released annual statistics for the 2017 rental and homeowner vacancy rates, homeownership rates and characteristics of units available for rent for the United States, regions, states and the 75 largest metropolitan statistical areas. Data for all geographies are from the Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey and are available annually. Homeownership…

FHFA: U.S. House Prices Rise 1.6 Percent in Fourth Quarter 2017

U.S. house prices rose 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI).   House prices rose 6.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016 to the fourth quarter of 2017.  FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for December was up 0.3 percent from November. The HPI is…

CFPB: Thinking About Buying a House in 2018? Here’s What You Need to Know

Are you thinking about buying a house this year? We’ve got tools and resources that will help you get your financial house in order as you prepare to look for that perfect place to call home—and shop for a mortgage that’s right for you. Just as in 2017, the supply of homes for sale is…