Government

Fitch Ratings released a commentary Thursday asserting that FHFA's plan to clarify the triggers for a loan repurchase request could be a boon for the industry at large. FHFA had made an earlier announcement that the agency intended to clarify its positions on the appropriate triggers for a putback request from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The GSEs have asked for more than $80 billion in flawed loan repurchases from lenders over the past three years. As a result, it has been argued that lenders have raised standards for loans beyond what many homebuyers can achieve. In the commentary, Fitch suggested that laying out putback triggers and reducing putback liability will have an overall positive effect for the housing market.

Data shows that the onset of the housing crisis brought with it an increase in students taking out loans for higher education. Since the third quarter of 2008, student loan debt has increased by 47.9 percent ($293 million). This increase is attributed to the drop in the availability of home equity loans, which are often used by homeowning parents to finance their children's education. While student loan debt has risen, NAHB's analysis dismissed speculation that loan delinquency could spell disaster for housing and the economy.

The deadline to request a free, independent foreclosure review has been extended for another two months, and so far, nearly 200,000 people have requested a foreclosure review, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Board announced Thursday. The new deadline to request an independent foreclosure review is getting pushed back from July 31 to September 30, 2012. The review is for those who believe they have suffered financial harm as result of servicing errors during a foreclosure process between 2009 and 2010.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's proposed Foreclosure Fraud Prevention Act of 2012 passed in the state Assembly, the Office of the Attorney General announced Thursday. Schneiderman introduced the legislation as part of an effort to protect homeowners from foreclosure and crack down on fraudulent business practices. The Foreclosure Fraud Prevention Act defines ""residential mortgage foreclosure fraud"" and imposes criminal penalties-including jail time-for employees who engage in fraudulent conduct (like knowingly authorizing, preparing, executing, or filing false documents in a foreclosure action) or managers who knowingly tolerate such behavior.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), average mortgage rates are easing, even in the face of troubling economic signs. The 30-year FRM averaged 3.66 (0.7 point) for the week ending June 21, down from 3.71 percent the previous week. At the same time in 2011, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.5 percent. The 15-year FRM averaged 2.95 percent (0.6 point), down from 2.98 percent in the last survey and a year-over-year drop from 3.69 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) both slipped down, as well.

Under a new guideline, military members with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans will now have an easier time with short sales. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco announced in a release Thursday that military homeowners who receive Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders can sell their homes via short sale without having to go into default first. Last year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued guidance to servicers to have PCS orders count as a hardship for military members seeking relief. The new policy takes an even greater step forward and will allow military members with PCS orders to sell a primary residence purchased on or before June 30, 2012 for less than the balance on their mortgages even when current on their payments.

First time claims for unemployment insurance fell to 387,000 for the week ended June 16, from the prior week's 389,000, (revised from the originally reported 387,000) the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists had expected the report would show 386,000 initial claims.

The recent softening of economic activity will not stop the country's housing market recovery, Capital Economics said in a report Wednesday. The US Housing Market Analyst for Q2 2012 speculated that modest recovery in the housing market will not only continue for the rest of the year, it will spread and cause an increase in house prices. With the modest upturn in home sales going on, Capital Economics revised its house price forecast to show gains of 2 percent in 2012 and 5 percent in 2013.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced several changes to its senior leadership Tuesday. New individuals will adopt the following roles at the bureau: Associate director of supervision, enforcement and fair lending; general counsel; senior advisor and counselor to the director; assistant directors for the office of financial empowerment and the office of financial education; and ombudsman.

Optimism is good for the recovery, but too much optimism can lead us back on the path to the next housing bubble, said Trulia Chief Economist Jed Kolko during a conference call Wednesday. Although home prices are rising, renters might be overconfident, with 58 percent of respondents expecting home prices to return to peak in the next 10 years. In this case, Kolko said optimism is outpacing reality, and it is very unlikely that prices in those hardest hit markets will return to the peaks in the next 10 years. As for the rental market, Kolko said there is no danger of a bubble and if anything, we are in danger of the rental market becoming extremely tight in some markets.