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By Krista Franks Brock | 06/18/2013
Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) and reverse mortgages, tools to which many seniors turn to help manage expenses in their later years, can be challenging products to navigate, according to testimonies delivered during a Senate committee hearing Tuesday morning. While the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers changes to the HECM program, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing to determine the best path forward for the program. Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/18/2013
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plans to grow its staff in order to meet its strategic goals and stay in compliance with its mandate to protect consumers, according to a written testimony from Stephen Agostini, CFO at the bureau. Agostini, who gave testimony before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday, stated that over the next two fiscal years, CFPB expects its staff to increase from 1,214 employees in the Fiscal Year 2013 to 1,545 employees in 2014. Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/18/2013
ServiceLink, an end-to-end origination, servicing and default solutions provider for mortgage lenders and servicers, introduced a program to monitor and manage data from the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS). Read More
By Krista Franks Brock | 06/18/2013
Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding decreased for the first time in five quarters during the first quarter of this year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The 0.2 percent decline, which translated to $4.9 billion, left the nation's total commercial and multifamily mortgage debt at $2.41 trillion at the end of the quarter. Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/18/2013
The increase in mortgage rates coupled with rising home prices may dampen demand, but the recent upward movement in rates is not enough to make housing unaffordable to median income earners, according to Freddie Mac's economic and housing outlook for June. In fact, the GSE's analysis showed mortgage rates would have to climb to nearly 7 percent before a median priced home is no longer affordable to median income earners in most parts of the country. Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/18/2013
From new regulations to increasing fines, financial institutions--both large and small--reported feeling more squeezed by compliance and risk management pressures since the start of the year, according to survey results from Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. In January, the Indicator began with a baseline score of 100 after the company surveyed 400 banks and credit unions. After surveying 430 similar institutions in April, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services reported a score of 136. Read More
By Mark Lieberman, Five Star Institute Economist | 06/18/2013
One day after the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported the sharpest boost in builder confidence in seven years, the Census Bureau and HUD reported single-family starts were essentially flat in May, increasing just 0.3 percent. The Census/HUD report Tuesday showed total starts improved 6.8 percent in May, while total permits fell 3.1 percent. Read More
Jun-17
By Esther Cho | 06/17/2013
Firefly Legal, a nationwide civil process service company, announced Randy Mucha, the company's civil process supervisor, was named treasurer of the Illinois Association of Professional Process Servers (ILAPPS). Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/17/2013
The steady influx of out-of-state transplants, along with stronger than average employment growth, should keep the housing and apartment sectors in Texas strong, a report from the Dallas Federal Reserve concluded. Using data from the Census Bureau, the report authors D'Ann Petersen and Christina Daly pointed out that Texas is the No. 1 state for domestic in-migration. From July 2011 to July 2012, the Long Star state saw a net 140,888 new arrivals when excluding births or international migration. Read More
By Esther Cho | 06/17/2013
Gains in home prices and sales surged in May, while inventory increased for the second straight month, according to Redfin. In May, home prices surged 17.4 percent year-over-year, while prices in all 19 markets tracked showed yearly gains. At the same time, home sales climbed by 15.8 percent from April to May, reaching their highest level since January 2010. Although for-sale housing inventory decreased 21.9 percent year-over-year, Redfin reported inventory inched up by 4.3 percent from April to May. Read More
