The Senate Banking Committee has voted to approve Janet Yellen's nomination to chair the Federal Reserve, bringing Yellen one step closer to being the first woman to serve as head of the country's central bank.
Read More »Report: Recovery Suffering from ‘Broken’ Housing Policies
A new report published by the Opportunity Agenda, National Fair Housing Alliance, and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) claims that the U.S. housing policy is broken.
Read More »What Does Political Partisanship Have to Do with Home Prices?
Asking prices rose 12.5 percent year-over-year in October blue metros and 11.1 percent in red metros, according to the Trulia Price Monitor.
Read More »Buyer Demand Rebounds as Government Returns to Business
Homebuyers shook off their fears and returned to the market in force following the re-opening of the government in October, according to data presented by Redfin's Research Center. Despite reports of consumer confidence waning, Redfin customers seemed relatively unfazed. "My clients think the ugly showdown we saw in October is unlikely to happen again," reported Philip Gvinter, a Redfin agent based in Washington, D.C. "After putting their home search on hold during the shutdown, they are ready to get back out there."
Read More »Republicans Block Watt Nomination for FHFA Head
Senate Republicans blocked on Thursday a vote on the nomination of Rep. Mel Watt (D-North Carolina) to head up the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Watt's nomination was stopped in a 56-42 vote to end the debate over his confirmation. Sixty votes were needed to invoke cloture and move forward. The agency has been led since 2009 by acting director Edward DeMarco, who has attracted criticism from Democrats and consumer advocates who say he hasn't gone far enough to help distressed homeowners.
Read More »MBA President Calls for Transparency, Collaboration in Washington
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) president and CEO David Stevens took the stage at the group's 100th Annual Convention and Expo Monday morning, reflecting on the last century in housing and shining a spotlight on today's challenges. While he notes that the government's response to the economic crisis has seen its share of successes, he also says Washington needs to recognize and take responsibility for the shortcomings of its policies, a step he believes policymakers have been reluctant to take.
Read More »FHA Reform Is Just as Important as GSE Reform
While the government works toward GSE reform, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW), a financial services provider; says reform for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) should also be a top concern.
Read More »Fannie Downgrades Forecasts in Response to Consumer Sentiment
Overall, Fannie's outlook is "largely unchanged from the previous forecast," although "fiscal uncertainties associated with the federal government shutdown, the protracted negotiations to raise the debt ceiling, and the timing of the Federal Reserve's tapering of its asset purchase program, pose significant downside risks to economic activity in the current quarter," said Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. As such, the GSE is revising its forecasted GDP growth for this year from 2 percent to 1.9 percent.
Read More »Mortgage Rates Bounce as Washington Brokers Budget Deal
Mortgage rates broke their streak of weekly declines, climbing this week as the federal budget deadline approached.
Read More »Consumer Confidence (Mostly) Weathers Government Shutdown
The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment declined to a nine-month low in its preliminary October reading, but analysts say the drop wasn't as bad as it could have been. The index plunged to 75.2 in the mid-month report, down from 77.5 at the end of September. The fall in the headline index was due entirely to a drop in consumer expectations. The Surveys of Consumers' Index of Consumer Expectations fell to a 2013 low of 63.9 from September's 67.8.
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