Origination

The future of housing in America can seem so close, yet so far away, but government officials and housing experts are already hot on the case making their evaluations of the present state of the market and prediction on the future.

"The trend in the market indicates consumers appear more confident in the economy and are moving forward with their lives and borrowing money again." -Assad Lazarus, SVP, Product and Customer Experience at Equifax Personal Information Solutions.

As 2016 lies just under one month away, the mortgage industry is already on top of what to expect in the coming year with predictions on what the housing sector may or may not bring.

The Justice Department recently announced a settlement agreement to resolve allegations that a Lowell, Massachusetts-based bank practiced discriminatory lending based on race and national origin.

So how adversely does student debt affect consumers' ability to get a mortgage loan? A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland released Monday showed that as the percentage of younger consumers with student loan debt rose over the last ten years, those with a mortgage declined.

First-time buyers may want to turn their attentions toward suburbs in 2016. As home prices are showing no signs of slowing down, affordability becomes a larger issue when purchasing a home.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun believes pending home sales have been restrained in the fall season as "buyers struggle to overcome a scant number of available homes for sale and prices that are rising too fast in some markets."

During the mortgage crisis, portfolio lenders like TD Bank stood out as financial institutions that embraced the idea of quality underwriting and lending—especially since they kept loans in-house, taking the risk on their own balance sheets.

The housing downturn tested the mortgage industry. Pacific Union Financial, LLC, rose to the challenge and found its own niche in the marketplace. Editor's note: This select print feature appears in the November 2015 edition of MReport magazine, available now.

Commentary is an ongoing series on theMReport.com that focuses on opinions, ideas, and insights from experts across mortgage banking. Jeannie Smith, Loan Officer and VP of Sales at Guardian Mortgage discusses opening the credit box for millennials, and how this will help the mortgage industry move more millennials from renters to homeowners.