Daily Dose

In an interview with Fox Business on Monday, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said he is committed to GSE reform—and that it might not include privatizing Fannie or Freddie. The main goal of the Trump administration, according to Mnuchin, is to provide "ample credit for housing" without putting taxpayers at risk. On the fate of the GSE's, Mnuchin said, "We’re committed to not leaving them as-is for the next four years." Mnuchin also discussed the Freedom of Information Act allowed GSE funds to be relocated toward other parts of the government—including the Affordable Care Act—without public knowledge.

Tripp Levy PLLC announced on Monday that the deadline for investors to pursue their claim against Ocwen in the class action lawsuit is approaching. These investors seek to recover compensation damages caused by Ocwen’s violations of the Securities Exchange Act, and those that purchased shares of Ocwen during the period between May 11, 2015 and April 19, 2017 are encouraged to contact the firm soon.

A solid March selling season has left sellers feeling pretty confident. A new report by Redfin finds sellers increasingly see themselves with more leverage in a sale. But not everyone thinks the tactics sellers are using are the smartest ones.

On Tuesday at 9 a.m. EST, Freddie Mac will hold a conference call to discuss its Q1 2017 financial results. The call will be webcast on the Freddie Mac website as well, and will be replayable for approximately 30 days following the event. Freddie Mac’s previous results, for Q4 2016, showed a net interest income of 14.4 billion for the full year, down 4 percent year-over-year.

President Trump nominated Pam Patenaude to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on Friday. Patenaude, currently President of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for America’s Families, has a long history in the industry. Executives from all ends of the spectrum have praised her nomination.

With just hours to spare, Congress overwhelmingly approved a short-term spending bill which would prevent the weekend shutdown, avoiding potential clogs in the mortgage industry. A government shutdown would have slowed the mortgage process and even prevented some buyers from closing, as access to tax information and social security would have been halted during the shutdown. The housing market is stronger now than it was in 2013, and application volume is greater, meaning that that more buyers could have been affected.

The average American renter can now purchase a home more expensive than the nation’s median home value, while keeping their monthly housing budget the same. This was true in 37 out of 50 markets analyzed. The current national median rent is $1,416 per month—just enough to handle the monthly costs of a property valued at $289,505, including property taxes, maintenance, and insurance payments.

The rate of defects and fraud in mortgage applications is up. The Defect Index on purchase applications rose 2.4 percent over the month, and for refinance applications, it jumped 3.3 percent. Defects were worse in the Southern part of the U.S.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis Q1 GDP growth estimate was below the Wall Street estimate for the quarter, but in the opinion of Brett F Ewing and S. Lance Mitchell, Chief Market Strategist and Research Director (respectively) for First Franklin Financial Services, it is an “inflection point” for the economy in the midst of a tight labor market. Experts said that the slower growth was an "inevitable reversal" following the high growth of Q4 2016.

Participants in the CFPB's Divesity and Inclusion Meeting meeting included representatives from the mortgage industry, including from larger and smaller banks, as well as some nonbank financial companies. In addition, staff from the OWMI of other federal agencies, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve, and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) were included.