Daily Dose

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to pass an amendment eliminating the use of guarantee fees on mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to fund a controversial $47 billion transportation bill known as H.R. 22, or the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act.

Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve released their Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices, which found that banks lowered mortgage lending standards in the third quarter of 2015. However, new housing risk research shows that the survey is "flawed."

Eased credit access is allowing more people to be eligible for mortgage loans, especially among middle-income blacks and Hispanics, but despite the uptick, they still lag behind in the housing market recovery.

Two days after fellow GSE Freddie Mac reported a net loss of $475 million for Q3, Fannie Mae reported a net income of $2 billion for the third quarter and a comprehensive income of $2.2 billion.

Homeownership is an important aspect of the American way of life, and while many desire to own a home, the Millennial generation often struggles to break into the housing market due to soaring home prices and tight lending standards.

Mortgage originations are soaring but bank's are not reflecting this rise in their portfolios, which are suffering from new tax policies, fluctuating interest rates, and regulatory changes in mortgage lending.

The House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday announced the passage of several bills aimed at directed at improving transparency and accountability of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, an agency created out of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

The cost of building a new single-family home far surpasses the average price tag on an existing home, but aside from mortgage payment differences, there are pros and cons to both options.

A slowdown in refinances and purchase mortgage loans drove overall applications down this week, according to the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet L. Yellen testified before the House Financial Services Committee Wednesday morning to discuss supervision and regulation among U.S. financial institutions, but the looming interest rate hike was the subject no one could resist touching on.