News

Critical defects are down compared with Q1 of 2016, according to ACES Risk Management (ARMCO) in its Q4 Mortgage QC Industry Trends. The report details a breakdown of the final quarter of 2016, including defect rates and findings for each Fannie Mae loan category. It also predicts, with the continued understanding of TRID and its impact, critical loan defects should continue to trend downwards in 2017.

A HPI Forecast shows low mortgage rates and increased home prices are on the horizon. The data for April 2017 was released Tuesday showing home prices up both in year-over-year and month-over-month. Increased buying activity was paired with low mortgage rates, which were at their lowest since November 2016.

As both current homeowners and potential homebuyers are settling more into their prospective communities, turning to federally-insured credit unions for their mortgage and banking needs has become a viable option. On Monday the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) released its 2017 Q1 call report data, which reports growth all across the board for federally insured credit unions. Dan Berger, the President and CEO of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) attributes the overall growth first and foremost to growing membership, which rose 4.2 percent, over 4.3 million more members than were registered a year ago.

According to a major industry organization, President Trump’s potential tax reform could make homeownership unaffordable for many Americans. The President’s plan would raise the threshold on the mortgage interest deduction, allowing only those with the heftiest home loans to take advantage of it. To date, the MI deduction has primarily benefited middle-class taxpayers. If reformed, it may cease to do that.

For going on two months, Ocwen Financial Corporation, the country’s largest nonbank mortgage loan servicer, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have been at odds. Beginning in late April, the CFPB sued Ocwen and its subsidiaries claiming that they have been “failing borrowers at every stage of the mortgage servicing process.” Now, a federal judge has delayed Ocwen’s bid to test the constitutionality of the CFPB.

Since the housing crash and recession of 2008, most metro areas have fully recovered while others are still lagging behind the housing recovery. Using the Federal Housing and Finance Agency’s Home Price Index, a report has been put together on the top and bottom 10 metros that have recovered the most and the least respectively. Five more metro areas were considered “fully recovered” this quarter.

One of the industry’s biggest professional groups appointed new leaders this week. The Federation of REO Certified Experts—more often referred to as “FORCE”—announced new members to its Advisory Council on Thursday. Among the new appointees are Hugh Morrow of RE/MAX Preferred in Birmingham, Alabama; Tara Nagelhout of Emerald Valley Real Estate in Eugene, Oregon; Steve Pagano of Coldwell Banker in Huntington Station, New York; Terry Rasner-Yacenda of Reno Tahoe Realty Group in Reno, Nevada; and Dick Thackston of R.H. Thackston & Company in Winchester, New Hampshire. Nancy Braun was named Chairperson, replacing Mike Truitt.

New data shows that mortgage originations are in freefall. While both purchase loan originations and refinances took a hit, refis saw the steepest drop, decreasing 34 percent over the first quarter of the year. Purchase originations dipped 21 percent over the same period. The average credit score of borrower is also on the decline, which could dampen the market if the trend keeps up.

The Dodd-Frank Act is being voted on by the House this upcoming Wednesday. In mid-April, Republicans proposed a reform to the financial system, The Financial Choice Act, which is essentially an “off-ramp” for financial institutions. Find this and more in the Week Ahead.

RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. announced Tuesday the immediate appointment of COO Adam Contos to RE/MAX Co-CEO sharing responsibilities with Co-Founder and now Co-CEO Dave Liniger.