Tag Archives: HUD

In a testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan defended the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) recent role in the housing market and the steps the agency has taken to avoid a possible bailout. In an annual report issued to Congress in mid-November, HUD revealed the capital reserve ratio of FHA's Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund had fallen to -1.44 percent (representing -$16.3 billion) based on data from an independent actuary.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose 5.2 percent to 104.8 in October, its highest level since March 2007, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, explained the jump by suggesting buyers are responding to favorable market conditions, noting "[w]e've had very good housing affordability conditions for quite some time, but we're seeing more impact now from steady job creation, and rising consumer confidence about home buying now that home prices have clearly turned positive."

New home sales barely budged in October, dropping 0.3 percent to 368,000 after September's report was revised sharply downward from an original 389,000 to 369,000 the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the report to show a sales pace of 387,000. Even with the slow growth in October, sales are up 17.2 percent from October 2011. However, the year-over-year gain was weaker than the 25.3 percent annual growth reported for September.

The GSEs and HUD are rolling out relief strategies for borrowers caught in the devastation brought on by Hurricane Sandy.

New home sales jumped 5.7 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted average annualized rate of 389,000, the highest rate since April 2010, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the report to show a sales pace of 385,000. The month-to-month sales improvement was the strongest since February, when sales improved 27,000, or 8.0 percent. While sales numbers improved, both the median and average sales price of a new home dropped.

Compliance and risk management professionals will flock to Texas in November for Wolters Kluwer Financial Service's 16th annual CRA & Fair Lending Colloquium. The financial services company is hosting the event November 12-15 at The Westin La Cantera in San Antonio. The colloquium is an opportunity for senior compliance and risk management executives to discuss their most pressing concerns with top regulators and industry leaders.

Housing starts and permits jumped in September to their highest levels since July 2008, Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Wednesday. Housing starts jumped 15.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000 while permits improved 11.6 percent to 894,000. Single family starts represented 69.2 percent of the total in September, matching their year-to-date share. Single family starts made up 71.5 percent of all starts for the same period in 2011.

Workforce Housing in the New Economy took center stage during a recent conference hosted by the University of Miami's School of Business Administration, School of Architecture, and Office of Civil and Community Engagement. Featuring expert commentary from past and present leaders for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Consumer Federation of America, and Habitat for Humanity, the Florida-based event provided insight into the policies, programs, and regulations that are impacting housing for U.S. workers.

Federal officials jointly announced Tuesday the results of the Distressed Homeowner Initiative, which is the first nationwide effort focusing on fraud schemes that targets struggling homeowners. Their efforts so far have led to 530 criminal defendants (including 172 executives) being charged in 285 federal criminal indictments. The cases involved more than 73,000 homeowner victims, and losses are estimated to be in excess of $1 billion.

Wells Fargo faces federal charges for alleged misconduct and fraud related to its role as a direct endorsement lender for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) over a span of more than 10 years. The civil lawsuit was filed Tuesday in a Manhattan federal court and alleges Wells Fargo falsely certified the credit and underwriting quality of thousands of FHA loans it originated which later defaulted, costing the federal agency hundreds of millions of dollars.