What We're Hearing

Late next week the Mortgage Bankers Association will hold a briefing on the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act. If you want to pay MBA to hear what your taxpayer supported government officials have to say, feel free. But if you want to read about it in the press, forget it. MBA has closed the briefing to reporters. Scheduled to speak about RESPA changes is Ivy Jackson, director of HUD's RESPA office. Another HUD official is speaking as well. Meanwhile, according to a recent report by Reuters, there are rumblings that (perhaps) a new private label MBS (backed by conservatively underwritten jumbo loans) could hit the market in the next few months. According to Allonhill of Denver, third-party reviews of the collateral are going to play a major role in the revival of this market...