HUD

Purchases of new homes rebounded in August from the slowest pace in almost a year, a potential sign of stabilization in the market, according to government data Wednesday.

The Supreme Court upheld using “disparate impact” over three years ago. But with HUD weighing a policy change, banks and advocacy groups are still at odds over the court decision.

Purchases of new homes unexpectedly dipped to the weakest pace in nine months as higher prices and mortgage rates sideline demand, adding to signs of a cooling in the housing market.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development took the very rare step of filing a secretary-initiated fair housing complaint — only three were made in the last two fiscal years — against Facebook.

The U.S. is siding with fair housing groups that claim Facebook's ad targeting tools permit discrimination based on sex, religion, familial status and national origin.

The new policy, meant to assist borrowers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, will let servicers evaluate borrowers using pre-disaster payment information.

The hope is that more Americans will see the factory units not only as a more-affordable alternative to a traditional single-family house, but also an appealing one, without the old trailer-park stigma.

The Trump administration has argued that the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, issued in 2015, was too prescriptive.

The administration’s recent report on fintech innovation discussed ways to adopt electronic promissory notes — or eNotes — and automated appraisals in federal mortgage programs.

As regulators move forward with policy changes designed to curb so-called refinance churning of Department of Veterans Affairs-insured mortgages, concerns have surfaced about the fate of loans originated during the transition period.