Economy

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's tangible capital rule could prevent some banks from accessing advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank system in a rising interest rate environment.

The agency is currently using upper ceilings set in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Four national housing market experts presented their economic and residential outlooks Thursday in a panel at the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Atlanta.

Consumer and business confidence is already under immense pressure from the rising cost of living, at the same time that equity, bond and real estate prices are falling.

Following the Consumer Price Index release, the 10-year Treasury yield broke through 4%, making continued increases likely.

Rising interest rates could force some community banks to fall below a critical capital threshold that the Federal Housing Finance Agency uses to determine eligibility for Home Loan bank advances.

And rising rates caused the government-sponsored enterprise to cut its forecast for this year.

Dozens of community bankers and housing experts offered their opinions on the Federal Home Loan Bank System, the first review in nearly 100 years. But the insurers, nonbanks and megabanks that use the system the most were largely absent from the debate.

Fannie Mae's sentiment index is at its lowest point since October 2011, as more consumers think prices will go down than those that expect them to rise.

But that was not enough to offset the fourth consecutive monthly decline in total nonbank industry jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The number of sellers discounting their original listing grew by over 83% year over year, according to HouseCanary.

The decline ended a six-week streak of increases, but given the latest moves in the 10-year Treasury yield, rates are likely to soon rise again.

The new chief executive comes to the government-sponsored enterprise from national nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners and previously held management roles at JPMorgan Chase.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency got an earful from housing experts at a listening session intended to aid a comprehensive review of the financing system.

The 30-year fixed rate is now at levels last seen in the summer of 2007, according to data from Freddie Mac.

Inflation and recessionary concerns affected movements in the benchmark 10-year Treasury, itself at an 11-year peak, Freddie Mac said.

The only way to address inflation is for Congress to fix issues around home supply and demand, the National Housing Coalition said in reaction to the Federal Reserve's move Wednesday.

On the other hand, the economists from the UCLA Anderson Forecast claim the U.S. is not currently in a recession and that the chance of a recession in the next 12 months is less than 50%.

The former head of the agency said a decision last year to suspend caps on investor loans has further induced demand in an already hot market. Other experts say a supply-demand imbalance is the true driving force.

A couple squatted in their foreclosed home since 2009 and are only now being evicted, highlighting stubborn problems in the foreclosure process.