Housing

Home prices have returned to their precrisis peaks, but homeownership rates keep on slipping.

Mortgage servicing has undergone a dramatic transformation in response to the housing crisis, creating an environment where a focus on the consumer will define how servicers approach their business and regulators oversee their operations.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of National Mortgage News, we look to the future of the mortgage industry — a future that lies at the intersection of people, policy, technology and capital.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has long been a staunch defender of the mortgage interest deduction. But the group's president and CEO now says he's open to Congress reducing, or even eliminating, the tax break.

The National Association of Realtors is urging policymakers to implement reforms meant to qualify more condominium buyers for Federal Housing Administration loans.

Regulatory infighting over bond loans offered by down payment assistance programs has the potential to curtail lending to first-time buyers and do real damage to homeownership.

Nationwide, new home construction isn't keeping up with rising prices and demand. But in certain areas of the Southwest and Southeast, builders are bucking this trend, creating housing supply that is more flexible to market fluctuations.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has downgraded the Community Reinvestment Act rating for BancorpSouth in Tupelo, Miss.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday nominated Eric Enderlin to be president of the New York City Housing Development Corp., the city's housing finance arm and a major player in de Blasio's affordable housing initiative.

Mortgage lenders can expand their businesses by catering to borrowers who aren't proficient in English, but doing so requires strategic recruiting and hiring and compliance with federal and state regulations.

The emergence of lenders that have no real connection to a geographic area prompts questions over how the Community Reinvestment Act’s “good neighbor” policy can continue.

A proposed 50% expansion to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program would yield new opportunities for banks to finance development projects and meet their Community Reinvestment Act obligations.

President Obama has signed a housing reform bill that will open the door for welfare recipients to use federal rent vouchers to purchase manufactured homes and become homeowners.

Mortgage interest deduction limit applies on per taxpayer basis.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has reached an agreement with Citizens Bank to settle allegations that the bank discriminated against a woman on maternity leave.

The Democratic and Republican platforms adopted at this year's party conventions take a more forward-looking approach to housing issues than they did four years ago. But they have distinctly different views on the government's role in maintaining a robust mortgage industry.

Democrats will adopt a party platform this week that omits most references to a need for continued post-housing crisis reforms, and instead focuses on expanding access to mortgage credit and support for industry regulation.

Regulators sought to limit improper contact between lenders and appraisers, but policies of the two mortgage giants encourage the kind of practices that contributed to the housing crisis.

The official platform of the Republican Party has softened language calling for the end of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, while continuing to demand reform of the government-sponsored enterprises.

There were patterns of racial disparities in mortgage originations in the St. Louis, Milwaukee and Minneapolis metropolitan statistical areas, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.