Mortgages

Middle-income homeowners are feeling the pressure of rising property prices, but aid efforts from federal agencies are stepping in to create new funding sources and provide additional support.

The interagency Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity initiative, which was tasked by the Biden administration with rooting out bias in home valuations, appears to have run its course. But experts say it could be years before the group's efforts bear fruit.

The Federal Trade Commission has arranged the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars to people a law firm charged for lower rates they never received.

The company will fund the discount across the first two years through a special escrow account.

The Federal Reserve Chair's words were enough to send Treasury yields and the dollar lower and stocks higher on Friday as investors perceived a green light to take on risk. 

The firm's Buy Before You Sell product for lenders has tapped over $655 million in homeowner equity in the past 18 months.

The top metro saw a 106.9% increase in value of new residential housing units between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023

Trade groups welcome a proposed reverse-mortgage option for buyouts and are working with Ginnie Mae to hammer out the final operational details.

In a complaint filed by the Justice Department on Friday, antitrust enforcers said RealPage's software, which helps landlords set rental unit pricing, has effectively raised prices on renters illegally.

Vice President Kamala Harris' pledge to deliver 3 million homes has drawn applause from homebuilders, lenders and affordability advocates, but experts are uncertain how her administration would pull it off.

New-home sales in the U.S. bounced back to the highest level since May 2023 as buyers took advantage of lower mortgage rates and more listings to choose from.

Mortgage fintech Maxwell suggests lenders position themselves closer to consumers as the post-commission changes landscape evolves.

Two Federal Reserve officials said they believe it's appropriate for the U.S. central bank to begin lowering interest rates soon, and that the pace of subsequent cutting should be "gradual" and "methodical."

The lawsuit, which the plaintiff seeks class certification for, involves a transfer, overpayments during a grace period and allegations of improper late fees.

The revisions also revise how the surplus is calculated to evaluate risk of the bonds used as part of the available asset portion of the capital requirements.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage is lingering just shy of 6.5% level, which is not low enough to bring home purchasers back into the market, observers said.

"Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a prepared statement. "But consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates."

The Federal Housing Administration's renovation program parameters hadn't been updated in a decade, faling behind similar products from other providers. The Nov. 4 changes will bring it up to speed.

Total mortgage delinquencies dropped but Hurricane Beryl boosted late payments locally and runoff risk surged, Intercontinental Exchange's First Look report shows.

Fay disputes claims it violated servicing laws and a previous order related to dual tracking allegations but agreed to settle without admission of wrongdoing.