Natural disasters

The Canyon 2 wildfire has been contained for more than a week, but aftereffects from the 9,200-acre conflagration still are rippling throughout Orange County, Calif.

The Federal Housing Administration has extended waivers on timelines for disaster-related re-inspections to properties in Puerto Rico affected by Hurricane Maria as well as other properties impacted by California wildfires.

The bill includes $16 billion in debt forgiveness for the National Flood Insurance Program and could benefit financial institutions’ customers in areas impacted by recent hurricanes and wildfires.

Mortgage lenders are urging the thousands of displaced homeowners to reach out to them in the aftermath of the devastating wildfires so fire victims can begin the process of either rebuilding or moving on, leaving behind the home they once had.

A limited housing supply fueled by the San Francisco Bay Area's booming job growth and decades of slow construction has forced home values and rents to near record highs.

Soot and ash are still settling over the Sonoma County, Calif., housing market, but real estate brokers and lenders contend the fiery destruction of a few thousand properties here will make it harder for both buyers and renters to find new homes.

Under a joint order, lenders still have to document the value of properties in storm-affected regions, but they will not have to depend on appraisers.