Filtered by category: Legislative Clear Filter

Biden Administration Announces Progress in Implementing Housing Supply Action Plan

Originally published on October 7, 2022, by the White House.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing key progress on implementing its Housing Supply Action Plan, which in May outlined a set of administrative and legislative priorities aimed at closing the housing supply shortfall in five years. The President believes that policies that boost the supply of affordable housing are critical to easing the burden of rising housing costs for renters and aspiring homeowners, and must be taken in combination with actions that address near-term housing affordability and promote fair housing.

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FHFA Releases New UAD Aggregate Statistics Data File

Originally published on October 24, 2022, for the Federal Housing Finance Agency. 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today published its new Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) Aggregate Statistics Data File. FHFA also launched UAD Aggregate Statistics Dashboards on its website to provide user-friendly visualizations of the newly available data.

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Rulemaking Proposed for Employee, Contractor Status

Originally published on October 11, 2022, by Mandy McClure and Edwin Nieves for the US Department of Labor.

The U.S. Department of Labor will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Oct. 13 to help employers and workers determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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GSEs Completed Nearly 97,000 Foreclosure Prevention Actions in Q2: FHFA

Originally published on September 22, 2022, by the Mortgage Banker's Association.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released its second quarter Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report, showing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 96,945 foreclosure prevention actions during the quarter, raising the total number of homeowners who have been helped to 6,591,002 since start of conservatorships in September 2008.

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House Passes ‘Concerning’ VA Appraisal Legislation

Originally published on September 21, 2022, by the Appraisal Institute.

The House on Sept. 14 passed HR 7735, the Improving Access to the VA Home Loan Benefit Act of 2022, legislation that proposes to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs appraisal requirements, including when an appraisal is necessary, how appraisals are conducted, and who is eligible to conduct an appraisal.  
 
The legislation also allows for desktop appraisals in some circumstances, but the VA has already made that policy change
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FHFA to Create Committee on Affordable, Equitable Housing

Originally published on August 23, 2022, by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced its intent to establish a Federal Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing (Committee). 

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FHFA to Require GSE Servicers to Keep Fair Lending Data

Originally published on August 11, 2022, by Georgia Kromrei for HousingWire.com. 

In a move the Federal Housing Finance Agency said will bolster sustainability and equity, servicers for federally backed loans will obtain and maintain fair lending data.

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Treasury Seeks to Increase Home Affordability, Decrease Long-term Housing Costs

Originally published on July 27, 2022, by the US Department of Treasury.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced new guidance today to increase the ability of state, local, and tribal governments to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to boost the supply of affordable housing in their communities. This step follows a commitment in the Administration’s recently released Housing Supply Action Plan to leverage American Rescue Plan funds for investments in affordable housing as part of a broader strategy to increase the nation’s housing supply and ease housing costs over time.

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Federal Reserve Planning More Rate Increases to Curb Inflation

Originally published on July 27, 2022, by Craig Torres for Bloomberg.com.

Chair Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve would press on with the steepest tightening of monetary policy in a generation to curb surging inflation while handing officials more flexibility on coming moves amid signs of a broadening economic slowdown. 

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New Federal Disclosure Rule Hurting Condo Sales: Report

Originally published on July 19, 2022, by Jack Rogers for GlobeSt.com.

Resistance from condo boards to a new questionnaire that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are requiring condo sellers to fill out in the wake of the deadly collapse of a Florida high-rise tower last year is having a chilling effect on condo markets across the county, according to a report in the Washington Post.

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Foreign Buyers Once Again See US Housing Market as a Good Investment: NAR

Originally published on July 18, 2022, by Troy Green for the National Association of Realtors.

Foreign buyers purchased $59 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2021 through March 2022, an 8.5% increase from the previous 12-month period and stopping a three-year skid in foreign investment in U.S. residential real estate, according to a new report from the National Association of REALTORS®. Foreign buyers purchased 98,600 properties, down 7.9% from the prior year and the fewest number of homes bought since 2009 when NAR began tracking this data. Overall in the U.S., existing-home sales totaled 6.12 million in 2021 – the highest annual level since 2006.

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FHA Expands Appraisal Validity Period for Certain Mortgages

Originally published on July 12, 2022 by Chris Clow for the Reverse Mortgage Daily. 

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Tuesday announced an increase in the appraisal validity period for all Single Family Title II forward and Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) transactions, increasing the period specifically for the HECM reverse mortgage program from 120 days to 180 days. This is according to the publication of Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2022-11.

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Appraiser Provisions Part of Legislation Approved by House

Originally published on July 20, 2022, by the Appraisal Institute.

The House of Representatives on July 14 passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which approved $840 billion in defense spending for 2023. The 329-101 vote came after hundreds of amendments were considered, including a couple that focused on valuation issues.  

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CFPB to Scrutinize QM Rule as Part of Larger Policy Review

Originally published on June 17, 2022, by Rohit Chopra for CFPB.

Markets work best when rules are simple, easy to understand, and easy to enforce. The CFPB is seeking to move away from highly complicated rules that have long been a staple of consumer financial regulation and towards simpler and clearer rules. In addition, the CFPB is dramatically increasing the amount of guidance it is providing to the marketplace, in accordance with the same principles.

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Supreme Court Rejects Floor Plan Case; Appraisers Vulnerable

Originally published on June 27, 2022 by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on June 27 rejected a case involving the use of floor plans in marketing materials. Multiple real estate firms petitioned the court to review the case, contending the Eighth Circuit incorrectly ruled that using floor plans in marketing materials constituted a copyright violation. In April, the Appraisal Institute joined an Amicus Brief filed with the Supreme Court over concerns that appraisers could be sued for making floor plans of a home. (see p. 9, COLUMBIA HOUSE item).

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45-Day Notice on Proposed Amendments to Bylaws and Regulation No. 9, Exposure Draft

The Appraisal Institute Board of Directors on June 20 sent to 45-Day Notice proposed amendments to Appraisal Institute Bylaws and Regulation No. 9, an exposure draft of the proposed regional election policy. (AI log-in required).

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FHFA Releases Equitable Housing Finance Plans

Originally published on June 8, 2022, by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the release of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's (the Enterprises) Equitable Housing Finance Plans for 2022-2024. These plans are designed to complement the initiatives outlined in FHFA's Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2022–2026 that promote the Enterprises' safety and soundness and foster housing finance markets that provide equitable access to affordable and sustainable housing.

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Proposed VA Bill to Allow Some Desktop Appraisals, Waivers

Originally published on May 23, 2022, by Maria Volkova for HousingWire.

A piece of legislation introduced in the Senate in mid-May could streamline the appraisal process for VA loans. The legislation would modernize the Department of Veteran Affairs‘ appraisal requirements by allowing desktop appraisals, and in some circumstances, waving appraisals altogether. Currently, all VA appraisals must be performed in-house.

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Proposed VA Bill to Allow Some Desktop Appraisals, Waivers

Originally published on May 23, 2022, by Maria Volkova for HousingWire.com.

A piece of legislation introduced in the Senate in mid-May could streamline the appraisal process for VA loans. The legislation would modernize the Department of Veteran Affairs‘ appraisal requirements by allowing desktop appraisals, and in some circumstances, waving appraisals altogether. Currently, all VA appraisals must be performed in-house.

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White House Addresses Rising Housing Costs, Supply Issues

Originally published by the White House on May 16, 2022.

As President Biden said last week, tackling inflation is his top economic priority. Today, President Biden is releasing a Housing Supply Action Plan to ease the burden of housing costs over time, by boosting the supply of quality housing in every community. His plan includes legislative and administrative actions that will help close America’s housing supply shortfall in 5 years, starting with creating and preserving hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units in the next three years. When aligned with other policies to reduce housing costs and ensure affordability, such as rental assistance and downpayment assistance, closing the gap will mean more affordable rents and more attainable homeownership for Americans in every community. This is the most comprehensive government effort to close the housing supply shortfall in history.

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