Originally published on March 15, 2023, by Adam Russell for FHFA.

​​The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has taken a number of steps since January 2022 to update Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) single-family guarantee fee pricing framework with a special focus on upfront fees. In January 2023, FHFA announced redesigned and recalibrated grids for upfront fees in addition to a new upfront fee for certain borrowers with a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio above 40 percent. These updated pricing grids include the upfront fee eliminations announced in October 2022 to increase pricing support for purchase borrowers limited by income or by wealth.​

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Originally published on March 7, 2023, by Brian Cheung for NBC News.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers Tuesday that policymakers may have to speed up their interest rate hikes to tame high inflation.

Originally published on March 8, 2023, by the Appraisal Institute.

Read Fannie Mae’s updated Selling Guide

Originally published on February 27, 2023, by Nina Totenberg for NPR.

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take up a case that could threaten the existence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and potentially the status of numerous other federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve.

Originally published on January 25, 2023, by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Jan. 25 sent an alert to financial institutions warning them to look out for potential commercial real estate purchases made by Russian investors who have been sanctioned. FinCEN specifically warned against vulnerabilities based on a review of the Banking Secrecy Act.

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Originally published on February 1, 2023, by Jeff Cox for CNBC.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point and gave little indication it is nearing the end of this hiking cycle.
 
Aligning with market expectations, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee boosted the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage point. That takes it to a target range of 4.5%-4.75%, the highest since October 2007.

Originally published on January 25, 2023 by the White House.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to increase fairness in the rental market and further principles of fair housing. These actions align with a new Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights that the Administration is also releasing today. The Blueprint lays out a set of principles to drive action by the federal government, state and local partners, and the private sector to strengthen tenant protections and encourage rental affordability.

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Originally published on January 25, 2023 by the Appraisal Subcommittee. 

Appraisal Institute President Craig Steinley, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, AI-RRS, testified at a Jan. 24 Appraisal Subcommittee hearing on appraisal bias. Steinley told the subcommittee that “As the agencies continue the development of guidelines and regulations that touch on appraisal topics, we offer the resources of AI, including our Designated Members, to assist with the understanding of appraisal standards, appraisal methodology, and appraisal practice.”

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Originally published on December 23, 2022, by James Kleimann by the Housing Wire.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) isn’t doing all that it can to prevent appraisal bias, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

Originally published on January 11, 2023 by Congress.gov.

President Biden on Dec. 27 signed HR 7735, the Improving Access to the VA Home Loan Benefit Act of 2022, which streamlines the valuation process for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs mortgage loans by allowing desktop appraisals and appraisal waivers in some situations. Critics have complained that the VA home buying process can be unnecessarily slow due to appraisals having to be handled in-house.

Originally published on December 6, 2022, by the IRS.

The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service today issued proposed regulations identifying certain syndicated conservation easement (SCE) transactions as "listed transactions" – abusive tax transactions that must be reported to the IRS.

Originally published on December 22, 2023, by James Kleimann for HousingWire.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) isn’t doing all that it can to prevent appraisal bias, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

Originally published on November 29, 2022 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the conforming loan limit values (CLLs) for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) in 2023. In most of the United States, the 2023 CLL value for one-unit properties will be $726,200, an increase of $79,000 from $647,200 in 2022.​

Originally published on November 22, 2022, by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Federal Housing Administration in its Nov. 22 Mortgagee Letter 2022-19 rescinded the Mandatory Use Date for the FHA Catalyst: Electronic Appraisal Delivery Module. This action rescinds the mandatory use date for mortgagees to submit appraisals for single-family Title II mortgage endorsements through the FHA Catalyst: EAD Module, which is being discontinued. Starting Oct. 14, 2023, appraisals must be submitted through FHA’s non-Catalyst, legacy EAD portal.

The Appraisal Institute Board of Directors on Nov. 22 sent to 45-Day Notice proposing amendments to Appraisal Institute Bylaws governing the nomination and election of officers (AI log-in required).

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Originally published on November 15, 2022 by Lynn Pollack for GlobeSt.com.

An increasing number of voters supported affordable housing initiatives during the midterm elections, with some measures receiving more than 70% of the vote in both red and blue states, according to a review from Moody’s Analytics, GlobeSt.com reported Nov. 15. In Austin, Texas, for example, voters approved a $350 million bond, as affordable housing currently makes up just 6% of the city’s rental market.

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Originally published on November 10, 2022 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today that the 2023 multifamily loan purchase caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will be $75 billion for each Enterprise, for a combined total of $150 billion to support the multifamily market. The 2023 caps reflect an anticipated contraction of the multifamily originations market in 2023.

Originally published on November 16, 2022, by the Appraisal Institute.

The Appraisal Institute Board of Directors voted to adopt one 45-Day Notice item during its Nov. 10-11 meeting in Chicago. The 45-Day Notice item addresses proposed amendments to the Bylaws regarding the International Member on the Board as set forth in the 45-Day Notice distributed to Designated Members, Candidates, Practicing Affiliates, and Affiliates on Sept. 26.

Originally published on November 2, 2022, by Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir for Reuters.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point again on Wednesday and said its battle against inflation will require borrowing costs to rise further, yet signaled it may be nearing an inflection point in what has become the swiftest tightening of U.S. monetary policy in 40 years.

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.