The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has released a brief issues paper voicing objections to HR 1077, The Consumer Mortgage Choice Act.  The bill currently sits in the House Financial Services Committee of which its sponsor Representative Bill Huizenga (R-MI) is a member.

The bill amends the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) with respect...

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said Thursday it might be time to "dial down the credit stringency."  If the credit scores required for a mortgage returned to the more normal levels of about 720 for conventional loans and 660 for FHA loans, he said, home sales...

A Texas homebuilder will surrender more than $100,000 to the Consumer Finance Protection Agency under a consent order filed on Friday.  Paul Taylor, a principal of Paul Taylor Homes Unlimited and Paul Taylor Corporation was accused of receiving kickbacks for referring homebuyers to Benchmark Bank and to Willow Bend Mortgage Company for their...

Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL has asked for an investigation and possible "crackdown" on the manner in which short sales are impacting consumer credit files.   Nelson said that short sales are now often reported to the credit agencies using the same code that designates a completed foreclosure.

In letters sent earlier this month...

The Consumer Finance Protection Agency (CFPB) reminded lenders today that new Truth in Lending Act (TILA) rules banning mandatory arbitration provisions go into effect on June 1, 2013 so all documentation for new loans should be ready to go on that date.  Changes to Regulation Z amendments relating to those provisions were contained in CFPB's final...

CoreLogic said today that home prices are projected to increase 3.9 percent on an annualized basis between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the same quarter in 2017.  However, a new housing bubble is not likely as market dynamics shift for both supply and demand.  Prices rose 7.3 percent in 2012.

The CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index...

The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said today that new housing starts were down in April by 16.5 percent compared to March.  Construction began on privately owned residential units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000 compared to the revised March estimate of 1,021,000.  The original March...

The median price of homes in California topped $400,000 in April for the first time in five years.  The California Association of Realtors® (C.A.R.) said the increases are fueled by high demand and tight inventories of available homes.

Completed existing home sales in the state were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 423,510...

"Nationwide and in most markets it appears builders are planning to ramp up activity that will help offset a drop in foreclosure starts, but there are some markets where a jump in both building permits and foreclosure starts in the first quarter indicate the scales will tip more heavily in favor of supply...

Nearly a quarter million homeowners received mortgage loan modifications through HOPE NOW during the first quarter of 2013.  The voluntary private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers, and non-profit counselors operating under that name modified about 203,000 mortgages through proprietary programs and 42,157 through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). 

There were approximately 84,000...