The delinquency rate for mortgage loans reached an 18-year low in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey.
The delinquency rate dropped from the previous quarter and on a year-over-year basis across all loan types and stages of delinquency. The MBA attributed the good news to low unemployment, higher wage growth and lower household debt levels.
Read on for more details from the quarterly survey.
Investors are taking on bigger projects and finding an increasing appetite for flipped high-end homes throughout the country.
The markets seeing some of the largest number of luxury housing flips are in California, particularly the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim areas.
Read on to learn more information on luxury house flip trends from Realtor.com, which analyzed markets where at least 20 flipped homes sold for more than $1 million in 2018.
U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) has teamed with Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) to reintroduce legislation aimed at helping veterans.
If enacted, the Housing Our Military Servicemembers (HOMeS) Act (H.R. 715) would expand access to housing and legal services to veterans and their families by changing funding allocations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Read on for Beatty’s statement on why the proposed legislation is necessary.
National Association of Realtors (NAR) President Elect Vince Malta recently testified before the House Financial Services Committee on the need for government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) reform.
Malta outlined for House members NAR’s priorities for a legislative restructuring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Read on to learn more from Malta’s testimony, which focused on the Bipartisan Financing Reform Act of 2018.
Homeowners are more likely to undertake a do-it-yourself remodel than hire a professional, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) “2019 Remodeling Impact Report: DIY.”
The report also shows that cash-strapped millennials are the most likely of any generation to take on a DIY project.
Read on for details from the report, which examines the differences between remodeling when hiring a professional compared to homeowners who pursue DIY projects.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently awarded more than $139 million to 48 state and local government agencies to protect children and families from lead-based paint and home health hazards.
The money was awarded during an event to unveil the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposure.
Read on for details about the plan, designed to reduce children’s exposure to lead sources and identify lead-exposed children.
In a continuing effort to help end veteran homelessness, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will provide a second round of funding to help provide permanent homes to veterans and their families experiencing homelessness in six states and Washington, D.C.
The program will give an additional 424 vouchers to local public housing agencies.
Read on for more details from the federal agencies.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded more than $23 million to nearly 80 fair housing organizations working to protect consumers from housing discrimination.
Provided through HUD's Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI), these grants offer a range of assistance to the nationwide network of fair housing organizations so they can carry out testing and enforcement activities.
Read on to see which states received the grant money.
John Smaby recently was installed as 2019 president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) during the 2018 Realtors Conference & Expo.
Smaby was NAR’s 2018 president-elect and 2017 first vice president. He has been in the industry for nearly 40 years and is a broker at Edina Realty in Minnesota, where he specializes in residential real estate.
Read on for more details about Smaby and find out who else is joining NAR’s top leadership positions.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged a Paramus, N.J., property owner with housing discrimination for allegedly refusing to rent an apartment to an African-American woman and her young son.
The owner used racial slurs in text messages he sent to the woman informing her that she did not get the apartment, according to the charge.
Read on for details from the charge.
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