News By Edition

In response to the Office of Management and Budget’s request for information on deregulation, the Mortgage Bankers Association provided a list of rules at several agencies that it recommends be rescinded or revised. Among those it suggests be revised are RESPA Section 8 and Regulation X servicing rules.

After a bank purchased property in a nonjudicial foreclosure and sued to eject a couple from the property, the trustee of the property filed a counterclaim accusing the bank of RESPA and Truth in Lending Act violations, among other things. A circuit court granted the bank’s motions for ejectment and to dismiss several counts of the counterclaim. The defendant appealed, and the appeals court vacated the judgments.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced three housing discrimination settlements have recently been issued by the civil rights division, saying his office is dedicated to the vigorous enforcement of fair housing laws, even as federal agencies appear to have abandoned such initiatives.

Both the National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association celebrated the real estate tax provisions in the Republican-led tax and spending package that was advanced by the House of Representatives.

Dr. Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors, will counter the existing narratives of housing market distress with the actual data driving consumer behavior at her presentation at the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3).

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has teamed up with Ask the Agent to add another tool to NAR Realtor Benefits: a video communication and broadcast platform that helps real estate agents engage more effectively with clients.

The average commission for buyer’s agents in the first quarter rose slightly compared with when the new National Association of Realtors commission rules went into effect in August, but were down slightly from the first quarter of 2024, when the new rules were announced, according to a recent Redfin report.

The House Financial Services Housing and Insurance Subcommittee heard testimony about how manufactured and modular housing can impact the country’s affordable housing inventory.

Following the withdrawal of the long-awaited 2023 final rule revising Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) standards, financial institutions will experience no change in federal CRA standards. However, some states are working on tightening their own regulations. A panel of experts discusses the best practices in CRA benchmarking.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed an interim final rule that will rescind the 2021 final rule, “Protections for Borrowers Affected by the COVID-19 Emergency Under RESPA, Regulation X.”

The Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Office of Single Family Housing archived nearly 600 mortgagee letters that are no longer active in an effort to prevent confusion for those seeking accurate policy FHA single family information.

In a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting director Russel Vought, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) urged the bureau to reconsider the withdrawal of a rule that would have prevented private, personal data from being collected and sold without the consumer’s consent.

The fourth quarter critical defect rate dropped to the second-lowest quarterly rate on record, according to ACES Quality Management’s QC Industry Trends report that covered the fourth quarter and calendar year 2024.

The country’s for-sale housing inventory is up nearly 20 percent year-over-year, but households earning $75,000 a year can afford less than a quarter of for-sale listings, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.

Brian Carter, owner of Optymedia and a featured speaker at the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) June 16-18 in Pittsburgh, will discuss artificial intelligence (AI) in housing and leadership. NS3 attendees will leave the presentation with concrete steps to implement AI solutions that deliver measurable results.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development made more than $1.1 billion in Indian Housing Block Grant funding for available to tribal communities to use for affordable housing activities.

Acting leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a list of 39 guidance materials to be rescinded, including several applicable to mortgage originators and servicers.

A coalition of 19 state attorneys general submitted a comment letter opposing the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s interim final rule that would repeal a 2021 rule regarding the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it will not prioritize oversight of “Buy Now, Pay Later” loan providers concerning the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z.

As of May 1, the Department of Veterans Affairs stopped accepting Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase Program (VASP) submissions. VASP was launched last year to help veterans who were struggling financially to avoid foreclosure.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced President Trump intends to nominate Jonathan McKernan to a position at the Treasury. McKernan is awaiting Senate confirmation of Trump’s nomination of him to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and 45 members of the Democratic caucus, as well as 180 House Democrats, filed an amicus brief in NTEU v. CFPB, condemning the mass firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A borrower who was added to a mortgage held by her husband sued several mortgage servicers, claiming they violated RESPA and breached a contract when they failed to honor a loan assumption and modification agreement after her husband’s passing.

The House Financial Services Committee voted along party lines to approve a resolution to greatly reduce funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and to no longer allow the bureau to roll over unspent funds in its civil penalty fund from year-to-year.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will invest $1.8 million in the department’s Foster Youth to Independence program to help more than 100 youth aging out of the foster care system secure housing.

Mortgage credit availability remained unchanged in April after a sizable increase in March, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Hanna Holdings reached a settlement with the plaintiffs in the Gibson v. National Association of Realtors lawsuit, a “copycat” Sitzer-Burnett lawsuit which alleged the defendants violated antitrust laws when they participated in the National Association of Realtors’ multiple listing services and cooperative compensation rule.

A new set of predatory lending allegations have been brought against Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance, Inc., months after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped similar charges against the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary.

Uncertainty and volatility in the current market are proving a challenge for determining a strategy for mortgage servicing rights (MSR), according to MSR Pricing & Analytics Managing Director Mark Garland. He is featured in a recent MSR white paper by SitusAMC.

President Donald Trump’s recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year 2026 include cutting $33.6 billion in funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including 43 percent of grant funding for the department’s rental assistance programs.

Fannie Mae recently announced its latest sale of non-performing loans as part of the company's ongoing effort to reduce the size of its retained mortgage portfolio.

A letter to President Donald Trump signed by 19 U.S. Democratic senators shared their concerns about how tariffs are increasing housing costs and asked the president to “refocus your attention on policies that will address our nation’s housing crisis — not exacerbate it.” 

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha reached a $213,000 settlement with a national real estate management corporation, resolving claims that the company’s application and screening practices violated the state’s Unfair and Deceptive Practices Act and Fair Housing Practices Act as well as the federal Fair Housing Act.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals directed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to continue to hold off implementation of a sweeping reduction in force (RIF) order, pending a ruling on the Trump administration’s appeal of a preliminary injunction resulting from a lawsuit filed in March over the RIF.

A former CFPB counsel shared his thoughts on what all this might mean for the future of the regulatory agency.

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) signed an agreement with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to license ICE Mortgage Technology’s MSP loan servicing system, allowing UMW to bring its mortgage servicing operations in-house.

Pending home sales jumped 6.1 percent in March to 76.5, the largest month-over-month increase since December 2023, according to the National Association of Realtors. Signed contracts and housing inventory levels also rose.

The Federal Housing Administration implemented a new multi-factor authentication for its FHA Connection system designed to resist phishing scams. The security measure is part of the FHA’s larger strategy to maintain secure lender, borrower, and stakeholder data.

A borrower accused two mortgage servicers of violating RESPA by failing to respond to her qualified written requests for information related to her mortgage loan account, specifically regarding charges and fees added to her balance following a loan modification agreement. The servicers moved to dismiss.

The brokerage Compass filed suit against the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) in Seattle, calling it a “monopolist” and claiming its listing rules are anticompetitive and restrict consumer choice and broker competition, in violation of antitrust laws.

The Federal Housing Administration published a mortgagee letter that rescinded policies established in 2022 regarding the claims without conveyance of title post-foreclosure sales period and the Department of Housing and Urban Development real estate-owned properties exclusive listing period.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) earmarked $2.2 million in new funding for the Tribal HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, which provides housing assistance for Native American veterans who are or are at risk of becoming homeless.

Homebuyer affordability improved in March, with the national median payment applied for by purchase applicants dropping 1.4 percent month-over-month, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data.