Category: Housing
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The Buying Power of Asian Americans
The housing market has been turbulent for the past decade, but 2016 has started with a positive trend. According to the Nationwide Economics’ Health of Housing Markets (HoHM) Report, the Leading Index of Healthy Housing Markets (LIHHM) for the third quarter of 2015 was higher than 100, their neutral number, and this typically designates a healthy…
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Will Bank of America’s New Loan Program Boost Homeownership?
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) offers home loans that allow low down payments, as low as 3.5 percent; these loans however, need to be backed by private mortgage insurance, meaning an additional cost to already overextended homebuyers. Bank of America is set to launch a new program that will let homebuyers make a down payment…
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Diversity & Inclusion: Effects on Homebuyers
Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is receiving more attention in the business world, as a greater number of companies are increasing their efforts to include women and minorities in their workforce. A recent study, Women in the Workplace, conducted by LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company reveals disappointing results; it shows that the American corporate world is…
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House Flipping in the United States
Indicative of a competitive housing market with stable demand, house flipping is a practice with a lasting effect throughout the country. According to Business Insider (BI), despite comprising a steady amount of all home sales, the current national flip rate of 5 percent is comparable to non-housing bubble years and significantly lower than the 8.6…
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Zombie Foreclosures: Impact on Neighborhoods
Zombie foreclosures are a nationwide issue and according to the Five Star Institute, almost 37 percent of foreclosed homes across the country are abandoned. What are zombie foreclosures and why are they causing a stir in the market?
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Anti-Discrimination Housing Regulations to be Introduced in New York
Discrimination is unjust, especially when it pertains to an individual’s basic necessities such as a home. Most people are aware of redlining practices that occur across the nation, but discrimination does not stop with mortgage lenders and banks.
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Fannie Mae Sells Largest Number of Non-Performing Loans to Date
Fannie Mae began its official sale of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) in April 2015 and since then has sold thousands of seriously delinquent loans. These sales are conducted based on guidelines provided by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and require buyers, as articulated on Fannie Mae’s website, “to offer loan modifications to borrowers and provide…
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The Enterprises Announce their Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) Process
On Tuesday, February 2, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac introduced the Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process to help resolve mortgage repurchase related issues. Though the IDR does not annex the Enterprises’ authority over appeals, it allows lenders to approach an independent third-party entity with loan disputes that remain unresolved…
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First Tennessee Bank Reaches Second Lending Settlement
In June 2015, First Tennessee Bank reached a $212.5 million settlement for knowingly underwriting and originating mortgage loans not complying with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lending requirements. First Tennessee Bank recognized that from January 2006 to October 2008 it originated and underwrote mortgage loans insured by the FHA which did not satisfy the Department of…
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Homeownership Rising in the U.S.
After increasing in the third quarter for the first time in two years (from a 48-year low), American homeownership rose for a second consecutive quarter from 63.7 percent to 63.8, the Census Bureau announced Thursday. Fueled by job growth and flexible lending, these successive increases, albeit minuscule, are welcome news after a span of incessant…