Marcia L. Fudge, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is unexpectedly resigning due to personal circumstances.
Her exit comes after three years at HUD’s helm, having served for almost all of the Biden presidency.
Fudge attributed her decision to her 92-year-old mother, with whom she wants to spend more time, and says she has no plans to run for office again.
“It’s time to go home,” Fudge told USA Today. “I do believe strongly that I have done just about everything I could do at HUD for this administration as we go into this crazy, silly season of an election.”
Fudge will be just one of a few cabinet members to leave the Biden administration, giving…
More than half of homeowners and renters will partly base their choice for President on housing affordability.
That’s according to a new survey commissioned by Redfin and conducted by Qualtrics last month. The survey found that 53.2% of respondents will be informed by housing in November’s presidential election.
On top of that, 64.2% of homeowners and renters said the state of housing makes them feel negative about the economy.
“Housing affordability is top of mind for voters because elevated mortgage rates and home prices, along with an acute housing shortage, have pushed the dream of homeownership out of reach for many Americans,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather.
Analysts say the economy is actually doing well by many metrics, but…
Mortgage rates broke a month-long upward streak, deflating for the first time in weeks and resulting in a purchase demand boost.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.88%, down from the week prior’s 6.94%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.73%. This is the first decline in four weeks.
The 15-year fixed also fell, dropping to 6.22% from 6.26%. A year ago, it averaged 5.95%.
“Evidence that purchase demand remains sensitive to interest rate changes was on display this week, as applications rose for the first time in six weeks in response to lower rates,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
Mortgage loan applications were up nearly 10% from…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Home affordability is expected to be a pressing issue for American families again this year and although it is not a top priority for Republican presidential candidates yet, they are talking about it.
At a rally last month in Durham, New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump said mortgages have become unattainable to the average person and promised to go after banks if he wins back the White House.
“After three years of Bidenomics, they call it Bidenomics, from hell, the average monthly mortgage payment has gone from $1,746 under my administration to $3,322 today, but you can’t get the money, so it doesn’t matter,” Trump told the crowd.
Trump claimed that “Biden’s handlers are making the banks…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
With just weeks left before the Iowa caucus and the presidential primary in New Hampshire, home affordability is weighing on the minds of voters and at least one leading economist says the issue could take center stage as the race for the White House heats up.
Daryl Fairweather, chief economist for Redfin, has said that President Joe Biden will be forced to make home affordability a cornerstone of his reelection bid.
“Even though the overall economy is strong, high housing costs are making many Americans feel poor,” Fairweather said in her recent release on housing predictions for 2024.
“Home prices are up more than 20% since President Biden took office. That’s a problem for his re-election bid:…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Officials at the Federal Housing Finance Agency say racial and ethnic valuation gaps in home appraisals are being reduced in a majority of states.
According to a blog published Tuesday, “Although an appraisal valuation gap continues to exist between white and minority population tracts, data indicate a reduced gap following actions by stakeholders and federal, state, and local agencies, including the release of the PAVE Action Plan.”
The federal Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity was created in June of 2021 to tackle the problem of racial and ethnic bias in home valuations. It is comprised of 13 federal agencies and offices and is co-led by officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and…
Mortgage rates rose once again last week, elevated by economic news that took investors and analysts by surprise.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.90%, up from 6.81%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.30%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also increased, up to 6.25% from 6.11%. A year ago, it averaged 4.26%.
“The combination of upbeat economic data and the U.S. government credit rating downgrade caused mortgage rates to rise this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Despite higher rates and lower purchase demand, home prices have increased due to very low unsold inventory.”
On Tuesday, leaders at Fitch announced they had downgraded the United States of America’s…
A new independent office has been created for manufactured housing programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Employees at the Office of Manufactured Housing Programs will report to Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon, according to a press release.
The office was previously organized under the Office of Housing’s Office of Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs.
Support of manufactured housing is a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to increase the overall supply of affordable housing.
“This organizational change represents a recognition of the critically important role that manufactured housing plays in our country’s housing market,” Gordon said.
During the last two years, HUD has supported the continued production of manufactured homes as…
By CHUCK GREEN
Industry leaders and economists are sharing their opinions about changes to fees for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after reports that homebuyers with good credit scores and substantial down payments will pay more so fees for borrowers limited by income or wealth can be reduced.
The changes to the loan-level price adjustment matrix by officials at the Federal Housing Finance Agency went into effect on May 1 and are the target of two bills in Congress.
Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma, vice chairwoman of the Republican Main Street Caucus, introduced the Free Market Mortgage Act. She said the changes will force homebuyers with good credit to pay more for their mortgages to subsidize loans…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Attendees at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Advocacy Conference shared concerns about housing affordability, trigger leads, and changes to the loan-level price adjustment matrix.
The conference was held last week at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC. MBA members learned about the political and market landscapes on Tuesday before speaking with their elected state representatives on Wednesday. Over 300 members from 39 states participated in those Capitol Hill meetings.
Kellie Allen, vice president of production at Synergy One Lending, was at the conference representing Idaho Mortgage Lenders Association. She was looking forward to talking about the challenges members of her association are facing.
“Affordable housing is a huge one, of course, and then one of the big…
