Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have signed a settlement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to implement new appraisal standards starting Jan. 1, 2009, that will bar lenders selling loans to the mortgage giants from using in-house appraisers or subsidiary appraisal firms. On brokered loans, lenders must certify in representations and warranties that the mortgage broker did not select the appraiser. Fannie and Freddie control over 60% of the mortgage market, and Mr. Cuomo said the settlement will transform appraisal practices by state and federally regulated banks that had pressured appraisers to inflate appraisals. "Now national banks have a clear choice: immediately adopt the new code and clean up fraud in the mortgage industry or stop doing business with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Mr. Cuomo said. As the regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight also signed the settlement. "For the banking regulators, this is kind of tough to swallow because the practices that they had permitted are prohibited by this agreement," mortgage banking consultant Howard Glaser said.
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House Republicans overcame internal divisions to narrowly pass President Trump's tax and spending package Thursday afternoon. The measure would cut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding level, among other provisions.
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A labor shortage is costing the market tens of thousands of new homes per year, and tariff uncertainty is adding thousands of dollars in expenses per unit.
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The pace of revenue growth slowed toward the end of 2024, with the trend continuing into the first three months of this year, NAHB reported.
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Capital One closed the deal to buy the credit card provider in May and as part of the review process, decided to exit its home equity lending business.
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The 10 basis point decline in the 30-year fixed mortgage was the most since March and the first time rates are below 6.7% since April, Freddie Mac said.
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The firm, now going by Fairway Home Mortgage, said the change is a representation of plans to create a "connected ecosystem."
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