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DS News Webcast: Tuesday 11/18/2014

In its annual report to Congress, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced on Monday that the Federal Housing Administration's Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund has grown by $21 billion in the last two years and now has an economic value of $4.8 billion with a current capital ratio of 0.41 percent. The Fund has gained almost $6 billion in the last year. HUD attributes the Fund's phenomenal growth to "robust policy actions" by regulators that have resulted in improved portfolio performances.

A number of steps taken by the FHA following the housing market crisis of 2008, including changes to underwriting standards, loss mitigation policies, recovery strategies, and premium levels, have led to the Fund's growth in the last two years. HUD stated in the report that "with the Fund on the right track, FHA is sharpening its focus on facilitating access for creditworthy families." FHA said it will continue to execute the policies that resulted in the Fund's growth and the appropriate expansion of mortgage credit access.

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. jumped more than two points in a preliminary November estimate, beating economic forecasts and hitting a more than seven-year high. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment registered 89.4 in a mid-month reading, the best showing since July 2007. Economists had forecast the measure would hit 87.5, with some predicting as high as 89. The survey's current conditions indicator and expectations gauge both increased to their highest levels in seven years.

About Author: Jordan Funderburk

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