Government

The bank's Economics Group issued a special commentary in its Housing Data Wrap-Up for August 2012, examining the potential effects (or lack thereof) the Fed's new plan may have on housing and updating its forecast for the market. The Fed's influence should put downward pressure on long-term interest rates, but Wells Fargo says the benefits from such a move will be modest at best, citing already-low mortgage rates. The bigger issue at hand is the ""fiscal cliff,"" which has led to a slowdown in hiring and turned back gains in consumer confidence.

In the case Fannie Mae v. Lopez, Judge Lynn G. Norton of the Elmore County District Court ruled in favor of Fannie Mae and dismissed complaints against MERS.

Appraisals may assign a home with one exact specific value, but in reality, a home's value tends to fall into a price range due to a number of different factors, according to a Home Value Forecast report released by Pro Teck Valuation Services and Collateral Analytics. To address this issue, Home Value Forecast suggests establishing a range of value in addition to an appraisal and improving data to support market condition conclusions.

As part of its ongoing series on economic issues in this year's election swing states, IHS Global Insight released a report on the Centennial State: Colorado. The report revealed that addressing housing and the economy in the state may not be the best tack for either major party candidate to take, as Coloradans have relatively little to worry about on both counts.

When he ran for the presidency in 1980, Ronald Reagan, then Republican governor of California, struck at then-President Jimmy Carter over the strength of the economy. His question for Americans: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? That's the question Paul Ashworth and Paul Dales, senior analysts with Capital Economics, offered to answer in a report released by the consultancy on Friday. The report breaks down recent economic trends, including GDP, home sales, and median income.

On the heels of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's announcement of its revised representation and warranty guidelines, comes news that Freddie Mac will be increasing its repurchase claims in the near future. The revised rep and warranty guidelines were designed to provide more clarity in the market, but in the meantime, the FHFA Office of Inspector General reports Freddie Mac will increase repurchase requests to between $0.

The continuation of improvements in the housing sector and servicer performance were a key focus in the Obama Administration's housing scorecard and Making Home Affordable Program report. Maintaining its tone from previous months, the Obama administration's housing scorecard said data on the housing market continues to show the market is strengthening, but still fragile. Larger servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program were also described as continuing to show improvement.

The Justice Department announced Thursday that it has reached a settlement with Bank of America over allegations of loan discrimination against disability income recipients. The bank was accused of violating the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by asking disabled mortgage loan applicants to provide letters from their doctors to document the income they received from Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

Rep. John Campbell (R-California) introduced to Congress a piece of legislation designed to keep local governments from using eminent domain to seize homes with underwater mortgages. Titled ""The Defending American Taxpayers from Abusive Government Takings Act,"" the bill would prohibit Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and the Veterans Administration from purchasing or guaranteeing loans originating in counties where a municipality has seized a mortgage loan through eminent domain in the last decade.

Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau met with general praise and a few pointed concerns Thursday when he addressed the Senate Banking Committee when he presented the agency's semi-annual report. While most members of the committee praised the Bureau's progress thus far, a few questioned the extent of its authority and the implications of some of its actions.