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Closing of Interracial Gaps in Education Could Increase Homeownership

There are many factors that have affected homeownership rates after the 2008 financial crisis— specifically in regards to young adult social norms and changes in the housing market. The homeownership rate among 25- to 44-year olds has dropped 10 percent in the last decade and recent research shows this could be increased with closing the interracial gap in education and wealth. This research falls in line with statistics on diversity found in the corporate world.

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Freddie Mac MSR Changes Hands; Fannie Mae to Follow?

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, PHH Mortgage Corporation has closed the sale of nearly its entire Freddie Mac portfolio of mortgage servicing rights (MSR) to New Residential Mortgage, LLC—about 81,500 loans. New Residential picked up the portfolio for approximately $110 million. Of that sum, $101.5 million was attributable to the purchase rights for the Freddie Mac MSR portfolio and $8.5 million was for related servicing advances.

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GSE Profit Allocation Decision Could Take a Total 10 Years

In a recent interview, a prominent hedge fund manager said the legal battle with the U.S. government regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s profits could last another five years. In 2012, investors sued Fannie and Freddie for agreeing to allocate the profit in a different way than what they thought they agreed to when investing in the GSEs, but recently it’s seemed the government is siding more with the Treasury and Federal Housing and Finance Agency than investors. If the Trump administration doesn’t stop the profit sweep, the fund manager said the Supreme Court could be the next step.

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Reconstruction Program Aims to Soften Fallout of Natural Disasters

A recent report examined the success of a Build it Back program, which restores homes destroyed by natural disasters. The program has been mostly successful, but some critics find it lacking in certain areas, such as build times and layout adherence. And even though nearly three-quarters of its docket has been completed, a high dropout rate is still a major struggle.

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Proceed With Caution: Existing Home Sales and Economic Growth

Monday, Fannie Mae reported that they expect a rebound in economic growth and consumer spending will resume its position as the biggest contributor. With labor and inventory shortages still prevalent, the housing market hasn’t changed very much and home prices are still on the rise. Based on their research, Fannie expects mortgage rates to remain supportive, but the outlook on existing home sales remains cautious.

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Tear-Down Starts Boast Year-Over-Year Increase

A recent estimate of single-family tear-down starts in 2016 calculated that the number has increased from 2015’s average. A tear-down start is defined by a home that was built on land that was once previously the sight of another structure. And while these figures are only estimates, the report finds that the increase in tear-down starts in indicative of the continued recovery of the single-family housing market.

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The Week Ahead: Summit on Housing, Human Capital, and Inequality

This Friday, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester will be speaking at The Policy Summit on Housing, Human Capital, and Inequality: Transforming Regional Economies—Growth and Equity through Policy and Practice. The Summit is focusing on economic growth during the continued recovery after the Great Recession. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, it is important to understand how economic growth can more equitably benefit low- and moderate-income individuals and communities. Mester will be doing the closing address at the Policy Summit.

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FHFA Drops Optimistic 2016 Report to Congress

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released recently its exhaustive annual 2016 Report to Congress, where it highlights actions it has taken over the year to support and maintain the nation’s housing industry. The 120 page report covers, amongst others: a report of the annual examination of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (The Enterprises), reports of annual examinations of the Federal Home Loan Banks, the results of stress tests under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Consumer Protection Act. You can find some of the report’s highlights here.

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Current Costs of Living Effects Homebuyers Affording College Tuitions

Affording a comfortable lifestyle while saving enough money to send a child to college is a concern for the current homebuyer. The price of college is high and the cost of living in certain states directly impacts the chances of providing a child’s higher education. Recent data identifies the income needed to determine the cost of living securely and affording college tuition.

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Builder Confidence Shaky as Labor, Lot Shortages Continue

Home builders are plagued with labor and lot shortages, and it’s causing their confidence in the single-family market to waver, according to new data released this week. Overall, builder confidence in the single-family residential market has dropped by two points in June. Single-family production fell 3.9 percent for the month of May, while multifamily construction dropped 9.7 percent. Overall, housing starts declined 5.5 percent across the nation.

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