Government

In an ongoing effort to improve housing education for consumers, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it has awarded $40 million in grants to hundreds of national, regional, and local organizations to bolster housing counseling programs.

In its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Freddie Mac recorded the average rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) at 4.14 percent (0.6 point), down from 4.20 percent last week. Last May, the 30-year fixed was at 3.59 percent and climbing amid speculation the Federal Reserve would soon start tapering its monthly asset purchases. The first cut didn't arrive until seven months later, in December.

A mayor in the Miami area has been suspended by Florida Gov. Rick Scott following a federal indictment alleging mortgage fraud. According to a report from the Miami Herald, North Miami Mayor Lucie Tondreau was suspended Tuesday after appearing in court to face charges related to her role in an $8 million fraud scheme.

In its latest economic forecast, released Wednesday, Fannie Mae reported that housing remains the weakest link in the national economy. Through the first three months of 2014, existing-home sales, new single-family home sales, single-family housing starts, and multifamily housing starts all declined year-over-year.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of the Inspector General (FHFAOIG) released its latest update on the status of the development of the Common Securitization Platform (CSP). In a recent speech, FHFA director Mel Watt said the continued development of the Common Securitization Platform is one of the most important goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac going forward.

Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky of New York's Department of Financial Services said the agency plans to dig into fee-based ancillary services at non-banks such as Ocwen andNationstar. While Lawsky said there's "nothing inherently wrong" with companies and affiliates providing ancillary services—ranging from debt collection to loan sales—he asserted that a lack of regulatory oversight up to this point has resulted in "potentially conflicted arrangements" between servicers and their affiliates.

Speaking before an audience at the Boulder Summer Conference on Consumer Financial Decision Making, CFPB director Richard Cordray spoke on the effects of student loan debt on the future of the housing market. The oft-criticized director commented on the growing $1.2 trillion of student loan debt, and how student debt will have negative ramifications on the housing market in the future.

President Obama is expected to nominate current San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro as the new secretary of housing and urban development. Castro would take the place of current director Shaun Donovan, who is to become director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Despite some recent kickback from Senate Democrats, the Johnson-Crapo reform bill that plans to phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac passed the Senate Banking Committee by a bipartisan vote of 13-9. The legislation is an agreement between Chairman Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) "designed to stabilize the housing finance market and strengthen the American economy," the committee said in a press release.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has been busy. After a recent Mel Watt speech as well as a plan for the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government agency released its Foreclosure Prevention Report for February 2014. The report contains data regarding the foreclosure prevention activity of the GSEs as of the end of February.