Government

In addition to refinancing assistance for mortgage holders, President Barack Obama's proposed American Jobs Act includes a handful of elements that relate to the distressed real estate market, all part of what the administration has labeled Project Rebuild. The new $15 billion program is based on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) and will attempt to connect Americans looking for work in distressed communities with jobs needed to repair and repurpose residential and commercial properties.

President Obama's speech introducing his new Jobs Act included a pledge to refinance millions of home mortgages. Documents released since then by the White House and a key housing regulator reveal that the government-led refi push will indeed center around an overhaul of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). The administration says it intends to remove the barriers that exist in the current program to allow more borrowers to qualify as long as they have a history of making their payments on time.

Congressman Gary Ackerman of New York has sent a letter to House Appropriators urging them to extend the temporarily increased conforming loan limit that will otherwise expire October 1. Ackerman was joined by 36 members of Congress in his request. He suggested the conforming loan limit extension be built into the continuing resolution that will keep the federal government functioning when the new fiscal year begins next month. Private investors, though, are advocating for the loan limit increase to expire.

The Federal Reserve has published a new rendition of its market-gauging Beige Book, which indicates economic activity across the country is expanding at only a modest pace. Residential real estate markets were described as ""weak"" overall, however, a few districts did report slight improvements. Markets in the New York district are seeing an increasing share of foreign buyers paying cash. Florida contacts report a rise in sales activity but a decline in bank-owned homes.

Housing got only a brief mention in President Obama's highly anticipated jobs speech Thursday night, but it was a pledge that some pundits say is a step in the right direction. Others say it's likely to have little impact. Obama told Congress his administration will work to refinance millions of homeowners' mortgages at today's record-low rates. It's expected the program will give borrowers who are underwater or have bad marks on their credit the opportunity to take out lower-rate, lower-payment loans.

Lender Processing Services (LPS) has released a new product that combines the objective precision of AVMs with the detailed review of BPOs. Because AVMs do not often take property condition into account, many default servicers rely on BPOs. However, BPOs allow for a greater amount of subjectivity and can result in inconsistencies. LPS developed the Distressed Asset Review to combine the best characteristics of each method.

Americans continue to harbor a glum outlook for the housing industry and the economy at large. According to Fannie Mae's latest National Housing Survey, August was the third month in a row that more respondents expect housing prices to decrease than increase over the next 12 months. Twenty-seven percent of Americans say prices will likely head lower, while 20 percent hold out hope for appreciation. More than two-thirds say the economic recovery is on the wrong track.

At a congressional hearing Wednesday, witnesses voiced concerns about the government's participation in the mortgage market as well as the lack of transparency between servicers and investors. One analyst described the U.S. housing finance system, where the GSEs account for over 90 percent of new mortgages, as ""problematic."" Others said government is crowding out the private market with programs that make below-market-rate loans available to nearly all borrowers, and they advocated for the expiration of increased conforming loan limits.

Two economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York suggest states may be able to help stabilize the housing market by making bridge loans to temporarily unemployed homeowners who struggle to make their monthly mortgage payments. James Orr and Joseph Tracy base their recommendations on a successful Pennsylvania program started in 1982 -- the Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP). In fact, 80 percent of HEMAP borrowers have been able to retain their homes and have repaid their loans.

Richard Cordray has been hand-picked by President Obama to lead the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). On Wednesday, Cordray stood before the U.S. Senate to make a case for lawmakers' confirmation of his appointment. On the heels of major lawsuits announced by the government related to mortgage bonds, Cordray told senators that regulatory authority is his weapon of choice as opposed to litigation, which can be ""a very slow, wasteful, and needlessly acrimonious way to resolve a problem.""