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BofA CEO Speaks on Future of Housing in America

Speaking before the Brookings Institution in Washington, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan raised the issues of whether homeownership is right for everyone and how the mortgage market will be financed in the future. While most Americans continue to include homeownership in their personal image of the American dream, Moynihan says, ""as a just democratic society, we owe all our citizens a safe, good place to live, but a roof over one's head doesn't always have to come with a mortgage. In some cases, it shouldn't come with that.""

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Survey: Rising Prices Motivate Buyers to Purchase Now

The expectation for prices to continue rising is creating urgency among consumers to buy now, according to a Redfin survey of 1,084 active homebuyers. The percentage of homebuyers who believe prices are bound to move higher in the next 12 months increased to 71 percent in the fourth quarter from 61 percent in third quarter, according to the survey. While rising prices are causing some buyers to purchase now, low inventory is prompting others to hold off on their search.

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Groups Gather to Assist New York Homeowners Impacted by Sandy

Over the weekend, key players gathered in Long Island to assist struggling homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy. The HOPE NOW Alliance organized the event, which provided face-to-face help from mortgage servicers, non-profit housing counseling organizations, and insurance companies, among others.

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FHA Anti-Flipping Waiver Extended Through 2014

FHA flipping rules

HUD plans to waive the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) anti-property-flipping rule through December 31, 2014. The agency is extending the temporary waiver that was put into place in January 2010 for another two years to encourage investors to acquire and renovate foreclosed and vacant homes.

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FHFA Deputy Director to Retire in Spring 2013

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) deputy director Stephen Cross will retire from his post in March 2013, according to an announcement from acting director Edward DeMarco. Cross has served as FHFA's deputy director of the Division of Federal Home Loan Bank Regulation since the agency's creation in 2008.

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Nonprofit Details Role of Predatory Lending in Foreclosure Crisis

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a nonprofit research and policy group, rests the bulk of the blame for the recent foreclosure crisis in the realm of predatory lending. The group finds disparities in the types of loans that were issued to minorities prior to the foreclosure crisis and finds disproportionate affects of the staggering market on those minorities. According to CRL's estimate, about 3.3 million homes with loans originated from 2004 to 2008 have been foreclosed as of February of this year. Another 3.2 million loans originated over the same period were 60 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure as of February.

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CFPB Finds U.S. Consumers Overlook Credit Reports

Even though credit scores play a key role in whether or not a person can be approved for a mortgage loan, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report revealing only one in five people actually obtain a copy of their credit report each year. In addition, these overlooked reports that are important in the lending process could also contain errors that go unchallenged. When consumers did dispute information on their credit report, the CFPB found that nearly 40 percent of the disputes dealt with debt in collections.

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Hurricane Sandy’s Impact on RMBS May Be Smaller than Expected

While the lives of those affected by Hurricane Sandy may not return to normal for some time, one research report suggests the storm’s impact on non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) may be much less substantial than originally anticipated. With some estimates as high as $88 billion, Opera Solutions released its own estimate based on neighborhood-level data Friday. The firm suggests the damage will be closer to $6 billion.

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