News

After four and a half years, the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program has assisted 1.5 million at-risk homeowners, according to a NeighborWorks America report. Consumers who received mortgage modification assistance from NFMC saw their monthly payments decrease by an average of $176 more per month compared to non-NFMC clients. In addition, homeowners who sought assistance from NFMC were nearly twice as likely to receive a modification.

Edward DeMarco's days directing the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) may be numbered, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. ""People familiar with the discussions"" told The Wall Street Journal the White House is preparing to nominate a new director. According to those sources, administration officials are still in the process of gathering names for potential nominees.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) isn't doing enough to monitor compensation for senior professionals at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Office of the Inspector General (FHFA-OIG) suggests in a new report. While the FHFA has increased its monitoring on executive pay, its oversight of non-executive compensation has been relatively limited, according to the report. For example, payment for executives was brought down from 2010 to 2011, but compensation for senior professionals actually increased in those years.

A Los Angeles jury ruled that three former IndyMac Bank officers must pay $169 million in damages to the FDIC for making negligent loans to homebuilders, according to a report from Bloomberg.

StreetLinks Lender Solutions LLC has both a new division and a new product to show off. The Indiana-based valuation services and lending technology firm announced the launch of both its Automated Examination and Valuation Division and its new suite of Quality Examination (QX) products.

With about one-third of the American population residing in rental housing with climbing rents even despite largely stagnant incomes, the Center for American Progress argues for continued participation of the federal government in the multifamily housing market. Specifically, the organization supports a federal guarantee on multifamily mortgages. CAP says the Federal Housing Finance Agency ""appears poised to pursue plans to privatize the multifamily mortgage market."" However, CAP says doing so would ""be a big mistake.""

Freddie Mac made suggestions on what housing might look like in 2013 in its December outlook report. Overall, the GSE expects to see a continuation of positive trends. For one, property values should still rise into the next year and are likely to increase by 2 to 3 percent, Freddie Mac reported. The market should also see more households, with household formation expected to expand from a net 1.20 million to 1.25 million households.

Consumers' perceptions of housing and the economy are growing more and more positive, according to responses in Fannie Mae's November 2012 National Housing Survey. Attitudes about the current selling environment continue to improve, with 23 percent of respondents saying now is a good time to sell a home, the highest percentage since the survey began in 2010.

Based on data compiled in the latest ""housing scorecard, the Obama administration described the housing market as ""strengthening"" and noted the continual rise in home values and the strong home sales in October. The administration also released the Making Home Affordable Program report, which details performance related to modifications. According to the report, since the national mortgage servicing settlement, principal reductions outside of the HAMP Principal Reduction Alternative (PRA) program have been more widely used.

Strong positive indicators in the housing market have Capital Economics revising its predictions on growth in 2013 and beyond. According to the firm's most recent US Housing Market Analyst report, Capital Economics foresees ""further strong gains in home sales and housing starts in 2013,"" as well as improvements in prices and mortgage activity. According to the report, ""[t]he improvement in sales will continue to owe a good deal to investors and cash buyers, who are attracted to housing by the sheer extent to which it is undervalued and the prospects for strong rental market demand.""