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Survey: Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction Should Be Replaced

About 56 percent of respondents to a recent survey by the National Low Income Housing Coalition said they support replacing the current mortgage interest tax deduction with an alternative that offers the same percentage deduction to all homeowners without taking income into account. The survey of a little more than 1,000 Americans also found that 63 percent believe tax deductions should only apply to those whose mortgages are $500,000 or less. The same percentage said the federal government should use savings it would incur from revising the mortgage interest tax deduction to end homelessness.

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Reports: Refi Numbers Low Despite Low Mortgage Rates

It was no surprise when mortgage rates dropped in the weeks following the Fed's announcement that it would purchase $40 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) each month until the labor market shows substantial improvement. Even with the record-low mortgage rates seen today, refinancing numbers are still not as high as expected. CoreLogic and Capital Economics highlighted different factors for the lack of refinancings in separate reports.

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Home Prices Buck Typical Seasonal Slowdown in September: Report

Home prices in September were up 5 percent year-over-year while home sales posted a 4 percent annual increase, even as housing metrics began their typical seasonal declines, according to Redfin's analysis of activity across 19 major U.S. markets. Between August and September, these 19 markets saw prices decline just 0.8 percent, which Redfin says is a smaller decline than is customary at this time of year. At the same time, the number of homes for sale in the target markets was down 29.3 percent from September 2011.

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Zillow: Inventory Shrinking, California Metros Depleting Fastest

Sellers may begin to have the upper hand in the market as housing inventory shrinks, leaving first-time homebuyers left to compete with investors, a report from Zillow revealed. Inventory across all price levels fell 19.4 percent year-over-year as of September 30, according to Zillow analysis, which tracked the number of homes listed for sale on its site. Among the 30 largest metros, California cities saw the biggest annual reduction in inventory.

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MBA Releases Letter Addressing CFPB Servicing Rules

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released to the public a letter urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to avoid proposals that may lead to unforeseen and unintended consequences harmful to the industry. In a letter published on the association's site, MBA president and CEO David Stevens urges CFPB to consider both borrower needs and servicer limitations when designing mortgage industry regulations. Specifically, Stevens asks CFPB to limit its rulemaking to the mandates required by the Dodd-Frank Act and to use its exemption authority to remove ""unduly burdensome"" requirements.

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Report: 1 in 8 Banks Would Fail Stress Test

One in eight banks wouldn't be able to maintain adequate capital in a stressed economic environment, according to a Trepp report. The analytics firm released the results of its first Capital Adequacy Stress Test (T-CAST) of banks across the country, adapting the Federal Reserve's Comprehensive Capital Analysis Review (CCAR) Stress Test used on the 19 largest banking institutions in March.

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Rates Make Slight Increase After Dropping to Record Lows

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) showed surprisingly little life this week following the better-than-expected jobs report for September. While rates did rise for the week ending October 11, most increases were mild. The 30-year fixed average posted the largest growth, rising to 3.39 percent (0.7 point) from 3.36 percent-a record low the week before. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also saw an increase, averaging 2.70 percent (0.6 point), up from 2.69 percent previously.

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Radian Reports September Delinquencies

Radian Guaranty Inc. wrote $3.54 billion in new mortgage insurance in September, the company reported Wednesday. The mortgage insurer started off with 94,823 delinquent loans in September and ended with more loans, 94,831, in delinquency.

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Ellie Mae, DocMagic Settle Antitrust Suit

After a three-year battle, Ellie Mae and software developer DocMagic reached a settlement over an antitrust suit, the companies announced jointly. DocMagic first filed against Ellie Mae in August 2009, alleging antitrust violations, intentional interference with contractual relationships, interference with prospective economic advantage, and unfair competition, according to a company release sent out at the time.

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