By Kerry Smith The VantageScore model could help up to 37M more Americans qualify for a mortgage. But while FHFA OK’d it, it’s still up to individual Fannie and Freddie lenders. SAN FRANCISCO – VantageScore announced that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) approved VantageScore 4.0 for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which back more than half of all U.S. mortgages. VantageScore operates as a credit score for consumers seeking a loan, but the information it considers varies from other credit scorers, such as FICO. The goals are the same, however – to identify the potential homebuyers most
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By Kerry Smith After a brief Aug. uptick, Sept. new-home sales slowed again as steadily rising mortgage rates moved a newly constructed home out of reach for more buyers. WASHINGTON – Rising mortgage rates approaching 7% along with declining builder sentiment stemming from stubbornly high construction costs and weakening consumer demand pushed new-home sales down at a double-digit rate in September. Following a brief uptick in August, sales of newly built, single-family homes in September fell 10.9% to a 603,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census
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Websites should offer ADA info, but a hotel site claimed that a “tester” who didn’t plan to book a room shouldn’t be allowed to sue. A court judge disagreed. BOSTON – A “tester-plaintiff” had standing to sue for a hotel reservation website’s alleged failure to comply with federal regulations governing accessibility for the disabled, even if she had no plans to actually book a room at the hotel, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Plaintiff Deborah Laufer sued defendant Acheson Hotels for allegedly failing to comply with regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that require
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By Kerry Smith Prices are higher year-to-year (13% in Aug.), but the Fed applied brakes, and that’s down from July’s 15.6%. Yet at 28%+, Miami and Tampa still surge. NEW YORK – The latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller measure of U.S. home prices finds continuing gains – but the rate of those gains is rapidly slowing across the U.S., in large part due to Federal Reserve interest rate hikes that have made mortgages more expensive and homebuyers more skittish about committing to a purchase. Year-over-year: The index covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 13.0% year-to-year home
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By Kerry Smith HUD’s Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing (RUSH) program grants money after a disaster-caused uptick in homelessness. The state and seven counties will get funding. WASHINGTON – Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia L. Fudge traveled to Orlando to announce a first round of funding allocations under HUD’s new Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing (RUSH) program. According to HUD, RUSH fills in assistance gaps specifically in addressing homelessness following a natural disaster. The first round of funding consists of $6.8 million to the State of Florida and seven of the state’s local governments impacted by Hurricane Ian.
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By Kerry Smith Costs will drop for many conventional loans after FHFA reduced “loan-level pricing adjustments” levied on most mortgages, a changed backed by NAR. WASHINGTON – When applying for a mortgage, the rate a lender quotes a borrower isn’t always what they expect – or what they’ve read about in the media. Part of the costs rolled into the quote are “loan-level pricing adjustments,” and a move by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to lower those adjustments should make a loan more affordable for most U.S. home borrowers. In March 2008 the FHFA’s mortgage-backing agencies, Fannie Mae and
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By Kerry Smith The Florida Housing Finance Corporation is awarding $5M to local partners in the sixth hardest-hit counties to help offset out-of-pocket insurance costs. FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) is awarding $5 million to local housing partners in the six counties hit hardest by Hurricane Ian. The money can be used to help Floridians pay their home insurance deductibles, which is generally a lot higher than insurance deductibles for non-hurricane events. Gov. Ron DeSantis made the announcement last week. The funding assistance is available to individuals, families and seniors living in Charlotte, Collier,
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By Kerry Smith With rent growth and inflation likely to continue, economists think a buyer’s market will emerge before the end of 2023 – but that will vary by U.S. location. SEATTLE – High mortgage costs are driving down competition among home shoppers, and a market firmly in favor of buyers is expected before the end of next year, according to a majority of the 107 economists and housing experts surveyed by Pulsenomics for Zillow. The panel also expects rent growth to outpace inflation during the next 12 months, as priced-out potential homebuyers exert additional pressure on the rental market.
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By Ashraf Khalil It also includes some company execs. The prosecutor calls it the largest settlement in U.S. history and allegedly focuses on procedures to avoid Sec. 8 vouchers. WASHINGTON (AP) – A trio of real estate companies will pay $10 million for illegally discriminating against renters using government housing vouchers in the nation’s capital, in what Washington Attorney General Karl Racine said was the largest civil penalty in U.S. history for a housing discrimination case. “When landlords break the law and refuse to accept vouchers, it’s reminiscent of Jim Crow-era housing discrimination policies intended to restrain opportunities for Black
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By Jim Turner Gov. DeSantis says he’ll call lawmakers in session to provide property tax relief to people affected by Hurricane Ian; it may address property insurance issues too. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he plans to call a special legislative session to provide property-tax relief to people affected by Hurricane Ian, with the session possibly addressing property-insurance issues. DeSantis also has signed an executive order that would delay tax-payment deadlines in storm-impacted counties until lawmakers can put changes into law. The order applies to counties that have received a disaster designation from the federal government, and
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