Housing

The guidance is largely unchanged from what the agencies proposed last year. It directs institutions to craft policies that consider a wide array of potential shortcomings.

The Federal Reserve's struggle in bringing inflation down from its current level to its 2% target may come down to how the government measures shelter costs in the U.S., leading some experts to question whether the problem is in the economy or in how it is measured.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says crushing inflation is the most important thing the Fed can do to reduce costs in the housing market. Some economists and policy specialists say higher rates are not the only tool at its disposal.

The Federal Reserve chair said a rate cut would not solve the underlying issues driving up shelter costs, even as housing becomes a disproportionate driver of inflation.

Policy experts say the mix of proposals put forth by the White House could ease the nation's housing shortage, but success will be neither quick nor assured.

The Congressional Budget Office put an estimate on the net government subsidy provided to the Federal Home Loan Bank System, including the so-called "implied guarantee," on bonds priced and sold to investors.

An initiative in Baltimore to use blockchain tech to track and manage vacant properties is a prime example of how blockchain can help solve stubborn problems, even if it isn't ready to revolutionize the fundamentals of commerce.

While mortgage assumptions are on the rise, so too are complaints leveled against mortgage servicers for how they handle the loans. A common refrain is that the companies are moving too slowly.

In Canada and the U.K., borrowers can take mortgages with them from home to home. Some say this feature could unlock the U.S. housing market, but others say it would be more trouble than it's worth.

In her first remarks since the release of a sweeping report on the banks, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson urges them to strengthen underwriting and communication with their members' regulators.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson is pushing for a quick launch of pilot programs at the 11 Federal Home Loan banks to help underserved communities after its report this week prescribed major reforms to the system.

Changes being considered by the Federal Housing Finance Agency would make liquidity more expensive and complicated to obtain. But first, those reforms will have to overcome the political power of a wide range of financial institutions that benefit from the status quo.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency says it wants to more closely tether Federal Home Loan bank advances to housing and community development. Doing so will first involve clearly defining the banks' mission through regulation.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said in a long-awaited report that it will set up new guardrails for the Federal Home Loan Banks to ensure that the institutions are serving a housing-centric mission.

The Department of Justice reached a $9 million settlement Wednesday with Westerly, R.I.-based Washington Trust over race-based lending discrimination and redlining in the state, saying the bank denied lending services to Black and Hispanic neighborhoods from 2016 to 2021.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a mortgage report based on statistics from 2022 and is looking for ways to simplify the refinance process while considering changes to mortgage servicing standards.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation relief from the housing sector is "in the pipeline" but some say strong underlying demand and an inadequate housing supply could disrupt future rate pauses or cuts.

The FDIC is launching joint ventures to market $33 billion of commercial real estate loans from the failed Signature Bank, prioritizing its statutory obligation to preserve low-income housing availability.

A former insider wants the Federal Home Loan Bank System's regulator to require its 11 regional banks to balance members' liquidity needs with the system's public mission to fund affordable housing and community development programs.

The lack of affordable housing is becoming an increasingly acute political and economic problem. But a few small tweaks to a Federal Housing Administration loan program could unlock prospective homeowners' potential to solve that problem for themselves.