Housing markets

The maximum loan amount for Federal Housing Administration mortgages will go up in more than 3,000 counties for 2018.

Conforming loan limits for mortgages bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will increase for the second consecutive year in response to the rapid rise in home prices, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

The battle lines are drawn between those seeking to protect the mortgage interest deduction and a legislative effort to greatly reduce its use. Hopefully, this is a battle that taxpayers will win.

Here's a look at the 12 housing markets with the largest percentages of mortgages over $500,000 — the new threshold House Republicans have proposed for the mortgage interest deduction in their tax plan.

The Fed’s new chief bank regulator wants to change “the tenor of supervision”; Ron O’Hanley, who was named president this week, will also take over as CEO by the end of 2018.

More FHA homeowners than expected are refinancing out of the program and into conventional mortgages, despite an increase in mortgage rates over the past year.

A House Republican tax proposal that infuriated housing groups and sent homebuilder stocks sliding would only have a modest impact on the market for new homes and could end up being a net positive for the industry, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysts.

The CFPB's practice of "regulation by enforcement" forces mortgage companies to develop compliance standards based on the mistakes of their peers, rather than clear guidance from the enforcement agency, said David Motley, the new chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

In a moment of rare unity, the Independent Community Bankers of America and National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions sent a joint letter to FHFA arguing to stop the GSEs' profit sweep.

The National Association of Home Builders is backing off long-held support for the mortgage interest deduction in hopes that the Trump administration can deliver on its promise of lower taxes.