Category Archives: Housing Finance

The Wall Street Journal reports that there was a significant increase in the supply of apartments over the past two years that resulted in higher vacancy rates. However, vacancy rates appear to be coming down owing to...

Politico writes that Vice President Kamala Harris and Senator JD Vance (R-OH) are citing corporate investors responsible for the U.S. housing affordability crisis. In response, Harris has proposed limiting tax deductions for those owning 50 or...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has issued a proposal to scale back capital requirements on interest-bearing deposit accounts for the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs). This would allow FHLBs greater flexibility to manage liquidity during periods...

The FHFA released the July House Price Index which found that U.S. home prices rose by 0.1% during the month of July and 4.5% year-over-year. Read More

In a speech at the National Housing Conference on September 9, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra discussed plans to promote mortgage refinancing in a lower-interest rate environment. The plan would include monitoring the role of artificial...

As the office real estate market continues to struggle with high vacancy rates and falling property values, policymakers are considering tax incentives to encourage office-to-housing conversions. A bipartisan bill from the House would provide a...

Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced a plan which seeks to address the current U.S. housing shortage by adding three million more homes and apartments. Harris’s plan incentivizes private-sector construction, provides subsidies for home builders...

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted a recent boost in home equity line of credit (HELOC) borrowing that it attributes to the mortgage rate lock-in effect. The study finds that 1.3 million HELOCs...

The FHFA released the latest House Price Index, which found that U.S. home prices were unchanged in May. Home prices remain 5.7% higher from May 2023 to May 2024.  Read More

The Wall Street Journal writes that mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) have been a bright spot in the mortgage bond market. MSR values have increased as prepayments from home sales and refinances have decreased due to higher interest...

The mortgage rate lock-in effect is exacerbating housing affordability challenges. Median home prices have risen to $419,000 in May, up from $270,000 pre-pandemic. Two thirds of outstanding U.S. mortgages have an interest rate below 4%,...