Housing

Mortgage professionals are focusing on housing policies and the Federal Reserve this November.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a proposed rule for the Federal Home Loan Bank System that allows the FHFA director to set "reasonable" board compensation.

The Federal Home Loans Bank System is under pressure to fund more affordable housing and has several proposals that may work in tandem with Vice President Kamala Harris' goal of building three million new units in her first term.

Vice President Kamala Harris outlined a raft of populist economic proposals in her first major economic speech since securing the Democratic presidential nomination, including some aimed at lowering housing costs and boosting supply.

Democrats Ritchie Torres and Gregory Meeks called on the New York Home Loan bank to follow the lead of its peers and use alternative credit scoring models for collateral to improve consumers' access to homeownership.

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.

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 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.