Housing markets

As home value appreciation slowed, gains in home equity for the third quarter fell to the lowest level in two years, according to CoreLogic's homeowner equity report.

The Democrat, who will likely head the Financial Services Committee, has signaled she'll make expanded housing opportunities for lower-income consumers a top priority.

Volatility in the stock market caused the growth in the top 5% of average home sale prices to slow more than the rest of the market, according to Redfin.

The sustained rise in home values will boost Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's loan limits for 2019, marking the second consecutive year in which it increased by nearly 7%.

The effort to raise the threshold for transactions excused from appraisal requirements responds to concerns that the current threshold is outpaced by real estate prices.

The Trump administration should consider putting much of the subsidized mortgage lending done by the federal government under the government-sponsored enterprises to improve efficiency and transparency.

Although forecasts anticipate a continuing drop in overall originations, private-label residential mortgage-backed securitizations backed by newer loans are expected to keep increasing through next year, according to Bank of America.

The Congressional Budget Office has found that restructuring the mortgage market would save the government billions of dollars but may increase the cost of housing.

Instead of shrinking the GSEs, the housing regulator is letting them expand into a host of new products and programs.

In a bid to cut time and costs from the mortgage process, Fannie Mae is testing whether appraisers can accurately determine a home's value without actually visiting the property.