NEWS FLASH
Foreclosure And Eviction Moratorium Extended To Aug. 31
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will extend their single-family moratorium on foreclosures and evictions related to the coronavirus until at least Aug. 31, 2020. The current moratorium was set to expire on June 30. The foreclosure moratorium applies to GSEbacked, single-family mortgages only. Also announcing the same extension was the Federal Housing Administration who extended its foreclosure and eviction moratorium through Aug. 31, 2020, for homeowners with FHA-insured single-family mortgages. FHA’s single-family foreclosure and eviction moratorium extension applies to homeowners with FHA-insured Title II Single-Family forward and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, and continues to direct mortgage servicers to: Halt all new foreclosure actions and suspend all foreclosure actions currently in process, excluding legally vacant or abandoned properties; and cease all evictions of persons from FHA-insured singlefamily properties, excluding actions to evict occupants of legally vacant or abandoned properties.
Home Affordability Increases Nationwide
The second-quarter 2020 U.S. Home Affordability Report from ATTOM Data Solutions found that median home prices of single-family homes and condos were more affordable than historical averages in 49% of U.S. counties, up from 31% a year ago. The report found the affordability for average wage earners by calculating the amount of income needed to make monthly house payments—including mortgage, property taxes and insurance—on a
median-priced home, assuming a 3% down payment and a 28% maximum “front-end” debt-to-income ratio. Compared to historical levels, 200 of the 406 counties analyzed in the second quarter are now more affordable, up from 126 of the same group of counties in the second quarter of 2019. The gains have come as higher wages, along with cheaper mortgage costs, resulting from declining interest rates, outweigh ongoing price increases that commonly have exceeded 5% in the current quarter. Among the 41 counties with a population of at least one million, the biggest year-over-year price gains were in Philadelphia County, Penn. (up 22%); Bronx County, N.Y. (up 13%); Mecklenburg County (Charlotte), N.C. (up 12%); Dallas County, Texas (up 11%); and Orange County (Orlando), Fla. (up 10%).
Mortgages Still Difficult For Blacks To Obtain
New research published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows Blacks are more likely to be denied mortgages compared with white borrowers. On the plus side, the numbers do show an increase in the percentage of new home loans going to Black buyers. The data is part of the bureau’s third annual series of Bureau Data Point articles describing mortgage market activity over time based on data reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The major reason for mortgage denial among the Black community is a reliance on debt-to-income ratios. Urban Institute research shows the ratios “are much less significant predictors of loan performance than FICO scores and that many high-DTI loans have strong FICO scores.” The CFPB has proposed a new rule that would diminish the impact of debt-to-income ratios. It would remove the general qualified mortgage loan definition’s 43% debt-to-income limit and replace it with a price-based threshold.
Supreme Court Rules CFPB’s Structure Unconstitutional
The Supreme Court ruled that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as currently constituted, is unconstitutional. In a 5-4 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the bureau will continue operations. However, its director could be removed by the president at will. “Such an agency lacks a foundation in historical practice and clashes with constitutional structure by concentrating power in a unilateral actor insulated from presidential control,” Roberts wrote in the majority decision. “The agency may therefore continue to operate, but its Director, in light of our decision, must be removable by the President at will.” There’s been some speculation that this ruling also affects the Federal Housing Finance Authority. Mark Calabria, its director, said in a statement via Twitter, “I respect the Supreme Court’s decision in the Seila Law case. This ruling does not directly affect the constitutionality of FHFA, including the for-cause removal provision.”
Substantial Growth In Remote Online Notarization
A survey by Qualia found many businesses made the transition to remote working conditions in the title and escrow business. It also predicts that it could be a permanent flexibility for employees in that line of work. As a result, the report shows an impressive uptick in remote online notarizations as well and predicts that they are here to stay. RONs, as the remote online notarizations are also known, were CONTINUED ON PAGE 63
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