Originally published on April 6, 2023, by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency FHFA) will host the Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) on Friday, May 19, 2023, for its second public hearing on appraisal bias in coordination with ASC member agencies. The intent of this hearing is to explore the current regulatory framework for the appraisal industry by focusing on appraisal standards, appraiser qualification criteria, barriers to entry into the profession, and appraisal practices.

Originally published on March 30, 2023, by David Lawder for Reuters.com.

 U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that banking regulation and supervisory rules need to be re-examined in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O) failures to ensure current banking system risks are addressed.

Originally published on March 29, 2023, by the Uniform Appraisal Dataset Advisory Group.

Uniform Appraisal Dataset Redesign Begins Rollout Phase

The Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) and Forms Redesign has taken a big step by announcing the release of the implementation resources. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the GSEs) have worked on the UAD redesign since 2018, leveraging extensive stakeholder input to update the appraisal dataset, align it with current mortgage industry data standards, and replace the GSE appraisal forms with a single data-driven, flexible, and dynamic appraisal report for any residential property type. To begin the multiyear rollout phase, the GSEs have posted an industry playbook, technical specifications, and sample appraisal reports.

Originally published on March 1, 2023, by Fannie Mae.

Originally published on March 21, 2023, by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Public Affairs.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded $54 million to 182 fair housing organizations across the country under its Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP). The grants will provide $28,200,000 to support the efforts of national, state, and local fair housing entities working to address violations of the Fair Housing Act and helping to end discrimination in housing. In addition, HUD provided $26,350,000 in funding to its second and third-year Private Enforcement Initiative grantees to continue fair housing enforcement efforts nationwide. A state-by-state breakdown of the awardees is available here.

Originally published on March 15, 2023, by Adam Russell for FHFA.

​​The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has taken a number of steps since January 2022 to update Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) single-family guarantee fee pricing framework with a special focus on upfront fees. In January 2023, FHFA announced redesigned and recalibrated grids for upfront fees in addition to a new upfront fee for certain borrowers with a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio above 40 percent. These updated pricing grids include the upfront fee eliminations announced in October 2022 to increase pricing support for purchase borrowers limited by income or by wealth.​

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Originally published on March 7, 2023, by Brian Cheung for NBC News.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers Tuesday that policymakers may have to speed up their interest rate hikes to tame high inflation.

Originally published on February 27, 2023, by Nina Totenberg for NPR.

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to take up a case that could threaten the existence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and potentially the status of numerous other federal agencies, including the Federal Reserve.

Originally published on March 8, 2023, by the Appraisal Institute.

Read Fannie Mae’s updated Selling Guide

Originally published on January 25, 2023, by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Jan. 25 sent an alert to financial institutions warning them to look out for potential commercial real estate purchases made by Russian investors who have been sanctioned. FinCEN specifically warned against vulnerabilities based on a review of the Banking Secrecy Act.

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Originally published on February 1, 2023, by Jeff Cox for CNBC.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point and gave little indication it is nearing the end of this hiking cycle.
 
Aligning with market expectations, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee boosted the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage point. That takes it to a target range of 4.5%-4.75%, the highest since October 2007.

Originally published on January 25, 2023 by the White House.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to increase fairness in the rental market and further principles of fair housing. These actions align with a new Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights that the Administration is also releasing today. The Blueprint lays out a set of principles to drive action by the federal government, state and local partners, and the private sector to strengthen tenant protections and encourage rental affordability.

Read the Key Actions

Originally published on January 25, 2023 by the Appraisal Subcommittee. 

Appraisal Institute President Craig Steinley, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, AI-RRS, testified at a Jan. 24 Appraisal Subcommittee hearing on appraisal bias. Steinley told the subcommittee that “As the agencies continue the development of guidelines and regulations that touch on appraisal topics, we offer the resources of AI, including our Designated Members, to assist with the understanding of appraisal standards, appraisal methodology, and appraisal practice.”

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Originally published on January 11, 2023 by Congress.gov.

President Biden on Dec. 27 signed HR 7735, the Improving Access to the VA Home Loan Benefit Act of 2022, which streamlines the valuation process for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs mortgage loans by allowing desktop appraisals and appraisal waivers in some situations. Critics have complained that the VA home buying process can be unnecessarily slow due to appraisals having to be handled in-house.

Originally published on December 23, 2022, by James Kleimann by the Housing Wire.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) isn’t doing all that it can to prevent appraisal bias, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

Originally published on December 6, 2022, by the IRS.

The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service today issued proposed regulations identifying certain syndicated conservation easement (SCE) transactions as "listed transactions" – abusive tax transactions that must be reported to the IRS.

Originally published on December 22, 2023, by James Kleimann for HousingWire.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) isn’t doing all that it can to prevent appraisal bias, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

Originally published on November 22, 2022, by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Federal Housing Administration in its Nov. 22 Mortgagee Letter 2022-19 rescinded the Mandatory Use Date for the FHA Catalyst: Electronic Appraisal Delivery Module. This action rescinds the mandatory use date for mortgagees to submit appraisals for single-family Title II mortgage endorsements through the FHA Catalyst: EAD Module, which is being discontinued. Starting Oct. 14, 2023, appraisals must be submitted through FHA’s non-Catalyst, legacy EAD portal.

Originally published on November 29, 2022 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the conforming loan limit values (CLLs) for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) in 2023. In most of the United States, the 2023 CLL value for one-unit properties will be $726,200, an increase of $79,000 from $647,200 in 2022.​

The Appraisal Institute Board of Directors on Nov. 22 sent to 45-Day Notice proposing amendments to Appraisal Institute Bylaws governing the nomination and election of officers (AI log-in required).

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