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FHFA Lowers 2023 Multifamily Loan Purchase Caps

Originally published on November 10, 2022 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced today that the 2023 multifamily loan purchase caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will be $75 billion for each Enterprise, for a combined total of $150 billion to support the multifamily market. The 2023 caps reflect an anticipated contraction of the multifamily originations market in 2023.

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Midterm Elections Boon for Affordable Housing: Moody’s

Originally published on November 15, 2022 by Lynn Pollack for GlobeSt.com.

An increasing number of voters supported affordable housing initiatives during the midterm elections, with some measures receiving more than 70% of the vote in both red and blue states, according to a review from Moody’s Analytics, GlobeSt.com reported Nov. 15. In Austin, Texas, for example, voters approved a $350 million bond, as affordable housing currently makes up just 6% of the city’s rental market.

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AI Board of Directors Adopts 45-Day Notice Item During November Meeting

Originally published on November 16, 2022, by the Appraisal Institute.

The Appraisal Institute Board of Directors voted to adopt one 45-Day Notice item during its Nov. 10-11 meeting in Chicago. The 45-Day Notice item addresses proposed amendments to the Bylaws regarding the International Member on the Board as set forth in the 45-Day Notice distributed to Designated Members, Candidates, Practicing Affiliates, and Affiliates on Sept. 26.

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Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates, but Future Increases Expected to be Smaller

Originally published on November 2, 2022, by Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir for Reuters.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point again on Wednesday and said its battle against inflation will require borrowing costs to rise further, yet signaled it may be nearing an inflection point in what has become the swiftest tightening of U.S. monetary policy in 40 years.

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Biden Administration Announces Progress in Implementing Housing Supply Action Plan

Originally published on October 7, 2022, by the White House.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing key progress on implementing its Housing Supply Action Plan, which in May outlined a set of administrative and legislative priorities aimed at closing the housing supply shortfall in five years. The President believes that policies that boost the supply of affordable housing are critical to easing the burden of rising housing costs for renters and aspiring homeowners, and must be taken in combination with actions that address near-term housing affordability and promote fair housing.

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FHFA Releases New UAD Aggregate Statistics Data File

Originally published on October 24, 2022, for the Federal Housing Finance Agency. 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today published its new Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) Aggregate Statistics Data File. FHFA also launched UAD Aggregate Statistics Dashboards on its website to provide user-friendly visualizations of the newly available data.

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Rulemaking Proposed for Employee, Contractor Status

Originally published on October 11, 2022, by Mandy McClure and Edwin Nieves for the US Department of Labor.

The U.S. Department of Labor will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Oct. 13 to help employers and workers determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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GSEs Completed Nearly 97,000 Foreclosure Prevention Actions in Q2: FHFA

Originally published on September 22, 2022, by the Mortgage Banker's Association.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released its second quarter Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report, showing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 96,945 foreclosure prevention actions during the quarter, raising the total number of homeowners who have been helped to 6,591,002 since start of conservatorships in September 2008.

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House Passes ‘Concerning’ VA Appraisal Legislation

Originally published on September 21, 2022, by the Appraisal Institute.

The House on Sept. 14 passed HR 7735, the Improving Access to the VA Home Loan Benefit Act of 2022, legislation that proposes to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs appraisal requirements, including when an appraisal is necessary, how appraisals are conducted, and who is eligible to conduct an appraisal.  
 
The legislation also allows for desktop appraisals in some circumstances, but the VA has already made that policy change
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FHFA to Create Committee on Affordable, Equitable Housing

Originally published on August 23, 2022, by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced its intent to establish a Federal Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing (Committee). 

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FHFA to Require GSE Servicers to Keep Fair Lending Data

Originally published on August 11, 2022, by Georgia Kromrei for HousingWire.com. 

In a move the Federal Housing Finance Agency said will bolster sustainability and equity, servicers for federally backed loans will obtain and maintain fair lending data.

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Treasury Seeks to Increase Home Affordability, Decrease Long-term Housing Costs

Originally published on July 27, 2022, by the US Department of Treasury.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced new guidance today to increase the ability of state, local, and tribal governments to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to boost the supply of affordable housing in their communities. This step follows a commitment in the Administration’s recently released Housing Supply Action Plan to leverage American Rescue Plan funds for investments in affordable housing as part of a broader strategy to increase the nation’s housing supply and ease housing costs over time.

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Federal Reserve Planning More Rate Increases to Curb Inflation

Originally published on July 27, 2022, by Craig Torres for Bloomberg.com.

Chair Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve would press on with the steepest tightening of monetary policy in a generation to curb surging inflation while handing officials more flexibility on coming moves amid signs of a broadening economic slowdown. 

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New Federal Disclosure Rule Hurting Condo Sales: Report

Originally published on July 19, 2022, by Jack Rogers for GlobeSt.com.

Resistance from condo boards to a new questionnaire that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are requiring condo sellers to fill out in the wake of the deadly collapse of a Florida high-rise tower last year is having a chilling effect on condo markets across the county, according to a report in the Washington Post.

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Appraiser Provisions Part of Legislation Approved by House

Originally published on July 20, 2022, by the Appraisal Institute.

The House of Representatives on July 14 passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which approved $840 billion in defense spending for 2023. The 329-101 vote came after hundreds of amendments were considered, including a couple that focused on valuation issues.  

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FHA Expands Appraisal Validity Period for Certain Mortgages

Originally published on July 12, 2022 by Chris Clow for the Reverse Mortgage Daily. 

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Tuesday announced an increase in the appraisal validity period for all Single Family Title II forward and Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) transactions, increasing the period specifically for the HECM reverse mortgage program from 120 days to 180 days. This is according to the publication of Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2022-11.

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Supreme Court Rejects Floor Plan Case; Appraisers Vulnerable

Originally published on June 27, 2022 by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on June 27 rejected a case involving the use of floor plans in marketing materials. Multiple real estate firms petitioned the court to review the case, contending the Eighth Circuit incorrectly ruled that using floor plans in marketing materials constituted a copyright violation. In April, the Appraisal Institute joined an Amicus Brief filed with the Supreme Court over concerns that appraisers could be sued for making floor plans of a home. (see p. 9, COLUMBIA HOUSE item).

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CFPB to Scrutinize QM Rule as Part of Larger Policy Review

Originally published on June 17, 2022, by Rohit Chopra for CFPB.

Markets work best when rules are simple, easy to understand, and easy to enforce. The CFPB is seeking to move away from highly complicated rules that have long been a staple of consumer financial regulation and towards simpler and clearer rules. In addition, the CFPB is dramatically increasing the amount of guidance it is providing to the marketplace, in accordance with the same principles.

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NCAI Members in Washington, DC

The 2022 AI Leadership and Development Conference (LDAC) was held May 18-20 this year and NCAI had three that attended: Mike Elwell, Greyson Morgan, and Peter Hitchens. Greyson and Peter were first years and had the benefit of Mike Elwell who attended before the pandemic.

LDACstarted with a presentation from Melody Taylor regarding the recently published Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity Task Force (PAVE) Report. While AI suggests the data should be reviewed more, the overall report helps to educate stakeholders about the appraisal process.

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45-Day Notice on Proposed Amendments to Bylaws and Regulation No. 9, Exposure Draft

The Appraisal Institute Board of Directors on June 20 sent to 45-Day Notice proposed amendments to Appraisal Institute Bylaws and Regulation No. 9, an exposure draft of the proposed regional election policy. (AI log-in required).

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