FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Paul Lopez
202-266-8409
plopez@nahb.org
www.nahb.org
Statement from NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg on Qualified Mortgage Rule
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 - Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla., today issued the following statement regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's newly-released standard on the definition of a qualified mortgage (QM) which addresses the borrower's ability to repay a home loan:
"We appreciate the hard work the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has put into this effort to create a qualified mortgage standard that ensures home buyers have access to affordable mortgages, contains strong consumer protections and provides lenders proper incentives to make home loans to creditworthy borrowers.
"The qualified mortgage rule stipulates that borrowers must be able to repay home loans issued to them and will set the parameters for all mortgage financing going forward. So it is essential that it strikes the proper balance that encourages lenders to provide creditworthy borrowers access to affordable home loans, and also gives assurances to financial institutions that they will be protected from lawsuits if they meet the criteria set forth in the rules.
"Our initial review of the QM rule indicates that this balanced approach can be achieved. NAHB is encouraged that regulators heeded concerns from the housing industry to craft a broad standard that includes many of today's sound mortgage products, including fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages, under the QM standard.
"The rule will take effect next January. To spur the revival of the home lending market, it is essential that regulators act prudently and thoughtfully in the coming year to implement this rule in a sensible manner to avoid disruptions to the housing finance system and ensure qualified borrowers can obtain affordable credit."
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ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 140,000 members involved in remodeling, home building, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for this year.
Showing posts with label Mortgages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mortgages. Show all posts
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Home Builders Congratulate President Obama on Re-Election to a Second Term
Home Builders Congratulate President Obama on Re-Election to a Second Term
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 - Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla., issued the following statement on Tuesday's national elections:
"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) congratulates President Obama on winning a second term as President of the United States of America and all the lawmakers who were elected to the 113th Congress.
"In the closing weeks of the 112th Congress, NAHB urges President Obama and congressional leaders to work together to resolve issues related to the 'fiscal cliff' by extending all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts while being mindful of how broad-based tax reform will affect the fledgling housing recovery. Any effort to engage in tax reform should be done in a careful and deliberate manner and demands the proper vetting by Congress and all relevant stakeholders. There should be no rush to judgment on an issue that will affect virtually every American citizen.
"Moreover, when the new Congress convenes in January, NAHB looks forward to working in a bipartisan manner with the Administration and with Republican and Democratic leaders to tackle critical issues facing the housing industry.
"Making sure creditworthy consumers and small businesses can get mortgages and loans, tackling housing finance reform in a responsible manner and resolving the foreclosure crisis are vital to spur job growth and strengthen the housing and economic recovery."
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ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 140,000 members involved in remodeling, home building, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for this year.
Follow NAHB on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NAHBMedia.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 - Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla., issued the following statement on Tuesday's national elections:
"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) congratulates President Obama on winning a second term as President of the United States of America and all the lawmakers who were elected to the 113th Congress.
"In the closing weeks of the 112th Congress, NAHB urges President Obama and congressional leaders to work together to resolve issues related to the 'fiscal cliff' by extending all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts while being mindful of how broad-based tax reform will affect the fledgling housing recovery. Any effort to engage in tax reform should be done in a careful and deliberate manner and demands the proper vetting by Congress and all relevant stakeholders. There should be no rush to judgment on an issue that will affect virtually every American citizen.
"Moreover, when the new Congress convenes in January, NAHB looks forward to working in a bipartisan manner with the Administration and with Republican and Democratic leaders to tackle critical issues facing the housing industry.
"Making sure creditworthy consumers and small businesses can get mortgages and loans, tackling housing finance reform in a responsible manner and resolving the foreclosure crisis are vital to spur job growth and strengthen the housing and economic recovery."
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ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 140,000 members involved in remodeling, home building, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for this year.
Follow NAHB on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NAHBMedia.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Statement from NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen on Changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24-- Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev., issued the following statement regarding today's announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to enact a series of changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP):
"It is encouraging that the Obama Administration is beginning to turn its attention to restoring the nation's housing market, which is crucial for the health of our economy.
"Making more borrowers eligible for refinancing their mortgages by enhancing the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) will give a badly needed boost to consumer confidence. Enabling additional home owners to take advantage of today's low mortgage interest rates in cases where their loans are greater than the value of their homes will give some households more money to spend on other things and enable others to at least pay their mortgages off at a faster rate.
"However, for the many families who have fallen behind in their payments because of the weak job market, the changes to HARP will have no benefit. HARP is only open to mortgage borrowers who have remained current with their payments. Clearly, additional policy initiatives are urgently needed to prevent foreclosures and deal with the inventory of foreclosed homes.
"In addition, it is essential to address overly restrictive mortgage lending standards, inappropriate credit limitations on home builders and a broken appraisal system that is contributing to housing price instability. All of these factors are detrimental to the full-scale housing recovery we need to rally consumers and get a disappointing economic recovery moving forward.
"We still have an enormous amount of work to do to repair housing. The HARP changes are a good step, but our leaders in Washington need to quickly focus on a broader range of actions for improving the housing marketplace. It has taken a painfully long time for them to recognize that housing is indispensable to the job creation and growth that have been sorely lacking since the end of the recession. The American people are losing patience and they expect far better economic prospects than those they are finding today, which stem in large part from neglecting housing."
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ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 160,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for this year.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Housing is Key to Job Creation, Economic Recovery
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 - Discussions on the need to restore the nation's languishing housing market in order to rouse job creation from anemic levels and boost economic growth has been prominent this week in congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and in newspapers across the country, leaving many wondering when leaders in Washington will take action to address this problem.
"How many more articles need to appear on the front pages of major newspapers and how many officials need to sound the alarm before federal policymakers reverse anti-housing policies that are dampening demand and preventing a housing and economic recovery from taking hold?" asked Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev.
Testifying before the Joint Economic Committee yesterday, Bernanke said: "The housing sector has been a significant driver of recovery from most recessions in the United States since World War II. This time, however, a number of factors -- including the overhang of distressed and foreclosed properties, tight credit conditions for builders and potential home buyers, and the large number of 'underwater' mortgages (on which home owners owe more than their homes are worth) -- have left the rate of new home construction at only about one-third of its average level in recent decades."
With inventories of new homes nearly depleted in many markets, builders should be gearing up to meet demand, create new jobs and help the economy move forward. Unfortunately, production remains stymied because builders in these locations cannot get credit from lending institutions to begin work on new homes.
"National unemployment flatlined in August, more than 1.4 million residential construction jobs have been lost since April 2006 and yet there is demand for housing in markets that are on the mend," said Nielsen. "Home builders have plenty of shovel-ready jobs set to go but they can't keep their doors open and create jobs in their communities if federal regulators continue to shut off the credit spigot."
During the past few months, seven different national surveys conducted by prominent polling organizations including the New York Times/CBS News, the Pew Research Center, the AllState/National Journal Heartland Monitor and Hanley-Wood have looked at homeownership from every possible angle.
"One thing is always crystal clear in all these polls," said Nielsen. "The American people still strongly believe that homeownership provides security, stability and a solid long-term investment. Yet, policymakers are doing their best to put policies in place that reduce the American people's ability to purchase a home. Why? How long do we want to stay in a recession?"
While prudent underwriting and other safeguards are needed to prevent another housing collapse in the future, he said, current proposals to correct shortcomings in the home finance system are far more stringent than necessary and threaten to price many creditworthy borrowers out of the housing market.
Six federal agencies are proposing a national Qualified Residential Mortgage standard that would require a minimum 20 percent downpayment and other stricter qualifications, which would keep homeownership out of reach for most first-time home buyers and middle-class households. NAHB estimates that it would take 12 years for a typical family to save enough money for a 20 percent downpayment on a median-priced single-family home and other research has found it would take even longer.
Meanwhile, some members of Congress are actively pushing to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and end the federal backstop for housing. A strong federal role is essential to help absorb market risk, ensure a stable and reliable flow of credit for home buyers and to maintain a liquid secondary market. Diminishing or ending government support for housing would make the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, the major housing finance tool for most Americans, increasingly scarce and much more costly.
Further complicating the situation, this week's reduction in the conforming loan limits means that many prospective buyers who are seeking a home loan will now have to pay higher interest rates, fees and downpayments and face more stringent credit standards.
Noting that housing normally accounts for more than 17 percent of the nation's total economic output, Nielsen said policymakers need to take steps to spur housing, create jobs and bolster the economy.
"Home building can be the key engine of job growth that this country needs," he said. "Constructing 100 single-family homes generates more than 300 jobs and $8.9 million in taxes and revenue for state, local and federal governments that helps to fund local school systems and build strong communities."
"How many more articles need to appear on the front pages of major newspapers and how many officials need to sound the alarm before federal policymakers reverse anti-housing policies that are dampening demand and preventing a housing and economic recovery from taking hold?" asked Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev.
Testifying before the Joint Economic Committee yesterday, Bernanke said: "The housing sector has been a significant driver of recovery from most recessions in the United States since World War II. This time, however, a number of factors -- including the overhang of distressed and foreclosed properties, tight credit conditions for builders and potential home buyers, and the large number of 'underwater' mortgages (on which home owners owe more than their homes are worth) -- have left the rate of new home construction at only about one-third of its average level in recent decades."
With inventories of new homes nearly depleted in many markets, builders should be gearing up to meet demand, create new jobs and help the economy move forward. Unfortunately, production remains stymied because builders in these locations cannot get credit from lending institutions to begin work on new homes.
"National unemployment flatlined in August, more than 1.4 million residential construction jobs have been lost since April 2006 and yet there is demand for housing in markets that are on the mend," said Nielsen. "Home builders have plenty of shovel-ready jobs set to go but they can't keep their doors open and create jobs in their communities if federal regulators continue to shut off the credit spigot."
During the past few months, seven different national surveys conducted by prominent polling organizations including the New York Times/CBS News, the Pew Research Center, the AllState/National Journal Heartland Monitor and Hanley-Wood have looked at homeownership from every possible angle.
"One thing is always crystal clear in all these polls," said Nielsen. "The American people still strongly believe that homeownership provides security, stability and a solid long-term investment. Yet, policymakers are doing their best to put policies in place that reduce the American people's ability to purchase a home. Why? How long do we want to stay in a recession?"
While prudent underwriting and other safeguards are needed to prevent another housing collapse in the future, he said, current proposals to correct shortcomings in the home finance system are far more stringent than necessary and threaten to price many creditworthy borrowers out of the housing market.
Six federal agencies are proposing a national Qualified Residential Mortgage standard that would require a minimum 20 percent downpayment and other stricter qualifications, which would keep homeownership out of reach for most first-time home buyers and middle-class households. NAHB estimates that it would take 12 years for a typical family to save enough money for a 20 percent downpayment on a median-priced single-family home and other research has found it would take even longer.
Meanwhile, some members of Congress are actively pushing to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and end the federal backstop for housing. A strong federal role is essential to help absorb market risk, ensure a stable and reliable flow of credit for home buyers and to maintain a liquid secondary market. Diminishing or ending government support for housing would make the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, the major housing finance tool for most Americans, increasingly scarce and much more costly.
Further complicating the situation, this week's reduction in the conforming loan limits means that many prospective buyers who are seeking a home loan will now have to pay higher interest rates, fees and downpayments and face more stringent credit standards.
Noting that housing normally accounts for more than 17 percent of the nation's total economic output, Nielsen said policymakers need to take steps to spur housing, create jobs and bolster the economy.
"Home building can be the key engine of job growth that this country needs," he said. "Constructing 100 single-family homes generates more than 300 jobs and $8.9 million in taxes and revenue for state, local and federal governments that helps to fund local school systems and build strong communities."
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
STATEMENT FROM NAHB REGARDING PROPOSALS TO ELIMINATE THE ROLE OF THE GSES IN THE U.S. MORTGAGE MARKET
WASHINGTON, March 29 - Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev., today issued the following statement on legislative proposals by Congressional leaders to effectively eliminate the role of the GSEs in the U.S. mortgage market:
"The National Association of Home Builders strongly supports efforts to modernize the nation's housing finance system, including reforms to the government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We can't go back to the system that existed before the Great Recession, but it is critical that any reforms be well-conceived, orderly and phased in over time.
"Proposals announced today by key Republicans in Congress represent a piecemeal approach to reform that would disrupt the housing market and could push the nation back into a deep recession. These proposals, along with similar plans announced by the Obama Administration in February, show that many policy makers have clearly forgotten housing's importance to the economy.
"America's home builders urge the Administration and Republicans in Congress to consider the potential consequences of their proposals. Congress needs to develop a workable housing finance system before it moves forward with policies that would further destabilize a housing market that is already struggling. Housing can be the engine of job growth this country needs, but it can't fill that vital role if Congress and the Administration make damaging, ill-advised changes to the housing finance system at such a critical time."
"The National Association of Home Builders strongly supports efforts to modernize the nation's housing finance system, including reforms to the government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We can't go back to the system that existed before the Great Recession, but it is critical that any reforms be well-conceived, orderly and phased in over time.
"Proposals announced today by key Republicans in Congress represent a piecemeal approach to reform that would disrupt the housing market and could push the nation back into a deep recession. These proposals, along with similar plans announced by the Obama Administration in February, show that many policy makers have clearly forgotten housing's importance to the economy.
"America's home builders urge the Administration and Republicans in Congress to consider the potential consequences of their proposals. Congress needs to develop a workable housing finance system before it moves forward with policies that would further destabilize a housing market that is already struggling. Housing can be the engine of job growth this country needs, but it can't fill that vital role if Congress and the Administration make damaging, ill-advised changes to the housing finance system at such a critical time."
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