Power of House Talks by The Cerdafied Development Group

Friday September 13, 2013 FHA Issues Guidelines for New Back to Work Lending Program By Brian Collins                   AUG 16, 2013 1:16pm ET   The Federal Housing Administration has issued guidance for its new “Back to Work” program that could open the door for borrowers who lost their jobs and their homes during the recession to qualify for a FHA-insured mortgage. “Borrowers that may be otherwise ineligible for an FHA-insured mortgage due to FHA's waiting period for bankruptcies, foreclosures, deeds-in-lieu and short sales, as well as delinquencies and/or indications of derogatory credit, including collections and judgments, may be eligible for  a FHA-insured mortgage,” according to Mortgagee Letter 2013-26. Lenders must document that the borrower lost their job or suffered a significant reduction in income due to circumstances “beyond their control” and the borrower has demonstrated a full recovery from the event,” the Aug. 15 Mortgagee L

An Uneven Housing Recovery: Implications for Community Development August 22, 2013   By Laura Choi , Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco After years of gloomy housing reports, we’ve been seeing some promising signs of a national housing market recovery. For example, from June 2012 to June 2013, U.S. home prices increased by 11.9 percent 1 and the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing fell by 35 percent. 2 However, these encouraging indicators mask the realities of what’s happening on the ground in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities that were disproportionately affected by the housing crisis. Complicating matters is the unprecedented role of investors in the housing recovery and the changing nature of local housing markets. 3 A new Community Development Research Brief, Housing Market Recovery in the 12th District: Implications for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities , presents data and analysis on the recent housing market recovery and its impli

          Home prices to continue climb, but boost shows signs of slowing                        By Peter Schroeder - 08/27/13 09:19 AM ET       Home prices in cities nationwide climbed 12.1 percent in the last year ending in June, according to a new report released Tuesday. Fresh numbers from the S&P/Case-Shiller index show that property values are continuing an upswing, as all 20 cities tracked by the index posted gains over the last month and last year. Home prices were up 0.9 percent from May to June. However, there may be signs that the housing rebound may be losing some steam, as gains are coming in from several cities at a slower pace, even as markets are in the middle of the summer buying season. A recent uptick in home mortgage rates could be contributing to the slowdown. "Overall, the report shows that housing prices are rising but the pace may be slowing," said David