U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) has urged the Obama Administration to heed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s warning that overly tight lending standards are a threat to our nation’s housing recovery. Over the past two years, Sen. Isakson has repeatedly called on the Administration to revise its proposed rule that would prevent responsible homebuyers from obtaining Qualified Residential Mortgages (QRMs) by requiring a 20 percent downpayment.Click to continue

The Appraisal Institute has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the state of Colorado to promote a wide use of tools to document home energy features. The groups also will jointly develop valuation studies. The Appraisal Institute will work with the Colorado Energy Office to identify Colorado market-specific trends in energy valuation. The organizations plan to collect information about the impact of energy efficiency on the residential real estate market and to share that data as trends emerge.Click to continue

More than 700 home builders trekked to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to call on Congress to make housing and homeownership a national priority and to take concrete steps to get housing back on track in order to create jobs and keep the economy moving forward. "Though we are seeing some hopeful signs of recovery in many markets throughout the nation, our industry still faces stiff headwinds," said National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Chairman Barry Rutenberg, a home builder from Gainesville, Fla.Click to continue

United States Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) joined eight of their colleagues in urging the Obama Administration to ensure that the greatest number of borrowers possible are able to take advantage of the newly-announced housing reforms to streamline the refinancing process and reduce costs. Specifically, the Senators requested that the proposed reforms be extended to higher equity borrowers with non-delinquent Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac-backed loans, arguing that these borrowers should have the same access to simple, low-cost refinances as those targeted by the Click to continue

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), has announced a series of changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) in an effort to attract more eligible borrowers who can benefit from refinancing their mortgage. Dubbed HARP Phase II, the program enhancements were developed at the direction of the FHFA, with input from lenders, mortgage insurers and other industry participants.Click to continue

Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), issued the following statement regarding the Senate action to reinstate higher loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that expired on Sept. 30:Click to continue

A coalition of United States Senators from both sides of the aisle, led by Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), have joined 13 of their colleagues in urging the Obama Administration to quickly implement administrative reforms to help millions of responsible homeowners refinance and take advantage of today’s record low interest rates. With interest rates at an all-time low hovering around the four percent range, the senClick to continue

This week, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing titled, "New Ideas for Refinancing and Restructuring Mortgage Loans," discussing the future of mortgage financing in America.Click to continue

U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Reps. John Campbell (R-CA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA), along with the Coalition for Sensible Housing Policy have hosted a news conference calling on federal regulators to revise their proposed 20 percent downpayment requirement for qualified residential mortgages (QRMs) set forth by Section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Act.Click to continue

Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Reps. John Campbell (R-CA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) have jointly announced that they will host a news conference on Wednesday, June 22 at 10:00 a.m. to call on federal regulators to revise their proposed 20 percent downpayment requirement for qualified residential mortgages (QRMs).Click to continue