TheMReport

MReport February 2018

TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.

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60 | TH E M R EP O RT SECONDARY MARKET THE LATEST O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T Consumers Cautious About Purchasing a Home Fannie Mae's HPSI fell two points over a monthly basis. I s it a good time to buy? Many Americans don't think so, according to the Fan- nie Mae House Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) released recently. As consumers remained cautious about the housing outlook at the end of 2017 on the back of tax reforms discussions, the HPSI, which is one of the monthly indicators for Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey, fell two points in December to 85.8 due to a decrease is four of the six HPSI components that make up this index. The HPSI is constructed from answers to six National Housing Survey (NHS) questions that include whether they think it is a good or bad time to buy or sell a house, what direction they expect home prices and mortgage rates to move, how concerned they are about losing their jobs, and whether their incomes are higher than they were a year earlier. In December, the net share of respondents who said now was a good time to buy a home decreased 5 percentage points to 24 percent compared to November and was down 8 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the net share who reported that now was a good time to sell a home remained flat at 34 percent and was up 21 percentage points year-over-year. The net share who said home prices would go up in the next 12 months decreased 2 percentage points to 44 percent in December, while Americans also expressed a weakened sense of job security, with the net share who said they are not concerned about losing their job decreasing 6 percentage points to 68 percent. Finally, the net share of con - sumers who said mortgage rates would go down over the next 12 months fell 1 percentage point in December to 52 percent, while the net share reporting that their income was significantly higher than it was 12 months ago rose 2 percentage points to 16 percent. "Entering 2018, housing af - fordability remains a persistent challenge, particularly in rental markets, where consumer expec- tations for price increases over the next 12 months reached a new survey high," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae Offers $10M to Solve Affordability Issues The grant is part of the GSEs' Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge. F annie Mae is offering $10 million for solutions to the country's affordable housing issues as part of its its Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge. The GSE is requesting proposals from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors for "promising ideas that will help it address the nation's af - fordable housing issues," the GSE reported. According to Jeffery Hayward, EVP and Head of Multifamily at Fannie Mae, the Challenge is part of the GSE's overall mission to serve the American consumer. "The Challenge is a responsible way for Fannie Mae to uncover and explore innovative solutions to help address the afford - able housing crisis in America," Hayward said. "It supports our broad mission to increase housing opportunities across the country that are safe, sustainable, and affordable. We are excited to collaborate with new partners to source innovative ideas from other sectors." There will be three parts to the Challenge. The first will focus on the research, design, and develop - ment of solutions, and propos- als will be accepted through February 23, 2018. Specifically, Fannie is looking for ideas that "expand access to affordable housing in sustainable communi - ties where strong employment opportunities are typically accom- panied by high housing costs and improve access to quality employ- ment opportunities for residents of existing affordable housing, while making sure housing is af- fordable to more people." The Challenge is just one part of Fannie's overall Sustainable Communities Partnership and Innovation initiative, which aims to develop "safe, stable, and thriving communities that provide residents with integrated access to quality affordable housing and opportunities for employment, health and wellness, and education." According to Marie Evans, VP of the Sustainable Communities Partnership and Innovation initia - tive, the Challenge is designed to tap resources across sectors and industries. "Housing is inextricably linked to the broader community," Evans said. "Accordingly, we recognize that in order to affect systemic change, affordable housing must be approached holistically, by fo - cusing on where it intersects with key components of a sustainable community. With The Challenge, we are looking for new concepts, designs, and ways of solving our nation's affordable housing issues from innovators who are work - ing inside and outside of the traditional housing industry. Great ideas can come from anywhere."

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