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The housing industry has been a constant contest among homebuyers, and although competition eased up slightly last year, buyers wanting to purchase homes in the most coveted areas have not had much of a break. FindTheHome.com recently released a report titled “The 50 Most Competitive Housing Markets of 2015” that lists 50 of the most sought-after metro areas for homebuyers.

In an effort to eliminate discrimination within the HUD and DOT programs and raise awareness during pride month in June, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (D-California) proposed an amendment on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives requesting non-discrimination provisions and LGBT equality in federal housing and transportation programs

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro touted the success of HUD programs such as those to end veteran homelessness and the Jobs Plus Initiative when questioned about HUD's success during a full House Financial Services Committee hearing on Thursday.

Increases in home prices and the stock market pushed household wealth to nearly 85 trillion for the first quarter of 2015, according to the Federal Reserve’s Statistical Release titled “Financial Accounts of the United States” released today. The net worth of households and nonprofits rose increased by $1.63 trillion to $84.9 trillion during the first quarter of 2015. Meanwhile, the value of directly and indirectly held corporate equities increased $487 billion and home values rose $503 billion.

In response to the positive Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment data released on Monday, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose above four percent this week for the first time since November 2014. Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), revealed that the average fixed mortgage rates averaged 4.02 percent for the week ending June 11, 2015.

A bipartisan group of Senate Banking Committee members wrote a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) requesting that the agency expand and provide better transparency of the development of the credit risk transfer programs. These programs shift credit risk from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the private sector, according to a press release.

Despite the recent announcement from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to provide a grace period for servicers attempting to comply in good faith with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) requirements that are scheduled to go into effect August 1, lingering TRID concerns remain. The Association of Mortgage Professionals (NAMB) and other housing associations, requested today in a letter that the CFPB implement a hold-harmless period on TRID enforcement. Many housing industry groups are supporting legislation that would above this period, the press release says.

Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, a San Francisco real estate start-up recently conducted a survey of home sellers and discovered that since 2014, more than one in four sellers nationally sold their home in less than two weeks. Despite the multiple bids and offers a seller may receive, the survey also noted that they are more likely to choose an offer based on emotion rather than money, compared to pre-recession times.

​The American Bankers Association’s (ABA’s) 22nd Annual Real Estate Lending Survey determined that 90 percent of the typical bank’s mortgage loans made last year were qualified mortgages (QMs). The survey also found that 78 percent of respondents expect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) mortgage lending rules will continue to limit credit availability, while 19 percent labeled the impact as severe.

Today, in joint release the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) agencies issued a final interagency policy statement establishing joint standards for assessing the diversity policies and practices of the entities they regulate.