Government

HUD Secretary Julian Castro will answer questions about a variety of housing topics in a fireside-chat style event on the morning after President Obama's State of the Union speech on Wednesday at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Castro is expected to discuss such topics as the Obama administration's most recent housing initiatives, responsible homeownership, making the decision to buy or rent, and resources available to first-time homebuyers.

Monthly data released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) shows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together reported 134,582 refinances in November 2014, down from nearly 139,000 in October. As overall refinancing fell, so too did the number of mortgages refinanced under the Obama administration's Home Affordable Refinance Program.

The closure, announced jointly by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and FDIC, comes after years of increased scrutiny from regulators. OCC first filed a consent order against the Crestview bank in 2010, demanding operational changes after it uncovered what the agency called "unsafe and unsound banking practices."

As FHFA Director Mel Watt revealed in his first public speech as the agency's chief, the companies' new direction revolves around three main objectives: maintain, reduce, and build. "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made significant progress toward achieving the goals in FHFA's Strategic Plan for the Conservatorships last year and we look forward to building on that progress in 2015," Watt said Wednesday.

In the latest Beige Book report released on Wednesday, the Fed said that contacts in most of its 12 districts expect faster growth in the year ahead, though some in the Dallas district are worried about a slowdown as the oil market suffers.

During an hour-long speech at the Press Club in Washington, D.C., HUD Secretary Julian Castro spoke of the economic progress the nation made in 2014, such as experiencing the fastest job growth rate in 15 years, and he addressed HUD's initiatives which are aimed at promoting, increasing, and expanding opportunities for Americans to own a home.

In a comment letter addressed to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) general counsel, Alicia Nealon, director of regulatory affairs for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU), voiced the association's opposition to the proposal, which she says would "disenfranchise over 1 million credit union member-owners."

California's Department of Business Oversight is moving to halt Ocwen's operations in the state after the company failed to provide documentation about its compliance with California's Homeowner Bill of Rights. With the latest news, Ocwen is off to a less than promising start to 2015 after concluding what was a rocky 2014.

Looking at the shopping behaviors of mortgage borrowers in 2013, the bureau found that 47 percent of buyers don't take the time to shop around and compare lenders, resulting in potentially higher costs. Furthermore, 77 percent end up applying with only one lender or broker rather than filling out multiple applications to see who will offer the best deal.

The president reported in his speech that the housing market has not come all the way back yet and there is still work to be done. But according to one analyst, the president may have overestimated how far the housing market has come back and the administration's role in the recovery.