#fhfa-report

#fhfa-report

Ginsburg stated that treating builder business as a core pillar rather than a side channel reflects a broader industry shift. He believes a healthy balance of builders should be around 15% to 20% of the overall retail book of business.

The insights from this report help us think about potential gaps in the loss mitigation waterfall and the types of homeowners who may benefit from targeted support when they experience a crisis.

The scale of the increases reflects limited competition in the mortgage credit score market, where lenders are required to use approved scoring models and have few alternatives.

HousingWire's 2026 Rising Stars honor industry leaders age 40 and under who are making an impact across mortgage, real estate and homebuilding. The honorees represent a range of roles and are recognized for driving innovation, supporting their organizations and contributing to broader industry progress.

The report argues that these figures exceed the CFPB's reported figure of $21 billion returned to consumers through enforcement actions. Through a combination of regulation, supervision and the persistent threat of enforcement, the CFPB has increased the cost of credit for both lenders and borrowers, the report states. Moreover, instances of regulatory overreach and actions that bypass the Administrative Procedure Act introduce additional costs and uncertainty into credit markets that can further push lenders to retreat or limit offerings.

Eric Ellman, president of the National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA) said we learned from the 2008 housing crisis that more data is better than less data, especially when the financial stakes are so high. He added, The cost of being right for spending an extra $100 is so much stronger a case to make than the downside risk for a consumer who might lose thousands over the lifetime of a loan.

The MBA's concerns, which were expressed in a letter to Pulte on Dec. 12, 2025, include information from members who reported an increase in credit reporting costs for 2026. The hikes amounted to 40% to 50% on average and included dramatic price increases for the government-sponsored enterprises' mandated tri-merge credit product. The three major bureaus Equifax, Experian and TransUnion collect financial and personal data to create consumer credit files.

One of the biggest takeaways is that from a national perspective, the largest investors account for a really small proportion of single-family home purchases and that share has decreased in recent years. So the ban is going to have less of a bite now than it would have had it been enacted a few years ago. It is attacking a trend that is already decreasing as opposed to one that is becoming increasingly part of the market.

"The executive branch is getting very creative using the pockets of money at their disposal with no congressional oversight," Ed Al-Hussainy, portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle, tells Axios.

Refinance applications increased for the fourth straight week to the strongest pace since 2022, with conventional refinances up 20%. The increase in the average loan size for refinances indicates that more borrowers with larger loan sizes are seeking to lower their monthly payments.

"Today, an increasing number of consumers include crypto in their investment portfolios, while major financial institutions are deepening their involvement in crypto assets, supported by key regulatory developments," Newrez President Baron Silverstein said in the announcement, adding that now is the "right time" to weave crypto into the mortgage lending business.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is deeply entrenched in the U.S. system. It benefits from decades of investor demand, a robust securitization framework and established insurance support. Once loan terms extend beyond 30 years, those structural advantages begin to erode. There is also a cost that often gets overlooked. A 50-year mortgage dramatically increases the total interest paid over the life of the loan. While monthly payments may appear more manageable, borrowers can end up paying nearly double the interest compared to a traditional 30-year mortgage.