SBR-Authors Podcast: Finding True Happiness Through Acts of Kindness: A Conversation with Karen Olson
Creative Housing Solutions Pop Up Across Oregon
Affordable Housing on the Front Range: Inclusionary Housing Ordinances and the New Middle Income Housing Authority
Office-to-Apartment Conversions – A Good Idea, but Tricky to Pull Off (Audio)
Episode 15 | Hot! Hot! Hot! Don't get Burned by the Perils of Buying and Selling Residential Real Estate
California CRE to Expand in 2022
The June 2025 Market Action Report for the Portland metropolitan area, published by RMLS, describes a residential real estate market that is steady, if subdued, with slight pricing increases and modest shifts in transactional...more
Recently the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rescinded various FHA mortgage loan requirements in a series of five Mortgagee Letters....more
Recently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued Mortgagee Letter 2025-13 to revise the exclusive listing period for certain parties in connection with HUD real estate owned (REO) properties, and...more
In a significant policy shift under the Trump administration, the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte issued an order on March 25, 2025 terminating special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) supported...more
On February 26, several U.S. Senators sent a letter to HUD Secretary, Scott Turner, raising concerns about the Secretary’s role in the potential reprivatization of government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and...more
As previously reported, this summer the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) filed a housing discrimination charge under the Fair Housing Act against an appraisal company, individual appraiser, appraisal...more
On February 22, FHA announced a 30 basis point reduction in the annual premium charged to mortgage borrowers, resulting in mortgage insurance premiums of 0.55 percent for most borrowers seeking FHA-insured mortgages (down...more
In recent weeks, the US federal housing agencies and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that insure, guarantee, or purchase “federally backed mortgage loans” covered by Section 4022 of the CARES Act (Act) have continued...more
On May 12, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a joint COVID-19 mortgage and housing assistance...more
In Mortgagee Letter 2020-07, dated April 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the acceleration of the development and deployment of the FHA Catalyst system to permit lenders to...more
The American Bankers Association jointly with state bankers associations, the American Financial Services Association, and the Mortgage Bankers Association are urging the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)...more
A government audit report out yesterday accuses the US Dep’t of Housing and Urban Development of selling more than 100k distressed mortgages over a 7 year period to PE firms and hedge funds without following the proper rules...more
Last year, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) released a set of proposed rules affecting Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) for notice and comment. After receiving 83 comments and responses, the Department of...more
Last week, HUD issued new guidance confirming that persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) are protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). LEP includes a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English. ...more
People with limited English proficiency (LEP) are protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) under new guidance announced by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Housing providers can face liability for...more
HUD has updated the required exclusions from income calculations to be used when determining eligibility and benefits for HUD programs. The updates are fairly minor, but they impact all HUD programs, including public housing...more
This week, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) weighed in on its proposed version of a Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) Qualified Mortgage (“QM”). Although the Consumer Financial...more