Sales of new single-family homes rose 3.3 percent month-over-month in April 2012 and 9.9 percent year-over-year, according to a release issued by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. April saw new home sales at a seasonally adjusted rate of 343,000 units.

“Today’s report is representative of the kind of modest but consistent gains that we expect to see in new-home sales through the remainder of 2012,” said David Crowe, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders, in a separate release. [more]

U.S. housing starts grew 2.6 percent in April compared to the month before, hitting a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 units, according to data released today by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The data also shows a 29.9 percent increase above the April 2011 rate. [more]

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is pushing for mortgage refinancing reform and supporting a proposed bill to eliminate certain refinancing barriers, according to DS News. The Federal Housing Administration convened with the Senate Banking Committee yesterday where Donovan made his case that lower fees, simpler underwriting guidelines and manual appraisals for borrowers would increase refinance opportunities for homeowners. [more]

David Montoya, inspector general at HUD

A new report from the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows that the management at large banks, not low-level employees, were responsible for the forging of foreclosure documents that sparked a nationwide investigation, culminating in the settlement filed yesterday. The report shows bank managers ignoring “widespread errors in the foreclosure process,” the New York Times reported. [more]

From left: HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and President Barack Obama

The Federal Housing Administration continues to experience “considerable risks” to its finances, and the Obama administration will continue to minimize the FHA’s exposure in the mortgage market, Reuters reported.

To create a more “robust private system of housing finance and protect the FHA fund for the future” the government must scale back the FHA’s mortgage presence, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan told Congress today, according to Reuters. [more]

New residential construction surged nationwide November to its highest level of the year, and more building permits were issued than in any other month in 2011, according to a report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Housing starts in November stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000, 9.3 percent above October’s estimate and a 24.3 percent increase over November 2010. The uptick was most profound in structures with five or more units, as that market segment gained 32.2 percent month-over-month and 180.5 percent year-over-year. — Adam Fusfeld
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HUD Secretary Shaun DonovanControversy continues to swirl around the Federal Housing Administration, as lawmakers are accusing the agency of exacerbating its problems by downplaying the extent of its financial struggles.

The Wall Street Journal reported that lawmakers are concerned the agency will need a bailout, a belief that both University of Pennsylvania research and an independent audit confirmed in recent weeks, and want Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to come clean.

The independent audit found that projected losses on the $1.1 trillion in mortgages the FHA backs would leave just $2.6 billion in reserves, or 0.24 percent of the value of the agency’s insured mortgages, to cover losses over the next three decades. [more]

Thanks to a failed inspection caused by a variety of wiring and safety issues, Carmel Towers in Newark, N.J. will no longer receive financial aid, and according to the New York Times, that has the nearly 200 families occupying the building scrambling for a new home.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has often paid more than $1,000 to fund most of the monthly rent for each apartment, declined to renew its contract with the building. Carmel Towers failed two inspections, including one last July when it only achieved 18 out of a possible 100 points. [more]

By agreeing to take on a lawsuit against Detroit-based Quicken Loans, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on what constitutes illegal fees for mortgage lenders during the closing of a home sale, the Wall Street Journal said. It will clarify the interpretation of the 1974 Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act that prohibits mortgage lenders from receiving kickbacks or referral fees.

The Obama administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have interpreted the law as a clear order against lenders collecting unearned fees. But lower courts have ruled that the law doesn’t explicitly ban all unearned fees, rather it merely prohibits the payment or receipt of kickbacks. [more]

Bank of America should face fraud claims because its Countrywide unit submitted faulty data in claims for reimbursement of federally insured mortgages, according to an audit by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bloomberg News reported.

“Countrywide did not properly verify, analyze, or support borrowers’ employment and income, source of funds to close, liabilities and credit information,” a HUD regional inspector general wrote in the audit. “This noncompliance occurred because Countrywide’s underwriters did not exercise due diligence in underwriting the loans.” HUD runs the Federal Housing Administration, which insures mortgages on loans to borrowers who can’t find traditional financing, such as those with low income.  Comments

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