Good afternoon —
I watched or listened to almost every presidential debate during the last two election cycles, hoping to hear a substantive mention of housing. This includes the two-tier debates of GOP candidates leading up to 2016 and the massive 20-person debate between Democrats for 2020. The ROI for my time was almost nil.
Which is why the absolute rock-star status of HUD under the Biden administration is something to behold. Oftentimes the backwater beat for our reporters, the team at HUD usually toils in obscurity as it does its important work. But no longer — in 2021 the department has come into its own.
The confirmation of HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge was an important moment, but holding the position means little unless the president makes housing a real priority (just ask Ben Carson or Julian Castro). Fudge came out swinging and Biden, in one of his first executive actions, handed her a Louisville Slugger, charging her with mitigating racial bias in housing and advancing fair housing laws.
Since then Biden also chose HUD to lead an interagency task force to combat inequity in appraisals, which is being co-chaired by former United Nations ambassador Susan Rice. That means HUD is leading the alphabet soup of DC regulators, including the CFPB, FTC, OCC, FFIEC, FHFA, FDIC, NCUA and more, in that effort.
Do you remember the last time HUD was the vanguard? I don't.
Then just yesterday, HUD and the FHFA entered into a first-of-its-kind memorandum of understanding to enhance their enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and increase oversight of the entities FHFA oversees: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. The agreement will "promote information sharing, coordination on investigations, compliance reviews and ongoing monitoring of the GSEs."
HUD has always had the ability to review and comment on the underwriting and appraisal guidelines for the GSEs, but this memo shows that it now plans on flexing that muscle.
It's a heady time for the agency, and a critical time for lenders and others involved in the mortgage process to shore up their compliance. There are now multiple cops on the beat.
Until Monday —
Sarah Wheeler
HousingWire Editor in Chief
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