WASHINGTON – October 24, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — The National Housing Conference (NHC) welcomes the actions by federal regulators to finalize the risk retention rules, specifically the exemption for qualified residential mortgages (QRM). With mortgage credit still far too restricted, clarity on the QRM is essential to get housing markets moving in the right direction and allow families to get into their first homes. NHC applauds regulators for their hard work over the past several years and for their foresight in aligning the QRM with the qualified mortgage rule that is already in place.
“NHC has been working with many coalition partners for several years to make sure the QRM rule did not exclude hard-working low-income households from affordable home loans,” said Chris Estes, President and CEO of NHC. “We’re glad regulators listened to the consensus that emerged from the housing community.”
The decisions this week by the six regulators authorized to make this rule by the Dodd-Frank law—the Federal Reserve, FDIC, FHFA, OCC, HUD, and Treasury—allow this long-awaited rule to move forward. The final version avoids potentially damaging restrictions such as the high downpayment requirement or overly limiting debt-to-income ratios proposed in earlier versions of the rule. The final rule also includes a provision for regulators to revisit the rule once it has been implemented, so NHC and many others will watch the implementation closely to see if adjustments are needed.
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About the National Housing Conference
The National Housing Conference (NHC) represents a diverse membership of housing stakeholders including tenant advocates, mortgage bankers, nonprofit and for-profit home builders, property managers, policy practitioners, Realtors®, equity investors, and more, all of whom share a commitment to safe, decent and affordable housing for all in America. We are the nation’s oldest housing advocacy organization, dedicated to the affordable housing mission since our founding in 1931. We are a nonpartisan, 501(c)3 nonprofit that brings together our broad-based membership to advocate on housing issues.
Contact:
Radiah Shabazz
202-466-2121 ext. 240
