WASHINGTON – Nov. 20, 2014 – A survey finds mortgage and housing industry professionals remain skeptical about a housing recovery, and most aren't planning to loosen credit scores to help more buyers qualify, citing fear of federal regulatory rules.
The survey of mortgage and housing industry insiders, conducted Oct. 16-31 for the Collingwood Group Mortgage Outlook Report, found that 71 percent of respondents said it's "somewhat" to "extremely" unlikely that they will lower credit scores for borrowers.
"It just isn't worth the risk," said one survey respondent.
Last month, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Chairman Mel Watt signaled to mortgage bankers that they could loosen their lending standards. However, lenders said they don't think the feds will back them up if push comes to shove.
Survey respondents were almost evenly split on their feelings about business conditions compared to last year. Only 1 percent of respondents said that business conditions are "much better."
About half of the respondents dubbed conditions either "a little worse" (22 percent) or "a little better" (31 percent). Those who reported that business conditions are "a little better" said that they're "slowly originating more loans" and that the "purchase business provides a degree of stability not possible in a refinance environment."
Almost two-thirds of survey respondents said that Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) rules cause them the most anxiety. Other respondents said that it's not one source of regulations that cause anxiety, but rather, the volume of complex and sometimes contradictory regulations is most burdensome.
"I think all the regulations combined have unintended consequences," said one respondent.
The data was collected via an online survey distributed to a diverse group of mortgage industry leaders. The mortgage and housing professionals surveyed represent various originators, lenders, servicers, and other industry participants.
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