ProPublica reported that Oregon Housing and Community Services director Andrea Bell did not name her husband's employer, the affordable-housing consulting firm JH Brawner, on her state ethics disclosures until Sept. 23, the day ProPublica asked about it. The firm consulted on two Portland-area housing authority projects seeking state money from her agency: Park Place, a 200-unit Clackamas County project with $36 million in state funding, and Aloha 209th in Washington County, awaiting a $17.5 million subsidy. Bell said in a statement that she took the concerns "seriously" and had sought an advisory opinion from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission; three former officials familiar with state ethics law told ProPublica the lack of disclosure "merited review."
Bell filed amended economic-interest disclosures for the last three years on Sept. 23, 2026; OHCS has distributed more than $1.4 billion in state funding for rent-restricted apartments over the past five years.
FHFA allocated $20 million to its Office of Inspector General for fiscal 2027, a 61.3% reduction from FY2026 levels and below the $55 million in the administration's own FY2027 budget request; FHFA's Sept. 30 release called the OIG "an extraordinary budgetary outlier among its peer OIGs," saying it had requested 16% of the agency's operating budget against a government-wide average of about 2%. Acting Principal Deputy Inspector General James Hodge wrote to Congress that the cut would force staffing reductions of 70-80% and "the discontinuance of essentially all criminal investigations." Eleven Senate Banking Committee Democrats called the decision unlawful in an Oct. 1 letter.
Federal News Network reported the OIG's criminal enforcement program has produced more than 1,270 convictions since 2011.
The Uptown Connect development at Albuquerque's Uptown transit hub secured $31.2 million in new financing: $23.8 million in private activity bonds approved by the New Mexico State Board of Finance on Sept. 15 and $7.4 million in loans approved by the Housing New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority board on Sept. 16. The Bernalillo County Commission on Sept. 22 unanimously approved up to $23.8 million in project revenue bonds plus a 17-year property tax exemption. The project has been scaled back to 198 apartments, 176 of them affordable, at a cost of about $111 million; the county expects construction to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
City Desk reported in September 2025 that the project was expected to cost about $120 million with 239 apartments, and the county had previously authorized $46 million in revenue bonds.
Matt Jones, nominated for HUD assistant secretary for housing and FHA commissioner, testified Thursday before a Senate Banking Committee hearing at which only four members were present, the morning after the Senate adjourned for recess; ranking member Elizabeth Warren called holding the hearing during recess "irresponsible." Jones told Sen. Mike Crapo that "the American people understand we need more supply," cited the ROAD to Housing Act and manufactured-housing finance, and said more than 150 regulatory requirements in the single-family program had been cut during his tenure. If confirmed he would oversee an insured portfolio Scotsman Guide put at more than 8 million loans and over $1.6 trillion in unpaid principal.
The nomination was announced in mid-September; the Mortgage Bankers Association and Community Home Lenders of America sent letters supporting Jones.
HousingWire, citing Bloomberg, reported that FHFA plans within weeks to direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to accept "bi-merge" credit reports drawn from two of the three bureaus instead of the current tri-merge requirement, with an announcement possible at the Mortgage Bankers Association conference in Chicago on Oct. 12 and an effective date one to three months later. FHFA did not respond to HousingWire's request for comment. The report followed Director Bill Pulte's Sept. 29 move to a single pricing grid treating VantageScore 4.0 as equivalent to Classic FICO, reversing earlier GSE grids that had assumed VantageScore overstated creditworthiness by about 20 points.
A bi-merge option was proposed under FHFA Director Sandra Thompson during the Biden administration and delayed over implementation challenges.
Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 7.28% for the week of Oct. 1, up from 7.03% the prior week and 6.34% a year earlier. Freddie Mac's chief economist said the housing market "continues to be supported by favorable economic conditions."
The Sept. 24 reading of 7.03% was itself up from 6.95% the week before.
Cascadia Health and Central City Concern told WW that property insurers have pulled back from covering their supportive housing after fires, floods and unit damage, leaving the nonprofits largely self-insuring. Cascadia said its property deductible rose from $10,000 to $100,000 in 2023 before falling to $25,000 as of August 2026; CCC said its per-incident deductible went from $10,000 in 2020 to $100,000 as of July 2026, with premiums also rising. Cascadia CEO James Schroeder told Councilor Steve Novick at a September 9 council work session that the city needs more “step-up” and “step-down” settings between hospital and permanent housing.
Health Share of Oregon estimates the high-acuity behavioral health group is about 9% of the local Medicaid population and accounts for 29% of Medicaid costs and 39% of inpatient admissions.
Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs announced a $50 million gift to Father Joe’s Villages, the largest in the organization’s history, toward a three-building, 18-story complex at Imperial Avenue and 15th Street expected to cost about $350 million and break ground in 2028. Developer Arete Development said the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Family Campus would have more than 500 affordable units, including 150 for older adults and 77 for transitional housing. The project has a little more than 14% of its funding secured; Mayor Todd Gloria said the city would consider a request for funds and Supervisor Paloma Aguirre said it was too early to say whether she would seek county money.
The project requires demolishing the Joan Kroc Center; KPBS reported its residents would be moved to Father Joe’s Fifth Avenue and Ash Street facility in early 2028, with a targeted completion in 2032.
FHFA Director Bill Pulte announced on X on September 28 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would move to a single loan-level price adjustment grid for mortgages scored with either Classic FICO or VantageScore 4.0, removing the 20-point downward adjustment that had applied to VantageScore under the early-September framework. Rocket Mortgage said the same day it would make VantageScore 4.0 its preferred model for eligible loans, reporting average savings of $1,600 at closing for borrowers who benefited. FICO’s stock fell more than 26% by 4 p.m. ET on September 29.
Classic FICO is still required for manually underwritten loans; FHA plans to begin underwriting with FICO 10T in January 2027.
FHFA's seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index rose 0.3 percent in July and 2.6 percent from July 2025, and the previously reported 0.0 percent June figure was unchanged. Monthly changes across the nine census divisions ranged from -0.8 percent in the Mountain division to +1.5 percent in the Middle Atlantic, and 12-month changes from +0.6 percent in the Mountain division to +6.3 percent in the Middle Atlantic.
FHFA's July 28 release reported a 2.2 percent annual gain for May 2026.
Federal Reserve Board · on Fed Governor Barr's housing affordability speech
Governor Michael Barr told the Chicago Fed's Housing Affordability 2026 summit that the Atlanta Fed's homeownership affordability index fell to 68 in July 2026, the lowest in 21 years, and that about half of renters are cost burdened with about one-fourth paying at least half their income in rent. He put the national housing shortfall at roughly 2 million to 5.5 million units and said the CPI rent index in August was 34 percent above December 2019. Barr said he supported the FOMC's rate increase the prior week and that, in his base case, further policy adjustments are likely to be needed.
The Board corrected the speech on September 28 to say 20 percent of rental units rented for $1,000 or less in 2024, versus 55 percent in 1980 adjusted for inflation.
FHFA · on FHFA's second-quarter foreclosure prevention and refinance data
FHFA reported that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 48,439 foreclosure prevention actions in the second quarter of 2026, bringing the total since conservatorship began in September 2008 to 7,425,684. Foreclosure starts rose 1.9 percent to 25,908 and third-party and foreclosure sales rose 4.1 percent to 3,894, while the Enterprises' serious delinquency rate held at 0.59 percent. Cash-out refinances reached 54.4 percent of refinance activity in June as the average 30-year fixed rate rose to 6.42 percent.
The first-quarter report counted 58,317 foreclosure prevention actions.
Freddie Mac · on August delinquency rates at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac's August volume summary reported its single-family delinquency rate rose to 0.60% from 0.59% in July and its multifamily delinquency rate rose to 0.64% from 0.60%. Single-family refinance purchases were $6.1 billion, 19% of total single-family purchases. Fannie Mae's August summary, released September 25, reported a conventional single-family serious delinquency rate of 0.60%, up 1 basis point, and a multifamily serious delinquency rate of 0.57%, down 5 basis points.
Freddie Mac's multifamily rate counts loans two or more payments past due or in foreclosure; Fannie Mae's multifamily measure is 60 or more days past due.
HUD published a notice raising the upfront loan guarantee fee on new Section 184 Indian Housing Loan Guarantee firm commitments, including refinances, from 1.00 to 1.50 percent effective October 1, 2026. The upfront fee for the Section 184 Skilled Workers Demonstration Program rises from zero to 1.00 percent on the same date, and the annual fee stays at zero. HUD said the increase is meant to keep the program self-sustaining, consistent with its other loan guarantee programs.
The notice takes effect October 1, 2026, the first day of FY2027.
Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.03% for the week of September 24, up from 6.95% the prior week and 6.30% a year earlier. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.42%, up from 6.26% the prior week and 5.49% a year ago. Chief economist Sam Khater said the housing market "remains supported by a solid labor market and an economy that is growing at a healthy rate."
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter point on September 16, its first increase in three years.
The Community Home Lenders of America sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and FHFA Director Bill Pulte asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase mortgage-backed securities purchases to lower borrowing costs. The trade group estimated expanded purchases could produce 10 to 12 basis points of spread tightening and said signaling alone could bring rates down roughly 20 basis points.
Fannie Mae's MBS holdings rose from $71.5 billion at the end of 2025 to $100 billion by the end of July 2026, according to the article.
FHA said Tuesday it is accepting public comments through November 6 on proposed updates to its Minimum Property Requirements for single-family homes, following an earlier request for information. The agency said the standards have not been substantially updated in more than two decades and that the proposal would align FHA standards with those of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, simplify policy language, and refine required repairs. FHA said it will review feedback before publishing a final update to Handbook 4000.1.
Trade groups including the Mortgage Bankers Association had urged HUD Secretary Scott Turner in a joint letter to address the property requirements and appraisal reforms.
The Federal Open Market Committee voted 12–0 to raise its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 3.75% to 4%, the first increase since 2023. Chair Kevin Warsh cited core PCE inflation of 3.2% and CPI of 2.4%, saying underlying inflation trends "have not meaningfully improved." The 10-year Treasury yield, which mortgage rates track, reached 5% this week for the first time in three years.
The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.95% in Freddie Mac's September 17 survey, up from 6.76% the prior week.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.95% in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending September 17, up from 6.76% the prior week.
A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.26%, per the same survey.
The OCC and FDIC proposed on August 12 raising the asset threshold for the full large-bank Community Reinvestment Act examination from $1.649 billion to more than $10 billion, which would move banks between those sizes out of the separate community-development test that has driven bank capital into LIHTC investments. Industry participants told the outlet CRA motivation often raises the price investors pay for housing tax credits by about ten cents per dollar, and that reduced incentives could lower equity pricing. Public comment is due October 13.
President Trump sent the Senate the nomination of Matt Jones, HUD's deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing, for the dual role of HUD assistant secretary for housing and FHA commissioner, a seat vacant since Frank Cassidy stepped down in June. Jones previously worked at the Mortgage Bankers Association and on Senate committee staff; MBA and NAR issued statements supporting the nomination.
The FHA manages about $2 trillion in insured mortgages, and its Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund held $188.9 billion in capital at the end of fiscal 2025.