The Washington Report

On Wednesday, February 23, 2023, Vice President Kamala Harris and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge announced a 30 basis point reduction in the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) mortgage insurance premium (MIP). The decision to reduce the MIP comes after a strong financial performance in FHA’s capital reserve ratio, which currently stands at 11% - 9% above what is statutorily required. NAR has continuously advocated for responsibly reducing the MIP to help qualified buyers in the current market, and FHA projects this reduction will save new buyers with FHA mortgages an average of $800 in their first year of homeownership.

Read NAR’s coalition letter to the White House Economic Council

Last week, NAR commented on the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Regarding Access to the Beneficial Ownership Information and Related Safeguards rule.  This rule will govern when beneficial ownership information may be disclosed to government officials, regulators, financial institutional and law enforcement. This rule is one of the three rules that FinCEN is required to develop and implement as part of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) that Congress passed in 2021. NAR continues to monitor anti-money laundering and counterterrorism matters, and will continue to keep you updated.