DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/1538353
67 August 2025 J O U R N A L themortgagepoint.com August 2025 » "The myth is that wokeism is just a social policy. And it surely is corro- sive social policy," Acting OMB OIRA Administrator Clark said. "But, in reality, wokeism at HUD was brass-tacks economic policy that snatched away the American Dream of homeownership from an entire generation. That ends today." Data from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in the report, "Racial Bias in Appraisals: New Research," concludes that other characteristics unrelated to race—including education- al attainment, average credit score, and family formation—are more likely sig- nificant drivers in differences between home values and appraisal outcomes. "We're encouraged that HUD and other agencies are beginning to roll back certain PAVE-inspired policies adopted by the Biden administra- tion," said Tobias Peter and Ed Pinto, Co-Directors at the AEI Housing Center. "These actions were driven by claims of race-based disparities in home values, mortgage denial rates, and appraisal under-valuations. These claims ignored AEI Housing Center research that found similar disparities in white communi- ties with similar socioeconomic status, thereby invalidating the argument that the disparities were race-based." The terminated policies related to Reconsideration of Value and Appraisal Fair Housing Compliance include: • ML 2024-16, Extension to the Effective Date of Appraisal Review and Reconsideration of Value (ROV) Updates • ML 2024-07, Appraisal Review and Reconsideration of Value • ML 2021-27, Appraisal Fair Housing Compliance and Updated General Appraiser Requirements According to a HUD release, current laws, including the Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), prohibit discrimination in all housing-related transactions, including in the homebuying and lending process- es. The Fair Housing Act and ECOA will continue to be enforced. "By tearing down these onerous hurdles, we're freeing professionals from a tangle of red tape that drove up costs, inhibited access to homeownership, and discouraged market participation." —Scott Turner, HUD Secretary