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54 Secretary Castro is char ting a path for housing in the final two years of the Obama Administration. P lowering of FHA insurance premiums. It appears FHA signaled that with the release of the annual review when it stated, "With Fund [MMI] on the right track, FHA is sharpening its focus on facilitating access for creditworthy families." More and more seniors recognize the value of a reverse mortgage and have improved their quality of life through the influx of monthly household income received through an HECM. Steps undertaken by the FHA leadership to better educate seniors on their responsibility to remain current on real estate taxes and homeowners insurance are big steps forward toward solidifying a sustainable program. I predict that for FHA, the overall business and operations will begin to stabilize in 2015 in spite of a decrease in overall volume as the market returns to a normalized state. e agency has done well throughout the crisis in spite of being overworked and resource-constrained. e leadership and staff of FHA are to be commended for their perseverance and fortitude. To me, the future looks bright for the agency. So as we inch closer to 2015, what else might the new year mean for housing? e key word is "variables" and there are plenty as noted above, and the outcome is anyone's best guess. at said, expect other housing topics to be on the front burner for the housing industry, stakeholders, legislators, and even homebuyers into 2015 and possibly beyond. I predict that the following subjects will be hotly debated and discussed over the course of the year: CFPB – e House has passed bills that would turn its control over to a five-member Senate-confirmed panel rather than a single director as well as subject the Bureau to the appropriations process – hardly draconian measures. Can we expect the debate about the walled-off Bureau to intensify with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate? Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data – With the expanding reporting of HMDA data, does the government have the ability to protect the data from hackers? And will lenders who are already concerned about data breaches be shielded from liability if they provide the data and the government has a breach? Tax deductibility – Will the home mortgage interest deduction and MI tax deductibility be eliminated altogether or pared down? Credit scoring – Will the current systems used by the GSEs be modified? And should certain debts like medical bills be excluded from the DTI calculation or not included in the credit score calculation if delinquent? GSEs' Loan Level Price Adjustments and FHA annual mortgage premiums – Is it time to reduce both of them? TILA/RESPA – What will the implementation of CFPB's new TILA- RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Rule in August 2015 mean for mortgage lenders who bear ultimate risk for the accuracy of the forms? Will large lenders with deeper compliance pockets find smooth sailing when the rule goes into effect? What about smaller, regional lenders? Some noted RESPA experts have opined that every closing post-August 2015 will be a potential lawsuit, so will smaller lenders be able to ensure near-perfection across the new disclosure forms? Despite our state of "tolerable uncertainty," one thing is for certain – homeownership matters in America. It matters to your neigh- bor next door, it matters to your co-worker across the hall, it matters to the millions who devote their life's work to serving the industry, and it matters to policymakers in Washing- ton, D.C. and across America. It has been a rough seven years, but I for one am hopeful that 2015 is a year where we can continue to make progress toward a more robust and sus- tainable housing market that is open to more creditworthy prospective homebuyers. FHFA Director Mel Watt may weigh possible administrative changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the coming year. "I predict that for FHA, the overall business and operations will begin to stabilize in 2015 in spite of a decrease in overall volume as the market returns to a normalized state."

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