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128 NORTHEAST REGION Freddie Mac: 'Vast Majority' of Housing Markets Still Trying to Get Back to 'Normal' Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) for October 2015 released this week remained in the outer range of stable and continues to slowly improve, but an economist from the GSE says the "vast majority" of hous- ing markets are still trying to return to their long-term "benchmark normal" range. e national MiMi, which monitors and measures the stability of the nation's hous- ing market and the housing markets of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the top 100 metro areas, had a value of 81.3 as of the end of September, placing it in the low range of stable. It was still an improvement of 0.67 percentage points from August to September, a three-month improvement of 1.85 percent- age points, and a year-over-year climb of 5.79 percentage points. September's national MiMi value of 81.3 is 37 percent higher than its all-time low of 52.7 from October 2010, but still significantly lower than its all-time high of 121.7 set in April 2006 prior to the recession. irty states plus the District of Columbia had MiMis in the stable range in September 2015, compared with 19 states plus D.C. in September 2014. D.C. had the highest MiMi value in September 2015, at 100; the state with the highest MiMi value was North Dakota at 95.3. e top 100 metros likewise showed improvement. In September 2015, 50 of the nation's top 100 metros posted MiMi values in the stable range, led by Fresno at 100.2. By comparison, only 30 of the top 100 metros had MiMi values in the stable range, according to Freddie Mac. Despite the increased number of states and metros that were deemed to have stable hous- ing markets in September 2015, there is still much work to be done, according to Freddie Mac Deputy Chief Economist Len Kiefer. "When we observe MiMi's annual im- provement, it's clear housing markets continue to recover with some markets firing on all cylinders, others inching along, and the vast majority still working to get back to their long-term benchmark normal range," Kiefer said. "Regardless, nearly twice as many states and metro areas have entered their stable range of housing activity compared to a year ago. Western markets show little signs of slowing down with their local employment pictures continuing to improve and with applications to purchase a home still showing double-digit growth on an annual basis. In many Southern metro areas home sales are improving, which is good news, but their levels still remain depressed." MASSACHUSETTS DOJ Settles With Bank Over Alleged Discriminatory Lending e Justice Department recently an- nounced a settlement agreement to resolve allegations that a Lowell, Massachusetts-based bank practiced discriminatory lending based on race and national origin. e Justice Department filed a complaint and proposed consent order on Monday to al- leviate the allegations against Sage Bank. A news release from the Department showed that Sage Bank supposedly violated the Fair Housing act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) by charging African-Americans and Hispanics more for home loans than white borrowers for reasons unrelated to their creditworthiness or financial situations. e Department's complaint, which origi- nated from a referral by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., says that from January 2011 through May 2014, Sage Bank originated mortgage loans to about 550 African-American and Hispanic borrowers. ese loans not only provided the bank with higher revenue, but also caused African- Americans to spend about $2,500 more for their loan, while Hispanics paid about $1,400 more, the released stated. "Sage Bank's loan pricing policies created the risk that borrowers would be treated dif- ferently based on impermissible characteristics like race and national origin, and that was in fact the result," said Principal Deputy As- sistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. "is settlement ensures that all potential borrowers will be treated equally, regardless of race and national origin, and Sage Bank has agreed to restruc- ture and monitor its lending practices to ensure that it is meeting those obligations." Under the consent order, which is subject to court approval, Sage Bank will: Pay $1,175,000 into a settlement fund to compensate borrowers and applicants who were harmed by Sage Bank's policies; Establish a new loan pricing policy and a new loan officer compensation policy; Have loan officers and bank employees undergo fair housing and fair lending training; and Establish a monitoring program to detect future unlawful disparities in mortgage loan pricing. "Sage Bank's discriminatory practices were aimed at some of our most vulnerable neigh- borhoods and populations," said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massa- chusetts. "Homeownership is the foundation of the American dream, and we will continue our work to ensure that all people – regardless of their skin color or the language they speak – have equal access to that dream." Connecticut Planet Realty, LLC Sales@CTREOTEAM.com 203-982-4985 cell www.CTREOTEAM.com Security • Preservation • Disposition Steve Rivkin Lenders filed 1,135 foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts in October 2015 compared to 965 in October 2014, a year- over-year increase of 17.6 percent. It was the 20th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in foreclosure petition filings in Massachusetts, according to The Warren Group. KNOW THIS

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