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50 GOOD NEWS FOR RENTAL INVESTORS Average retention rates of expiring leases among single-borrower, single-family rental securitizations remained strong in September 2017, according to Morningstar Credit Ratings' latest Single-Family Rental Research. e retention rate on full-term leases climbed to 76.3 percent in September, up from a revised 74.6 percent for August 2017. Of the single-family, single-borrower securitizations monitored by Morningstar, only three posted a retention rate below 70 percent. at's half as many as in August's total of six. Moreover, seven deals posted retention rates above 80 percent, as opposed to four in August. Rents themselves rose 2.9 percent in October. All of this amounts to good news for rental investors. e overall turnover over in those two months dipped from 3.9 percent in August to 3.2 percent in September. According to Morningstar, "vacancies for single-family rentals tend to decline in the late autumn and winter months." October 2017 bucked that trend, with the average vacancy rate remaining stable at 5.9 percent. e Houston metropolitan statistical area (MSA) had the highest vacancy rate at 10.0 percent—the first single-family MSA in 2017 to hit a vacancy rate of 10.0 percent or higher. For comparison's sake, the next highest MSA vacancy rate was Nashville, Tennessee, at 7.6 percent. According to Morningstar, "While Hurricane Irma appears to have little to no impact on the Florida single-family rental markets, Hurricane Harvey may have contributed to the increase in vacancies and decline in rents in the Houston market." Houston rents declined for two consecutive months, dropping by 0.4 percent in October and 0.8 percent in September." Lease expirations were up slightly for the month, hitting 6.5 percent for October, compared to a revised 6.3 percent in September and 9.0 percent in July. e average delinquency rate increased slightly for October, landing at 0.9 percent. PROTECTING MORTGAGE CONSUMERS FROM WATCHFUL EYES In a letter, the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to exclude more Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data from public disclosure. HMDA requires financial institutions to maintain, report, and publicly disclose information about mortgages. Speaking on behalf of the organization, NAFCU's Regulatory Affairs Counsel Andrew Morris proposed these disclosure changes to ensure sensitive consumer financial information was adequately safeguarded. "HMDA's statutory purpose does not specify that the public should be able to dissect every aspect of a lender's underwriting process, and while NAFCU understands that transparency is valuable, there is a point at which the risks to privacy outweigh the benefits of expanded disclosure," Morris wrote. "NAFCU believes that the proposed policy guidance does not strike the correct balance." Morris sentiments echo those of many in the industry who have expressed concerns about better protecting data after the recent high-profile Equifax breach. According to the NAFCU, failure to take further precautions with HMDA data could "elevate the risk of fraud, identity theft, or embarrassment for individual borrowers or applicants." Final HMDA rule changes took effect on January 1, with the bulk of data submissions due in 2019. DS News is the only publication in the country solely dedicated to providing default servicing professionals with news and content focused on their industry. SUBSCRIBE TO THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS SUBSCRIBE NOW! Call 214.525.6700 or connect with us online at DSNews.com.

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