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41 » VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM MBA'S DAVE STEVENS LOOKS BACK AT HIS TIME IN THE INDUSTRY With over 30 years in mortgage finance, David Stevens, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has held senior positions at Wells Fargo and Freddie Mac, as well as serving as Federal Housing Administration commissioner during the Obama Administration. Having served as CEO of the MBA since 2011, last October Stevens announced his plans to step down as head of the trade organization, following a battle against stage 4 cancer. Stevens plans to hand over the reins of the MBA on September 30, 2018. Looking back over his three decades in the industry, Stevens points to his time as FHA commissioner as one of the highlights of his career. "at was a unique experience, and one where the FHA commissioner played a much larger role than typically happens, where I got to meet with the President with relative frequency and help form policy." For his final year at the head of the MBA, Stevens says his focus will be on keeping "the membership confident and engaged" and on working with members of Congress such as Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) on GSE reform. "We're all leaving at the end of the year, and all three of us have spoken with each other about trying to see if we can get this over the goal line," Stevens said. When asked what qualities will be critical for whoever succeeds him as head of the MBA, Stevens first cites diverse experience within the industry. "I've been able to experience the industry and operate large organizations inside of it for a long time, and that gave me an understanding of what the issues are, and the ability to quickly comprehend the impacts of any proposed changes," Stevens said. "Industry knowledge is key." He also says that an understanding of how the political system works is crucial. "I worked on developing policies and pursuing them, not just in the public arena, but with members of Congress on both sides, and had them push budget initiatives and more," Stevens recalled. "So I got to not only know the members of Congress, but I got to understand how the process works, and that's been an invaluable resource to be in my role here." UP, UP, AND AWAY At the end of Q 4, home price values nationally were up year-over-year for the fifth consecutive month, according to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Index and HPI Forecast report. e report found that in December 2017, home prices in the United States were half a percent higher in December than in November and an average 6.6 percent higher than in December 2016. Higher growth rates occurred in the West, namely in California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Washington. Moreover, CoreLogic reported, home price values are expected to be another 4.3 percent higher this coming December than they were at the end of 2017. CoreLogic expects monthly values this year to be about half a percent higher than their corresponding 2017 months were. Part of the reason home values are on such an upswing is the lingering shortage of houses available on the market, and part is a still-robust economy. "e number of homes for sale has remained very low," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist for CoreLogic. "Job growth lowered the unemployment rate to 4.1 percent by year's end, the lowest level in 17 years. Rising income and consumer confidence have increased the number of prospective homebuyers. e net result of rising demand and limited for-sale inventory is a continued appreciation in home prices." Frank Martell, President and CEO of CoreLogic, credited the price growth to "aggressive monetary policy, the economic and jobs recovery, and a lack of housing stock." is, Martell said, is making it tough for less affluent buyers to invest in homes. "As home prices and the cost of originating loans rise, affordability continues to erode, making it more challenging for both first-time buyers and moderate-income families to buy. At this point, we estimate that more than one-third of the 100 largest metropolitan areas are overvalued." According to CoreLogic, 35 percent of the top 100 metropolitan areas had an overvalued housing market as of December, with half the top 50 markets overvalued as well. Conversely, CoreLogic stated that 28 percent of the top 100 metros and 14 percent of the top 50 metros as undervalued. irty-seven percent were where they should be.

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