U.S. Bank sells mortgages originated by Union Bank; tariffs and interest rates; Mr. Cooper starts MSR fund; Congress plans to address housing.

Some of the mortgage bellwethers began reporting second-quarter results this week. The good news is that loan production increased nicely from the first quarter.

The draft appropriations budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development is more lenient than the Trump administration’s request, but still zeroes out fresh funding for the HOME program.

An update to the credit scoring rules at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is expected to improve renters’ mortgage eligibility.

The proposal seeks to reinstate the Community Reinvestment Act framework that existed prior to the 2023 final rule. That framework has largely been unchanged since it took effect in 1995.

President Trump and FHFA Director Bill Pulte are going after high profile targets to address mortgage fraud at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

NAR Economist Lawrence Yun is projecting 14% growth in home sales in 2026 if the interest rate on mortgages falls to 6%. However, economists at Fannie Mae and MBA in recent weeks lowered their expectations for mortgage rates decreases.

Flood of mortgage servicing sales are impacting performance; mortgage bankers and brokers aren’t hiring much these days, if at all.

FHFA said lenders can now use VantageScore 4.0 when underwriting GSE loans. It’s not clear, though, if the mortgage industry is ready to take advantage of the opportunity.

The One Big Beautiful Bill included a plethora of tax breaks for individuals and businesses. The bill also sharply reduced the CFPB’s budget.