A panel discussion during the first full day of the Tennessee Mortgage Bankers Association (TMBA) convention here dealt with the "Mortgage Banking Outlook for 2003" featuring Douglas Duncan, right, a PhD, senior vice president and chief economist with the national MBA organization. Participating in the discussion were, from left, Roger Thomas, with Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions; Steve Smith, with NBC Mortgage in Nashville, a past president of TMBA and moderator for the panel; and Martha Gentry, TMBA legislative coordinator. Click on photo to enlarge.
photo by Irby Park
The national Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) chief economist, here for the 30th annual MBA state convention, said with mortgage rates at near record lows, the Fed recently “left the door open” for another rate cut in June while Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan noted the “potential for deflation exists.”
Douglas Duncan, PhD, senior vice president and chief economist for MBAA, was on a three-member panel discussing Mortgage Banking Outlook 2003, one of several seminar and discussion sessions at the convention being held at The Chattanoogan Hotel here. Also on the panel were Roger Thomas, Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, and Martha Gentry, Tennessee MBA legislative coordinator.
Several hundred are attending the convention which will climax Tuesday with the installation of Don Oakes of Chattanooga as president, succeeding Bobby Allison of Chattanooga, a rare occasion when both the incoming and outgoing presidents are from the same community.
Also to be installed are Chattanoogans Pat Vaughn, as secretary-treasurer, and Angela Weaver-Lusk as a board member. Both are past presidents of the Chattanooga MBA and Ms. Vaughn is convention chairperson.
In another session on the first full day of the convention, Ed Lozier, director of the Homeownership Division of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA), and Debbie Reeves, assistant director, gave participants a THDA program overview and update.
THDA mortgages are intended for low- and moderate- income first-time homebuyers financing modest homes to make it possible for these citizens to own their own homes.
Mr. Lozier said a new program is being developed in the wake of a variety of natural disasters to hit the state that would provide $45 million in funding for disaster relief in targeted counties where homes were destroyed by tornadoes and floods.
The rules for this new program, he said, have not been finalized, but it would be restricted to first-time buyers and likely will permit financing to victims with higher incomes. The rules are still being worked out, he said.
He emphasized that this special program does not change the requirements for the existing loan program.
Mr. Duncan, looking at the current conditions, said the economy looks like its continuing with a decline in inflation and could reach zero inflation. He said while “we have had experience dealing with mild inflation, we haven’t had any experience dealing with deflation.”
He said home sales are expected to continue at a strong pace and “we’ll see another record year” in both new and existing home sales. He said new home sales are expected to be “up a hair” while existing home sales are expected to up about 1 percent.
With the current status of stock and bond investments, “the real estate market is as good as any asset you have.”
Mr. Thomas and Ms. Gentry touched on the current predatory lending debate in the Tennessee Legislature and agreed there should be more time taken to study the issue and educate those involved as to various factors.
Tennessee licensing law for mortgage bankers was cited as one tool exercising control over predatory lending.
A study in North Carolina which has adopted a predatory lending law disclosed a 27 percent lending decline after passage of the law and there is no double that the previous predatory lending was only a fraction of that. The law apparently impacted a substantial segment of normal lending.
The end of the first full day of the convention took delegates to the Tennessee Aquarium for a president’s reception sponsored by THDA.
Tuesday’s activities include more workshops and educational sessions with installation luncheon and the concluding leadership training.
Participants in a seminar at the state Mortgage Bankers Association on Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) Program Overview & Update were Ed Lozier, right, THDA director of Homeownership Division, and Debbie Reeves, assistant director, chatting with Robert Allison of Chattanooga a past state MBA president. Click on photo to enlarge.
photo by Irby Park