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Regulators' Expansion of Housing Data Could Boost Lending
Federal regulators overseeing the nation’s banking industry last month initiated changes that will require banks to provide more detailed data on residential and commercial construction lending when reporting on their quarterly activities. The changes, which will go into effect next year and could boost lending activities, are supported by NAHB.
“This action will allow federal banking regulatory agencies to differentiate the disparate risks posed by residential versus commercial lending activities,” said NAHB President David Pressly. “Providing data on one-to-four-family residential construction is an important step in developing a secondary market for single-family housing production.”
As a result of the regulatory changes, large banks and banks with a high volume of residential production loans on their books will be required to break out their one-to-four-family housing production data in their quarterly Bank Call Report effective on March 31, 2007.
All other banks will begin reporting the breakdown of their construction loans as of March 31, 2008.
“The bottom line is that more residential-specific data will be reported on loan volume and loan performance, which will invite market analysts and investors to treat housing production loans more favorably. This information will help build a secondary market for construction financing,” said Pressly.

Want to Know the Housing Starts Forecast Through 2014?
Find out in HousingEconomics.com’s Long-Term Forecast. HousingEconomics.com includes downloadable Excel tables featuring the housing starts forecast, GDP, demographics and more. To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com.
Give Your Perspective on the New NAHB Economics Blog
Give your economic perspective on NAHB's new economics blog, “Seiders on Housing,” an informal Internet-based forum dealing with economic issues, housing trends, survey research and other topics affecting the housing sector of the economy.
Log onto the blog at http://nahbblog.blogs.com and get direct access to NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders' expert opinions, projections and responses. Then let him know what you think.
Attend the Spring Construction Forecast Conference in April
Plan to attend NAHB's Construction Forecast Conference on April 27 at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. The conference brings together the nation's premier housing economists and finance experts for an in-depth examination of the economic outlook for the housing industry.
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