The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has launched a new tool for exploring Home Mortgage Disclosure Act information. The tool allows individuals and organizations to get a more in depth look at the different types of loans being issued in various counties throughout the nation. The new online tool can be accessed at: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/hmda/.
While exploring the website consumers can access data such as the number of mortgage loan applications and originations. The tool has graphs and charts to allow consumers to visualize data such as the loan purpose and the type of loan originated. Additionally data can be filtered to provide an in-depth look at certain counties. For instance a search can be created to examine the number of first mortgage home purchases in Essex County.
The new online tool has been set up in an effort for more transparency for consumers, lenders, and regulatory agencies. Additionally the CFPB would like to analyze the data to determine if there are any trends that are negatively impacting both consumers and lenders. Currently the CFPB would like lenders to disclose many more mortgage loan application details. Ultimately they’d like to gather data on debt to income ratios, age and credit scores of borrowers, mortgage loan terms, origination charges and discount points on loans, and whether the loans fall under the guidelines of qualified mortgage.
The ultimate goal of the new online tool for HMDA reporting is to allow borrowers to be more educated on mortgage loan data in their area and to prevent another housing crisis. Their hope is that higher awareness and greater transparency will change the mortgage landscape for the better.