Approximately 350,000 borrowers eligible for re-purchase are currently unable to do so due to tight financial markets, and as many as 260,000 borrowers may never return to homeownership at all, the report says, because their former loans were backed by loose lenders.

In order to prevent these losses in the future, the GSEs moved to strengthen their financial requirements of approved PMI insurers, thus reducing overall risk. The new requirements will ensure that PMIs can meet their agreed-upon obligations regardless of current economic conditions or the marketplace.

According to Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American, the biggest takeaway is that the housing market, particularly the existing homes sector, is drastically underperforming. The impetus for this underperformance, he said, is an overall lack of buyer equity throughout the nation.

But these declining numbers are nothing new. The numbers of renters making the transition to homeownership has dropped consistently over the past couple of years, and rates have remained below 17 percent mark (the historical average) since 2008.

But improved builder confidence isn’t the only thing the HMI survey found. The report also shows jumps in other measurables as well. Builders’ expected buyer traffic increased four points, current sales conditions rose three points, and future sales expectations saw an increase, too, jumping from 59 to 64 points in the last month. According to NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, these sales expectations numbers are at the highest level they’ve been all year–a good omen for the months to come.

Officially dubbed the Common Sense Housing Investment Act, HR 1662 would convert the current Mortgage Interest Deduction into a non-refundable, 15 percent flat-rate tax credit instead. This tax credit would apply to all interest paid on mortgages up to $500,000.