AMBA Monday Morning News - Week of August 24th 
Message from the Board
Fellow Alaska mortgage professionals,
The Alaska State Fair opened in Palmer this week, and if you drove the Glenn anywhere near Wasilla you felt it: an extra twenty minutes of traffic, a kettle corn line longer than the one for the Ferris wheel, and all the kids around are excited for a break after their first few days of school.
That fall overlap is basically your pipeline right now too. You've still got July and August purchase files working toward closing, and you're already fielding calls from people who want to be settled before studded tires go back on. Nobody hands you a clean line between one season and the next here, not in the weather and not in the work, and most of us stopped expecting one a long time ago.
Enjoy the fair if you can get out there this weekend. And if a file on your desk needs one more signature before Labor Day, go get it before the line gets long.
All the best,
Benjamin Reynolds - President, Alaska Mortgage Bankers Association
Thank you to our AMBA Monday Morning News Sponsor
News From Last Week
Housing Law Now Requires VA Loan Disclosure, Appraisal Appeals
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law July 11, and implementation began this month, according to an August 18 analysis from the National Association of Realtors. The law requires USDA, VA, FHA, and FHFA to build formal reconsideration-of-value procedures for appraisal disputes, adds a new loan-application disclosure telling military-eligible borrowers about VA loan benefits, and expands USDA rural loan assumptions and manufactured-home financing. Rulemaking on most provisions is expected over the next year.
Alaska Impact: Alaska carries one of the country's highest shares of VA borrowers and USDA rural loans, and reconsideration-of-value requests are routine on hard-to-comp village properties. The Legislative Affairs Committee is tracking agency rulemaking as it lands.
Alaska Labor Puts Peak LNG Construction Demand Near 8,600 Workers
The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development released an updated Alaska LNG Project workforce analysis on August 10 (release No. 26-15), prepared by Northern Industrial Training LLC for the Alaska Workforce Investment Board. Peak construction demand could reach roughly 6,600 workers for Alaska LNG alone and approximately 8,600 statewide once concurrent projects including Donlin Gold, Graphite One, and the Port of Nome are counted. The department reported that projected demand exceeds current workforce and training output. Commissioner Cathy Muñoz said the state's focus now is aligning existing apprenticeship and career and technical education capacity with future industry needs.
Alaska Impact: Project construction income is not automatically unstable, and plenty of it is qualifying W-2 wages. The underwriting question is continuity. If Nikiski, Kenai, and Fairbanks fill with project hires over the next two years, expect more files where the borrower has changed employers, trades, or work locations inside the history window, and where per diem treatment turns on the specific program's rules. Rental demand in those markets could move too, which would show up in comparable rents before it shows up anywhere else.
Alaska Lost 2,100 Jobs Compared To Last July
Alaska had 2,100 fewer jobs in July than a year earlier, a 0.6 percent decline, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported August 21. Government losses drove most of it, but manufacturing, mostly seafood processing, also fell by 1,000 jobs on weak salmon runs, and construction was down 700. The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent, versus 4.1 percent nationally.
Alaska Impact: A 0.6 percent statewide decline is soft, not sharp, but underwriters pulling paystubs from seafood processors or construction crews this fall should expect thinner year-over-year comparisons, especially outside Anchorage.
Fannie Mae Updates Appraisal FAQs Ahead Of Mandate
Fannie Mae released updated UAD 3.6 and Forms Redesign FAQs on August 18, addressing construction loans and how appraisals transfer between lenders during the transition. The redesigned Uniform Residential Appraisal Report becomes mandatory for all appraisals submitted to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on November 2. Lenders still on the legacy 2.6 format have been receiving warning messages on submissions since August 6.
Alaska Impact: Appraisal transfers matter more here than in most places: when the one qualified appraiser for a village runs out of time, the file often moves to another lender's panel. Confirm your AMC and LOS vendors are mapped for UAD 3.6 before you're transferring reports under the new format.
Independent Mortgage Bankers Post Fifth Straight Profitable Quarter
Independent mortgage banks and bank mortgage subsidiaries earned a pre-tax profit of $973 per loan in the second quarter, up from $727 in the first quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported August 18. It is the fifth consecutive profitable quarter after widespread losses from 2022 through 2024. About 85 percent of the companies MBA surveyed posted an overall profit, up from 76 percent in the first quarter.
Alaska Impact: Nationally reported margins do not translate directly to a market this thin, but the direction, since 2022's losses, is the same one Alaska's independent shops have been climbing. Worth holding your own second-quarter numbers up against $973 a loan.
Next Luncheon!
The NAR Settlement, Two Years On
The practice changes took effect August 17, 2024. Two years and six weeks later, AMBA opens the season with an update on where things actually stand, bringing together an industry panel with an agent, a lender, and a title representative on what has worked well and what has not.
Most of the 2024 predictions have now been tested. A Cotality and ResiClub survey conducted in February and March of 2026 found roughly two-thirds of agents reported no significant change in commission levels since the settlement. The appeals are also still live: a three-judge Eighth Circuit panel heard argument in St. Louis on January 14, 2026, with a decision expected in late summer or early fall.
The update covers where the settlement stands and what the practice changes have meant in practice. The panel is the rest of it. Three professionals who sit at different points in the same transaction, comparing notes on what they have figured out since 2024 and where the process still gets rough.
Alaska is a small market. The same people close most of the deals in a given community, which means the practical fixes tend to come from a conversation rather than a memo. This is that conversation, with the whole industry in the room instead of two of us at a closing table.
Who should come:
Loan officers, processors, underwriters, closers, and title staff. Realtor partners are welcome as guests, and this is the meeting of the year to bring one to.
Panel details coming soon. Moderated by AMBA President, Benjamin Reynolds
Luncheon Schedule:
Doors Open at 11:30 AM
Food Served at 11:45 AM
Meeting Starts at 12:00 PM
Meeting Ends at 1:00 PM
Reminder!!!
All member companies and employees have been added and have an account created. Login using your company email and, if this is your first time logging in, select the "Forgot Password" option to update your password. If there are any issues with logging in, please contact us at [email protected] or Benjamin Reynolds at [email protected].
This Month's Meeting Sponsor:
JOIN US AS A SPONSOR TODAY
Learn more about Catering Sponsorship and Venue Sponsorship by clicking on the appropriate link. Contact us at [email protected] for more information or sign up using the associated registration.
Upcoming Events
Save the dates for the 2026-2027 Season!
It's that time of the year where we are able to announce dates for our 2026-2027 season here at AMBA. Dates are subject to change based on availability, speakers, special events, etc. As of August 10th, our upcoming schedule is going to be:
- September 30, 2026 - The NAR Settlement, Two Years On
- October 21, 2026 - Save the Date
- November 18, 2026 - VA Loans: The Myths, the Tricks, and the Files That Actually Close
- December 16, 2026 - Save the Date
- January 20, 2027 - 2026 Division of Banking and Securities Update w/ Tracy Reno and Autumn Miller
- February 17, 2027 - Save the Date
- March 17, 2027 - Save the Date
- April 21, 2027 - Save the Date
- May 19, 2027 - Save the Date
We have also made an update to this year's events. Along with a member discount on all events for this year, all named individual members will have free access to our virtual sessions! AMBA wants to make it even easier for members to join across Alaska and be a part of the conversation monthly.
That being said, renewal season is here. Membership renews September 1, 2026. Pricing has remained the same this year, however we will be moving our billing back to the beginning of September for everyone. Our experiment of annual billing caused tracking to be all over the place for the year and with a small volunteer board so we will be moving our main billing back to the beginning of the season and all new memberships throughout the year will be automatically prorated. Members that did have memberships later in 2026 will have their updated dues adjusted.
Rates and bands for 2026-2027:
The Board will be reaching out to members to confirm the bands for this year and will have invoices out by August 18th for renewal before September 1st. To add named seats, change a coordinator, or ask about your band, email [email protected] or call (907) 727-1076.
Welcome New Members!
AMBA has represented Alaska's mortgage industry since 1976. Membership is held by the company, and every person the company names gets a full seat: nine meetings a year - in person at a discount or virtual for free, a directory listing under their own name, committee eligibility including Legislative Affairs, and the Monday Morning News. Individual membership is available to professionals whose employer is not a member company.
Welcome back for the 2026-2027 season:
Alaska Commercial Loan Brokers
Email [email protected] or call (907) 727-1076 to find out how you can join!
New Job Posts
Hiring in Alaska
AMBA members get access to post directly on AMBA's website for new prospective candidates. Sign in to your member account today to post your latest position.
Currently Hiring:
Originator Assistant - Global CU Home Loans
Mortgage Loan Originator - Global CU Home Loans (multiple locations)
Residential Mortgage - Receptionist in Soldotna and MLOs in Anchorage
