Tightening lending standards may slow moving activity

A proposal to further tighten mortgage lending standards could make it much more difficult for those considering relocation to get an affordable home loan.

Thursday, during an interview with CNBC, the chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, said that regulators needed to tighten lending rules for home mortgages because by guaranteeing those loans, the federal government was taking on too much risk. Blair said that lenders need to be more strict in making sure borrowers can repay a loan and require a larger down payment on any property.

"It's only common sense," she said. "Do you put 20 percent down? You're committed to that house. You walk away from that house, you're going to lose a lot of the money that you put in up front."

Blair added that banks are currently in much better shape than they were a few years ago, which should prevent bigger problems in the future.

A rise in mortgage rates may also make it more difficult for moving families to get a home loan. According to Freddie Mac, while interest rates are still near record lows, rates on a 30-year fixed-rate loan rose to 4.35 percent last week - the first rise in nearly three months.