pmuolo@imfpubs.com

With industry consolidation picking up a head of steam these days, we keep hearing selected reports that some vendors will be at a disadvantage on pricing their wares to lender/servicers. The reason: Bigger firms can dictate the pricing more than ever before. Overblown? Perhaps…

Note: One active warehouse veteran, citing consolidation, told us, “The supply/demand for warehouse credit is out of whack,” but added: “This happens at times”… 

Mortgage and real estate companies continue to sell corporate debt to institutional investors at an increasing cost, an indication that interest rates show no real signs of falling. But there are quirks. Single-family rental giant Invitation Homes is out with a new $600 million eight-year debt offering that pays investors 4.95%, one of the lowest yields we’ve seen in quite some time. But here’s the quirk: The purchase price paid by the underwriters is 98.852%...

Getting back to rates: Federal Reserve officials (and Fed watchers) gather in Jackson Hole later this week for their annual summer economic policy symposium. Increasingly, the bet is that come September the FOMC will trim the federal funds rate by 25 basis points…

FHA reverse lender Finance of America Companies announced a dual listing of its common stock on NYSE Texas, the newly launched fully electronic equities exchange headquartered in Dallas. The company will maintain its primary listing on the NYSE. Will other mortgage companies follow suit? Note: A year ago, Finance of America underwent a 1 for 10 reverse stock split.

Many GSE Sellers See More Repurchase Demands Withdrawn

Since 2009, more than 7,000 sellers have received a repurchase demand from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and nearly 5,300 of them made buybacks. Weichert Financial Services, for example, has bought back $4.12 million of loans since 2013. Yet, as is true for many sellers, Weichert saw significantly more withdrawn demands during that time — $20.82 million. Get a complete picture of buyback history and exposure in IMF’s GSE Repurchase Activity: Cumulative to Fourth Quarter 2024. The report looks at the GSE buyback record lender by lender and year by year, providing details on every lender who has faced a buyback demand from either Fannie or Freddie since 2009. You’ll find out how much they paid, how much of it relates to each vintage of MBS, and how much they got Fannie and Freddie to back down on.