GSE MBS issuance declined by 3.3% on a monthly basis in July. Fannie lost a little market share to Freddie during the month. (Includes two data tables.)

Shifting the burden of title insurance from borrowers to lenders may not provide the best overall cost savings, according to economists at the Urban Institute.

Former GNMA chief Michael Bright: “Let’s say you’re going to do it. I think you’re going to have to lie to someone."

The $2.5 billion cap for Freddie’s pilot program to buy closed-end seconds should limit impact on the non-agency secondary market. But industry players worry about the long-term risks if the pilot is successful.

Most of the noncore categories where the GSEs are active lagged overall market growth. The one that didn’t: conforming jumbos. (Includes data table.)

However, denial rates in the GSE automated underwriting services were higher in 2023 for Black and Hispanic applicants...

The FHA plans to continue to assess its life-of-loan mortgage insurance premium but will consider making changes to the policy in the future.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Bose George said, "Given the modest scale of the announced pilot program, there should be no meaningful impact on the mortgage market."

Persistently high interest rates have bitten into the GSEs' attempts to preserve existing affordable housing...

Close to half of the prime non-agency MBS volume in the market since early May has been in GSE-eligible mortgages. Rocket Mortgage is the latest issuer with a GSE-eligible offering, including a number of loans with eNotes.