A perfect storm in the mortgage market could spur industry consolidation in the next year, according to a recent Keefe, Bruyette & Woods report.

Analysts agree that bringing management in-house is a long-term positive but differ on whether it improves value in the short run.

Fannie joins Freddie in accepting attorney title opinion letters instead of title insurance. Industry observers said the new option will mostly impact refinances, not purchases.

Analysts puzzle over the pace and timing of quantitative tightening, which is expected to widen MBS spreads and raise interest rates.

Analysts speculate on the apparent choice of Mike Calhoun as FHFA director even though the White House has yet to formally nominate him.

Fannie and Freddie are likely to have raked in more than $5 billion combined in adverse market fees on refinances before FHFA Acting Director Sandra Thompson decided to shut the program.

With delinquency numbers falling, the GSEs will relax excess capital requirements, paving the way for PMIs to resume dividend payouts.

The Fed and commercial banks purchased a combined $1 trillion in agency MBS over the past 12 months, more than 145% of the net supply. (Includes data chart.)

With overnight funding in the agency repo market hovering around 15 basis points and term repo rates a shade above the one-month LIBOR, yields for agency mREITs could edge upward, KBW analysts predict.