Mortgage lenders became slightly more daring in terms of the credit characteristics of the loans they sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the second quarter of 2018, according to an exclusive new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis and ranking. [Includes two data charts.]
Most mortgage lenders earned money on their loan production and servicing operations in the second quarter of 2018, but income was generally down from previous periods. [Includes one data chart.]
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued a combined $65.85 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities last month, a 1.0 percent decline from their June total, according to an Inside The GSEs analysis of MBS data. Compared to the first seven months of 2017, the GSE single-family business was down 7.4 percent as of the end of July. Most of the month-to-month slump was at Freddie, where MBS production fell 8.9 percent from June. Fannie managed a 5.0 percent increase in July. Both GSEs are off about the same on a year-to-date basis. [Includes two data charts.]
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt has been under a lot of scrutiny as his tenure winds down by yearend. Some observers claim the FHFA is allowing the GSEs to introduce pilot programs that conflict with the primary market. There is a sexual harassment allegation against Watt. And he is reportedly being investigated for intimidating the agency’s inspector general....
So much has changed in today’s digital environment that consumer expectations have shifted, creating a new generation of digital mortgages. Mortgage lenders need to explore new opportunities that come with increased digitization to provide added value to their borrowers, according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Secondary market trading for home-equity loans has increased across most market segments, thanks to greater available supply driven by higher prices, according to a new report from MountainView Financial Solutions, a Denver-based provider of financial services analytics and advisory services.
The foreclosure rate returned to pre-crisis levels this year, though industry analysts note that foreclosure rates remain somewhat elevated in states with a judicial foreclosure process.
California, the largest mortgage market in the U.S., appears to provide more than enough business for loan officers, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis that compares the number of registered and licensed LOs in each state to the volume of home loans and mortgage applications. [Includes one data chart.]
Freddie Mac launched a new pilot program geared toward keeping rents affordable for low-income and working families.The Mezzanine Loan program is different from other affordable housing efforts because it’s strictly voluntary and will offer lower cost financing to multifamily borrowers who agree to cap their rent increases for the life of the loan....
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