Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have both extended the option to skip the traditional appraisal process in lieu of automated appraisals to purchase loans. Several months ago, the GSEs announced they would offer appraisal waivers on some refinance loans to borrowers who have at least 20 percent equity in their homes. But last week, Freddie said a traditional appraisal also would not be necessary on every purchase loan. The changes take place Sept. 1. A few days later Fannie announced appraisal -free mortgages on some purchase loan applications. Both GSEs emphasize that the appraisal waivers are only permitted when there’s enough data on the property.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw a modest uptick in production of single-family mortgage-backed securities in July, as 2017 activity remained slightly above last year’s levels. The two GSEs issued $71.84 billion of MBS last month, a 3.7 percent increase from June. That brought year-to-date volume to $479.77 billion, including securitization of modified loans, a slim 1.1 percent increase compared to the first seven months of 2016. The GSE market continued to shift dramatically from refinance loans to purchase mortgages. Refi loans accounted for just 33.4 percent of Fannie and Freddie business in July after ending 2016 with 55.4 percent of GSE business.
The end of a long-term decline in interest rates will trigger a resurgence of the second-lien market and alter the mortgage market in other areas as well, according to a working paper published by the Urban Institute. How much mortgage rates will rise is unclear, but the 35-year secular decline in interest rates is over, author Laurie Goodman maintained in her preliminary study, “The Impact of Higher Interest Rates on the Mortgage Market.” Goodman, co-director of UI’s Housing Finance ...
Home-price depreciation was a greater driver of mortgage defaults during the financial crisis than unemployment, according to an analysis by S&P Global Ratings. The findings are counterintuitive because many borrowers continued to make mortgage payments when they experienced negative equity while the lack of employment can make it difficult to keep up with a mortgage. S&P studied loan-level data from the government-sponsored enterprises for mortgages ...
Are loan officers headed for extinction? There certainly will be much less of a market for them in the future if the new online platform, No Originating Loan Officer, being rolled out by 360 Mortgage Group, a privately-owned mortgage banking firm based in Austin, TX, takes hold across the industry. On the other hand, fewer humans in the mortgage lending mix may mean fewer opportunities for errors, cutting compliance corners or engaging in steering and other discriminatory practices that ...
Commercial banks and savings institutions saw a modest improvement in profits earned on mortgage-banking activities during the second quarter, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call report data. In aggregate, banks and thrifts earned $3.72 billion from mortgage banking during the second quarter, a 4.4 percent increase from the first three months of the year. Year-to-date, industry mortgage-banking income was running ... [Includes one data chart]
For a firm that’s only been involved in the mortgage industry for a year, Eli Global has already bought a stake in two lending companies, inched its way into the warehouse lending arena – and become a plaintiff in a messy lawsuit that accuses a veteran mortgage banker of fraud. So far – except for the lawsuit filed by Eli Global affiliate CapLoc – the Durham, NC-based financial services company has kept a low profile while turning down repeated requests for interviews ...
The volume of defective Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages repurchased by lenders increased modestly in the second quarter of 2017, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of buyback disclosures filed by the two government-sponsored enterprises. Lenders repurchased some $244.44 million of home loans or made other indemnification to the GSEs during the second quarter. That was up 2.5 percent from the previous three-month ... [Includes two data charts]
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