Mortgage real estate investment trusts are expressing optimism about investment opportunities in agency MBS despite tighter spreads on credit assets, according to industry analysts at a recent mortgage finance conference in New York City. Mortgage REITs were positive on investment opportunities and believed that interest rate increases were likely to be moderate in the months ahead, said analysts with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, which hosted the conference. Industry executives, however, noted...

Product valuations are not the most appealing to agency MBS investors right now – not enough to keep them from buying, perhaps, but enough to dry up whatever enthusiasm they might have, according to a new structured finance report from analysts at Wells Fargo Securities. “The core theme in the financial markets right now seems to be ‘reluctant buying,’” the report said. Most of the spread products at this point are trading at multiyear tights. And the bloom may be off the rose when it comes to the so-called Trump trade. “Some of the optimism around fiscal policy post-election that drove risk-premiums tighter is...

The vacancy rate on homes that collateralize single-family rental securitizations rose ever so slightly to 4.3 percent in May, but high renewal rates on tenant leases were strong, according to figures compiled by Morningstar Research. The firm noted that the average retention rate rose for the fourth straight month and now stands at 79.8 percent “for the most recent data available.” Two SFR securitizations, including one from market leader Invitation Homes, paid off...

A number of lawsuits involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders remain unresolved and a new one just hit the court system last week. Three shareholders filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan arguing that the court should vacate the third amendment to the preferred stock purchase agreement and declare the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency unconstitutional. The plaintiffs also asked...

Trustees for 244 residential MBS trusts have accepted a $2.4 billion settlement offer from Lehman Brothers to resolve repurchase claims related to pre-crisis RMBS transactions that went bad. The trustees filed a notice of acceptance and a motion seeking bankruptcy court approval of the settlement on May 22. A hearing on the motion will be heard by Judge Shelley Chapman of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on July 6, 2017. The trustees in the settlement include...

Over the past five years, realty firms and lenders have been careful about joint ventures and other ownership ties…

At the very least, these investors want a legal settlement with the Treasury Department over their “takings” claims. But will Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin deal?

Sharp declines in retail originations of jumbo mortgages at a number of major lenders contributed to a decline in the channel’s share of jumbo originations in the first quarter of 2017, according to a new analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The retail channel accounted for 79.3 percent of the $49.49 billion of jumbo originations reported by a diverse group of top lenders in the first quarter, down from an 82.6 percent share in the fourth quarter of 2016. Actual jumbo retail production reported by the group was...[Includes one data table]

Redwood Trust is set to end a slight lull in its issuance of jumbo mortgage-backed securities with a new $349.46 million deal. The firm issued one jumbo MBS per month in the first three months of the year while planned Sequoia Mortgage Trust 2017-4 is set to close at the end of this month, according to presale reports by Kroll Bond Rating Agency and Moody’s Investors Service. At a recent investor conference, Marty Hughes, Redwood’s CEO, said...

Deephaven Mortgage LLC soon will issue its second securitization of nonprime mortgages of this year, a $250.1 million deal backed by a variety of loans that fall outside of the legal safe harbor for qualified-mortgage status. Presale reports from S&P Global and Kroll Bond Rating Agency indicate that 45.6 percent of the loans were acquired from Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, with the rest coming from Deephaven. Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing will service all the loans. The mortgages were originated...