Researchers at the Urban Institute found that, although the percentage of first-time homebuyers increased from 2011 to 2014, the national share of first-time homebuyers in the agency mortgage market fell from 57 percent in 2011 to just 54 percent last year. Researchers Bing Bai, Jun Zhu and Laurie Goodman, director of the Housing Finance policy center at the Urban Institute, attributed the change to a decline in FHA’s market share. From 2001 to 2003 ... [Includes one data chart]
Nonbank mortgage firms continue to hire new employees thanks to increasing origination volumes and their ability to whittle away at the market share of the nation’s largest megabank originators. In the first quarter of 2015, lenders of different charters funded a better-than-expected $370 billion with nonbanks accounting for eight of the top 15 origination slots, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, an affiliate publication. Although megabanks such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America and ...
State-licensed mortgage lenders originated $72.8 billion of Veterans Administration home loans during 2014, according to a new analysis of mortgage call report data by Inside Mortgage Trends. VA home loan originations by state-licensed lenders – mostly independent, privately held mortgage bankers – rose 14.5 percent from 2013 to 2014. At the same time, production of conventional and FHA-insured loans fell by 26.3 percent and 23.3 percent, respectively ... [Includes one data chart]
For mortgage originators, going through a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau mortgage examination can be a daunting experience, but not if you walk in thoroughly prepared, according to compliance experts at GrantThornton. A CFPB lending exam can take up to six months to complete, can be quite expensive over time as well as delay business. At most banks and mortgage firms, the staff could work full time on just the CFPB audit, which could result in high overtime costs and ...
While refinance activity grew and accounted for 63 percent of all conventional-conforming originations in the first quarter, the number of borrowers cashing out equity or consolidating loans dipped slightly from 29 percent in the previous quarter to 27 percent. That was still up from 17 percent cash-out share of refinances in the first quarter of 2014, according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly analysis. But Freddie said the net dollars of home equity converted to cash as part of a refinance remained low ...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported continued profitability in the first quarter of 2015 with net earnings of $1.9 billion and $524 million respectively. Both GSEs have been profitable for at least 13 consecutive quarters, but Fannie's earnings were down from the $5.3 billion in the first quarter of last year. Fannie said one factor was a $1.9 billion derivative loss in the first quarter, which is a jump from the $1.2 billion derivative loss in the first quarter of 2014. Freddie reported $2.4 billion in losses from derivatives and noted in its earnings statement that $1.8 billion of the charges were related to fair value changes. “The company’s use of derivatives reduces exposure to interest-rate risk on an economic basis; however, this can....
New life-of-loan representation and warranty- exclusion guidelines issued by the GSEs in November, appeared to have little impact on banks’ lending policies so far, according to a recent Federal Reserve Board survey.The rep-and-warrant changes were intended to reduce uncertainty and increase transparency in addressing lenders’ concerns about when they might be asked to repurchase a loan. The concerns were based on repurchase risk and other market factors that can cause an increase in credit overlays. “Addressing these concerns by providing tighter definitions and clarity should encourage sellers to serve a broader range of qualified borrowers,” said Dave Lowman, Freddie’s executive vice president of single -family business, when the changes were announced in November.
Refinance activity continued to dominate the flow business at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in April, but 2015 is shaping up as a decent year for purchase mortgages as well. The two GSEs securitized $26.34 billion of purchase mortgages in April, a 24.3 percent increase from the previous month. That’s still well below the level produced in the second half of 2014, when monthly production averaged $31.79 billion. But Fannie and Freddie securitized $96.86 billion of purchase mortgages during the first four months of 2015, a 20.0 percent increase from the same period last year. The refinance business has done most of the heavy lifting this year. Refi loan securitization was up 88.7 percent on a year-to-date basis and accounted for....(includes data charts)
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