Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this week announced enhancements to their flex modification programs. The primary aim is to ensure that modifications result in a 20% reduction in P&I payments.
A new advisory bulletin from the FHFA will require the GSEs to come up with comprehensive, actionable plans to deal with the impacts of climate change on housing finance.
Fannie and Freddie boast about their downpayment assistance and consumer education programs, key initiatives to help first-time homebuyers in a high-interest-rate, low-supply market.
High delinquency rates in the GSEs’ senior housing portfolios suggest that the sector still hasn’t recovered from the panic created by the pandemic. High interest rates and inflation haven’t helped.
Speaking at the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association conference this week, Urban Institute’s Laurie Goodman called for “more permanent” steps to ease liquidity issues in the HECM market.
Federal and state regulators looking to implement new data privacy standards should include exemptions for firms subject to Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requirements, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association and other trade groups.
New downpayment assistance programs and tracking of rental payment history for underwriting purposes are among the suggestions put forward by two Urban Institute researchers.
Most REITs reported declines in the fair value of their agency MBS during the first quarter of 2024. Non-agency MBS holdings were up, as were net TBA positions. (Includes two data tables.)
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