The government-sponsored enterprises continued to sell their holdings of vintage nonprime mortgages and non-agency mortgage-backed securities during the third quarter of 2016. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stopped acquiring such assets after the financial crisis, but the loans and MBS routinely account for an outsized share of credit losses at the GSEs. Fannie and Freddie held nonprime mortgages with a total unpaid principal balance of ... [Includes one data chart]

Two Harbors Investment held jumbo mortgages with a fair market value of $655.80 million as of the end of September. While the real estate investment trust is on track to discontinue its mortgage loan conduit and securitization business, Two Harbors noted that it had outstanding purchase commitments to acquire $61.40 million in unpaid principal balance as of the end of September. Two Harbors said it incurred $1.19 million in costs during the third quarter ... [Includes three briefs]

Are mortgage account executives overpaid?

Most loan characteristics for FHA and VA mortgages securitized by Ginnie Mae during the third quarter were consistent with prior periods, though there was an uptick in average loan size. In the FHA space, the average loan amount rose 2.9 percent during the third quarter to $193,352. For VA loans pooled in third-quarter Ginnie mortgage-backed securities, the average rose 2.0 percent to $257,772. That is...[Includes three data tables]

In the next few weeks, FHA will be releasing an actuarial report to Congress regarding the health of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund that could boost or weaken the argument for another mortgage insurance premium cut. In anticipation of the report, stakeholders this year have reignited the debate, preceded by the Community Home Lenders Association’s call renewing for a reduction in FHA annual premiums down to their pre-crisis level of 0.55 percent. The CHLA said...

The Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing to establish fees for originating and servicing vendee loans. Vendee loans are not veterans’ benefits and are distinct from VA-guaranteed loans, the agency clarified in a proposed rule published in the Oct. 26 Federal Register. Vendee financing is...

The Department of Veterans Affairs has proposed to allow eligible veterans to purchase less than the minimum amount of mortgage life insurance coverage required for their VA loan to help them reduce out-of-pocket costs. The proposed rule is aimed at helping VA borrowers lower their premiums and amend current VA regulations to reflect an increase in the statutory maximum amount of coverage available under the Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI) program. The VA established...

Proposed changes to the FHA’s condominium approval rules would add approximately 7,000 condo units to the agency’s portfolio and reduce certification costs by $1 million annually, according to a Department of Housing and Urban Development analysis of the proposal’s economic impact. The boost in the agency’s condo originations would result mainly from a proposal to reinstate the “spot” loan process or “single unit approval,” which FHA eliminated in February 2010. The proposed rule would allow...

With sea levels rising and flood risks increasing, federal housing regulators are proposing new base elevation standards for all properties with an FHA-insured mortgage located in flood hazard areas. Under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed rule, elevations for “non-critical” properties would be raised two feet above the site’s base flood elevation or 100-year floodplain. The proposed rule also would revise...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s single-family guaranteed housing program provided $16.14 billion in guarantees to 116,684 rural housing loans during fiscal 2016, down $2.27 billion from FY 2015, according to the Housing Assistance Council (HAC). For the Section 502 direct guarantee loan program, lenders originated approximately $958.3 million in loans in FY 2016, about $58.4 million more than the previous year. Data compiled by HAC, a national nonprofit that helps build homes and communities in rural areas of the country, show...