Interest rates on jumbo mortgages are the latest addition to the data page that is published in each issue of Inside Nonconforming Markets. The average interest rates and points for jumbos are tracked via the Inside Mortgage Finance Weekly Sample of Mortgage Rates and the Mortgage Bankers Association. ... [includes four briefs]

Several states would have seen their FHA dollar volume decline by 10 percent or more in the first half of 2011 had the lower FHA loan limits been in place at the beginning of the year. Connecticut and the District of Columbia would have been the hardest hit with 15 percent and 14 percent drops in their FHA volumes, respectively, over the six-month period, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis based on Department of Housing and Urban Development projections. California, which ranked first among states in FHA production, would have experienced a 12 percent drop, followed by Massachusetts with 11 percent. Colorado...(Includes one data chart)

The House this week voted to reject a short-term government spending bill but what’s interesting is what’s not in it: a provision extending the temporary loan limits. While attention is on the possibility of a government shutdown, it appears that a last-ditch effort by the mortgage industry and its allies in Congress to extend the current $729,750 high-cost area loan limit before Sept. 30 has failed. The measure lost by a vote of 195-230 after Democrats withdrew their support and 48 Republicans defied party leaders in protest over spending caps. It would have kept the government operating through...

The FHA is urging Congress to restore the authority of community banks to close FHA loans in their own names without having to maintain an FHA lender approval to do so. While it took a regulation by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to take away small banks’ FHA correspondent status, federal law requires lenders to have FHA approval before they can close an FHA-insured loan. Only Congress can make the changes necessary for non-direct endorsement lenders to return to the business of originating and closing FHA loans in their name, according to a former HUD official. Assistant Secretary for Housing and...

FHA lenders that fail to report mortgage record changes for mortgage sales, transfers and termination of mortgage insurance will be referred to the Mortgage Review Board for disciplinary action, including civil fines, the agency warned. In Mortgagee Letter 2011-33, the FHA reminded lenders of their responsibility to reconcile their portfolios and ensure all accounts are properly identified. When the FHA’s records do not match lenders’ records, the latter are required to take corrective action. The Department of Housing and Urban Development will not pay any claims if the name and identification number of the holder or the...

A House Republican legislative proposal to transfer the Department of Agriculture’s rural housing programs to the FHA to eliminate potentially duplicative housing services would be disruptive if not premature, according to officials from both agencies. Testifying during a recent House subcommittee hearing on a GOP discussion draft to reform FHA, Ginnie Mae and the Rural Housing Service of the Department of Agriculture, agency representatives expressed their opposition to the proposal. The Republican discussion draft is under consideration in the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Economic Opportunity to...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking public comment on a plan to eliminate an outdated appeals process, which HUD used to collect data to set FHA mortgage loan limits. Since the early 1980s, HUD has allowed interested parties to submit appeals for a higher FHA loan limit in any area of the country at any time in lieu of the limits set by the department for FHA loans. The process, however, is no longer in use – a victim of advances in data-collection technology. Previous guidance issued by HUD outlined the appeal process and later added requirements for data used in non-disclosure states as well as...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently called upon lawmakers to restore funding for its housing counseling, a key eligibility requirement for borrowers under the FHA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program. Deborah Holston, HUD acting deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing, told members of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity that the department has identified ways to streamline and improve the housing counseling program. House appropriators did not restore funding for the program in the draft FY 2012 appropriations bill released...

Granting the chief financial officer additional oversight authority as proposed by House Republicans would be excessive for a relatively small agency such as Ginnie Mae, the agency’s president told lawmakers. Testifying during a recent House subcommittee hearing on legislative proposals on FHA and Ginnie Mae reform, Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer said that while he understands the committee’s concerns about the agency’s financial condition, he believes the provision is not necessary. Among other things, the proposal would give Ginnie Mae’s CFO a greater hand in overseeing operations to ensure that the agency is not...

Ginnie Mae has named PricewaterhouseCoopers as “Securitized Transaction Financial Advisor” for all multiclass securities transactions. Participants will be working with their new multiclass securitization advisor starting in October. All multiclass transaction documents must be emailed to GinnieMaeREMIC@us.pwc.com. The primary transaction contacts are Jim Campbell, Deal Management Team Lead (NY), at James.Campbell@us.pwc.com, (646) 471-6059, and Amanda Liu, Deal Management Team Lead (DC), at Amanda.Liu@us.pwc.com, (202) 414-1392...