The price of agency MBS has been rising since early April, which can only mean good things for publicly-traded real estate investment trusts that own the asset class. However, REIT share prices haven’t improved much of late, with some companies such as Annaly Capital Management continuing to trade closer to their 52-week lows than their highs. Late this week, for instance, Annaly – one of the largest MBS investing REITs – was trading at $11.30 compared to a 52-week high of $15.98 and a low of $9.66. But better days may be...

The terms of the MBS settlement are subject to approval by the Federal Housing Finance Agency due to Freddie Mac’s involvement.

“A few groups have taken a walk through the offices in Cherry Hill,” said a source close to PHH. “People are starting to notice – and leave.”

Another suggestion is to increase the $100,000 threshold for “smaller loans” to $200,000 allowing for mortgage amounts beneath that level to be subject to more workable points-and-fees limits.

The chairman and CEO of CapWealth Advisors – a private equity firm with stakes in the GSEs – was critical of all the housing reform bills introduced so far and the premise that Fannie and Freddie need to be wound down to affect reform.

Since late last year, the FHFA has decreed that it must approve any GSE servicing sale of 25,000 loans or more, which translates into roughly $5 billion of product.

Will the Ocwen-Wells MSR deal ever get approved? In time, but...

In general, many mortgage firms that make loans on vacation homes want a downpayment of at least 20 percent.

The resulting lender, which will keep the Ethos name, plans to start originating qualified mortgages in the second quarter of 2014 and non-QMs by the end of the year.

Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, cited a letter from a mortgage banking constituent who said his company is being forced out of the residential lending business because of the cost and complexity of regulatory compliance.