FHA extended foreclosure timelines for properties with a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loan in hurricane-stricken areas in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The 90-day extension aims to prevent further losses to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. The foreclosure timelines were extended through Aug. 16, 2018, for HECM-backed properties located in areas ravaged by Hurricane Maria. Specifically, the extension applies to 78 affected municipalities in Puerto Rico, as well as HECM-backed properties on the islands of St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas. In a report to Congress last year, Ginnie Mae reported that, as of Sept. 30, 2017, its aggregate hurricane exposure to its mortgage-backed securities portfolio was approximately $166.9 billion from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Ginnie’s exposure specific to Hurricane Maria totaled $13.7 billion, which is 1.24 percent of all ...

Caliber Home Loans has announced the pricing of a $325 million term-note offering secured by Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights and excess servicing spread. The structure is the first Ginnie MSR-backed issuance with a subordinate class, which provides Caliber access to additional financing for MSR portfolio growth not previously available within the industry. Ginnie Mae, which cleared the proposed funding and liquidity strategy, said the subordinate structure is a first for a Ginnie servicing debt financing by an agency-approved servicer. The secondary market agency must review and approve all financing agreements based on Ginnie servicing rights, and their overall structures prior to their issuance, said an agency spokesman. Two other servicers, PennyMac and loanDepot, have issued debt backed by servicing rights. Their structures, however, did not include a subordinate piece. “We recognize this ...

Military Direct Mortgage has announced a new training program to help educate real estate agents about the VA loan as well as the advantages of working with veteran borrowers. The program is called “Operation Welcome Home” and aims to connect home-purchase borrowers with real estate agents, who understand veterans’ specific needs and are versed in the VA loan process, said Patti White, president of the Avon, CT-based company. Many real estate agents have little or no knowledge of the VA loan and loan process, which makes the product the least of their priorities, said White. “For example, my husband has been retired from the service for 44 years and we have gone through refinancing,” she noted. “Yet no one has asked us if either of us had served in the military.” There is also a misconception about the VA loan –too much paperwork, restrictive rules and takes longer to close. “I just think there’s ...

The prospects of a legislative overhaul of the housing-finance system this year have diminished considerably, but many have turned to deciphering possible moves by the Trump administration.

Issuance of the government-sponsored enterprises’ credit-risk transfers has been growing consistently over the last five years, according to Suzanne Mistretta, senior director at Fitch Ratings.

cchappell@imfpubs.com Although a stronger economy, wage growth and an improved job market is driving home prices upward in 2018, Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, said a low supply and widespread affordable housing shortage will dampen sales. In his 2018 midyear forecast he said more new housing starts are needed… …

Production of non-agency jumbo mortgages declined significantly in the first quarter of 2018, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. An estimated $60.0 billion of jumbos were originated in the first quarter, down 26.8 percent from the previous period. Jumbo production was also off 13.0 percent from the first three months of 2017. The decline in jumbo volume was greater than the slowdown in the overall mortgage ... [Includes one data chart]

California continues to account for the largest share of non-agency jumbo originations but it lost some market share in 2017, according to an Inside Nonconforming Markets analysis of data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Some $317.29 billion of jumbos were originated in 2017, down 9.7 percent from the previous year. The analysis is based on originations of first-lien, single-family mortgages, with loan-limits determined at the county level. Originations of ... [Includes one data chart]

Impac Mortgage Holdings is putting more emphasis on originating non-qualified mortgages, with officials noting that the loans offer much better margins than conventional mortgages. Impac originated $248.2 million of non-QMs in the first quarter of 2018, up 5.6 percent from the previous cycle and a 34.7 percent increase from a year ago. Non-QMs accounted for 18.8 percent of Impac’s production in early 2018 compared with a 14.2 percent share in the previous quarter and an ...

Minority borrowers applying for an FHA or VA first-lien purchase mortgage were more likely to be denied than comparable white borrowers, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of 2017 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. This finding was no surprise because the denial rates reflected the same historical trends for white and minority borrowers over the years. Approximately 727,865 FHA/VA loans went to white borrowers last year. Of the 978,981 government-insured loan applications submitted by white borrowers, 9.07 percent were denied. Of the 231,108 black borrowers who applied for a government-backed home loan, lenders rejected 14.57 percent. Out of the 285,707 FHA/VA loan applications submitted by Hispanics, lenders denied 11.42 percent. Asian borrowers submitted the least number of FHA/VA loan applications, 44,739. Lenders denied 11.36 percent. For FHA, the ... [Chart]