A number of lenders are trying to grow the expanded-credit mortgage market, but top producers in the sector saw an overall decline in originations last year, according to a new ranking by Inside Nonconforming Markets. The 15 top lenders originated $40.96 billion of expanded-credit mortgages last year, down 16.3 percent from 2016. The ECM category consists mostly of non-qualified mortgages and nonprime/Alt A loans that aren’t eligible for sale to the agencies ... [Includes one data chart]
Servicers of jumbo mortgages posted significant increases to their portfolios in 2017, according to a new ranking by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Among a group of 30 servicers, the combined jumbo portfolio increased by 9.5 percent on an annual basis to $984.28 billion as of the end of 2017. The growth in jumbo servicing outpaced the increase in total mortgages outstanding. The total unpaid principal balance of outstanding residential mortgages ... [Includes one data chart]
The federal budget plan released by the Trump administration last week recommended increasing the guarantee fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Higher g-fees would help non-agency lenders compete with pricing offered by the government-sponsored enterprises, according to the Trump administration. Currently, a 10 basis point fee is added to the GSEs’ g-fees to help support a 2011 payroll tax cut. The fee is scheduled to expire at the end of 2021 and will ...
The difference in interest rates for non-agency jumbo mortgages compared with conforming mortgages is often reported based on average interest rates. According to an analysis by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, looking at average rates obscures some major differences in pricing for jumbos and mortgages eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises. The researchers used data from Optimal Blue, a mortgage processor that allows lenders to ...
Retail production shops and mortgage brokers managed to sustain origination volumes fairly well in the fourth quarter of 2017, but correspondent platforms had a tougher time of it, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis.
The first-time homebuyer share of home sales has trended downward in recent years, though not necessarily due to a lack of demand from potential buyers, according to some industry analysts. One of the biggest drags on purchases by first-time homebuyers appears to be a lack of starter homes for sale, according to analysts at Capital Economics.