Treasury controls the senior preferred stock of the GSEs. The junior preferred and common continues to trade in the over-the-counter market and through private transactions. The latter two classes of stock are considered speculative in nature.
The FHA’s 203(k) Property, Repair and Rehabilitation program saw a significant increase in activity in the third quarter of 2016, both relative to the previous quarter and from the same period a year ago. Origination of FHA-insured fixer-upper loans jumped 16.2 percent from the previous quarter, bringing the nine-month production total to $2.4 billion. On a year-over-year basis, volume rose 6.9 percent. The top five FHA 203(k) lenders saw a 52.5 percent increase in originations in the third quarter, totaling $202.1 million. Year-over-year, production by the same group was off by 13.1 percent. Purchase loans accounted for $2.2 billion of 203(k) mortgages originated by lenders over the nine-month period while refinance rehab loans accounted for $237.9 million. Billion-dollar weather and climate disasters may have contributed to the surge in 203(k) business. As of September 2016, 12 weather and ... [Chart]
The Congressional Budget Office is looking for ways to reduce the budget impact of government-backed mortgage programs and recommends that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increase their guarantee fees and/or significantly lower their loan limits. But the CBO admits those changes would result in raising the cost to borrowers and could potentially restrain the housing market. Under CBO scorekeeping, MBS guarantees provided by the two government-sponsored enterprises from 2017 to 2026 will cost the government $12 billion. Reducing subsidies also would help renew private sector participation in the secondary market, the CBO said. It proposes...
Commercial banks reduced their securitized servicing by 1.9 percent during the third quarter, though they still accounted for 52.5 percent of that market.
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