The flow of conventional mortgages with private mortgage insurance coverage into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities fell sharply in the fourth quarter – tracking a broader slump in purchase-mortgage business. [Includes three data charts.]
It was a busy week for channel and branch disgorgements with two national lenders announcing transactions they hope will prepare them for a difficult market in 2019.
The steady decline in interest rates over the past four weeks had begun to spark a tinge of optimism among mortgage bankers that 2019 might turn out to be halfway decent after all. Then the government shutdown happened.