Correspondent mortgage originators account for an unusually large share of FHA and VA lending, but the channel lost some market share in 2016, according to a new analysis by Inside FHA/VA Lending. Correspondent production accounted for 53.2 percent of the $275.14 billion of government-insured mortgages originated by a diverse group of lenders that included the top players in the market. That was a significantly bigger correspondent share than was seen in the conventional-conforming market (42.6 percent) or the jumbo space (16.2 percent). However, the 2016 figure was down from a 57.8 percent correspondent share of FHA/VA lending back in 2015, the first year for which data are available. Correspondent originations of government-insured lending by the group were up 31.1 percent from 2015, but their total FHA/VA lending jumped 42.3 percent. The retail share rose ... [ 1 chart ]

Approximately $18.8 billion in rural housing loans with a U.S. Department of Agriculture guarantee were delivered into Ginnie Mae pools in 2016, according to an analysis of Ginnie data. Securitization of USDA loans was up 3.9 percent from the previous year. Fourth quarter production, however, was off 10.3 percent from the prior quarter, slowing down production of USDA loans during the period. Ditech Financial, which ranked 15th among the top Ginnie Mae issuers of mortgage-backed securities backed by USDA loans, ended 2016 with $284.9 million. That was up a staggering 4712.9 percent from 2015. Chase Home Finance led the market with $3.6 billion in 2016, despite hefty declines quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. Second-ranked PennyMac closed the year with a total volume of $2.1 billion, while Freedom Mortgage, in third place, reported $2.0 billion, a whopping ... [ 1 chart ]

Production of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans was down in 2016 with an estimated $14.9 billion originated last year, compared to $16.0 billion the previous year. Year-over-year, total HECM volume fell 6.4 percent. Purchase loans accounted for 85.9 percent of FHA-insured reverse mortgages produced over the 12-month period. Originations, however, rose by 8.0 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter due to a spike in HECM lending in December. Purchase HECMs with an adjustable rate appeared to be the product of choice among HECM borrowers in 2016. American Advisors Group continued to dominate the market, closing 2016 with $2.1 billion in HECM originations for a 14.0 percent market share. One Reverse Mortgage was the second top HECM producer of the year with $855 million, while Reverse Mortgage Funding was in third place with $649.8 million. Liberty Home Equity Solutions hung on ... [ 1 chart ]

A program launched in September to provide grants to mortgage brokers has helped launch 15 new independent mortgage brokerage shops, according to the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.

The three major credit bureaus plan to exclude two critical pieces of negative information from their reports, which may make it easier for some borrowers to qualify for a mortgage.

Appraisers are most frustrated with the FHA, excessive regulations and insufficient compensation, according to a National Association of Realtors survey of more than 2,000 appraisers.

A new study by LendingTree said that Pittsburgh tops the list of cities for millennial homebuyers with 48.4 percent of all purchase mortgage requests coming from that demographic.

The retail channel remains the predominant source of jumbo originations, according to an Inside Nonconforming Markets analysis of survey responses collected by Inside Mortgage Finance. Among the top jumbo lenders, more than four out of five jumbos originated during the fourth quarter of 2016 were through the retail channel. The 81.6 percent retail share of jumbo originations was up from a 79.3 percent share in the fourth quarter of 2015 ... [Includes one data chart]

Freddie Mac is preparing to issue a $639.91 million Whole Loan Securities transaction backed by conforming-jumbo mortgages, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Some 65.9 percent of the mortgages in the transaction were originated by Caliber Home Loans, followed by Wells Fargo Bank with a 19.1 percent share and Quicken Loans with a 10.0 percent share. JPMorgan Chase recently opted to include conforming-jumbo mortgages in a non-agency ... [Includes five briefs]

As interest rates increase and refinance business shrinks, some lenders are putting an emphasis on non-qualified mortgages. “CashCall Mortgage’s business in refinance has fallen off; it is now targeting a different section of the marketplace,” Joe Tomkinson, chairman and CEO of Impac Mortgage Holdings, said during the nonbank’s recent earnings call. “Now we are bringing a product that is very real estate friendly to the marketplace, and we will see an increase in that.” Most of ...