“Most real estate agents say high loan-to-value ratio mortgages are readily available, especially for homebuyers with good credit,” said Tom Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys.
The Federal Home Loan Banks’ Mortgage Partnership Finance program and Redwood Trust announced a number of changes this week to the MPF Direct product. Beginning Aug. 31, the loan limit will increase to $2.5 million and hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages will be eligible for delivery. The MPF Direct program was launched in 2014, with a loan limit of $729,750, the high-cost loan limit for the government-sponsored enterprises at the time. In the third quarter of 2015, the loan limit for the product was increased to $1.5 million. The loan limit for cash-out refinances is $750,000. “We continue...
Mortgages that allow buyers to make low downpayments are making a quiet comeback, according to a recent analysis from Deutsche Bank. But do they have the staying power? So far, seven lenders have partnered with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in special programs to offer loans requiring anywhere from no money down to 3 percent down. Although the government-sponsored enterprises cap their high loan-to-value product at 97 percent, some lenders step in and subsidize the extra funds needed to make up the difference. The GSEs began...
Lenders operating in the consumer-direct channel have a distinct opportunity to use technology to improve the mortgage experience for borrowers, according to findings from the Strategic Mortgage Finance Group. Garth Graham, a senior partner at the firm more commonly referred to as Stratmor, detailed the findings in a new publication from the mortgage-industry consulting firm. The Stratmor executive suggested that consumer-direct lenders should work with technology that ...
When origination volume begins growing rapidly, as it appears to have in the second quarter, lenders often ramp up their third-party origination platforms rather than beef up their retail production capacity. According to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of agency mortgage-backed securities data, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae securitized $156.23 billion of TPO loans during the second quarter, a 32.2 percent increase over the previous ... [Includes one data chart]
Applications for refinances decreased slightly last week compared with the week prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as average interest rates on mortgages increased during the week.
To help address racial disparities in lending, the NCRC called for expansion of the Community Reinvestment Act, stronger enforcement of the CRA and strengthening of the government-sponsored enterprises’ affordable housing goals.
The bank’s residential whole loan portfolio (based on average balances) totaled $275.85 billion at quarter’s end compared to $266.02 billion a year ago.