Lobbyists and analysts who track the market are unanimous on one key issue: GSE loan limits. From what were told, Watt will shelve any thought of lowering the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage limit in 2014.
Wells Fargo once again ranked first among issuers with a market share of 29.6 percent, followed by Chase Home Finance (12.1 percent), and U.S. Bank (3.8 percent).
Analysts commenting on the settlement note that while JPM did not admit any violations of law, it acknowledged in a statement of facts section that employees did not comply with company underwriting guidelines and representations.
Freddie Mac projects that interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will hit 5.00 percent by the end of 2014, with little impact on affordability.
The decline in the use of proprietary loan mods also has outpaced a decline in foreclosure sales. Some 166,809 foreclosures were completed in the third quarter of 2013, down 2 percent from the first quarter of 2013.