Recently, rumors were making the rounds in Washington that Fannie and Freddie might be pondering an increase in their net worth minimums for seller/servicers...

In a rare decision, the U.S. Supreme Court last week agreed to hear oral arguments pertaining to an ongoing Fannie Mae foreclosure case dating back to 2002. The case, Crystal Monique Lightfoot v. Fannie Mae, Cendant Mortgage Corp., is based on whether individual homeowners have the right to sue the GSE in the state courts after being wrongly foreclosed on by Fannie. Two homeowners from California involved in a mortgage dispute originally sued Fannie in state court back in 2002. But Fannie said the case should automatically fall under federal jurisdiction and be moved to the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California.

In general, this is not a pretty time for mortgage-related stocks, even though interest rates are at an all-time low.

Quicken Loans was the top FHA condo lender in the first quarter of 2016, according to a new ranking from Inside FHA/VA Lending.

Warehouse lenders that supply credit to nonbank originators have seen usage rates and new line requests increase significantly in the past few weeks, thanks in part to plunging interest rates brought about by the “Brexit” vote. David Frase, president of warehouse lending for Southwest Bank, said, “Any warehouse bank that isn’t seeing record volume is probably malfunctioning in some way. We’ve been pretty darn busy.” Other warehouse managers have reported...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development last week announced stronger protections for homeowners and more favorable pricing for nonprofit participants in its Distressed Asset Stabilization Program but reactions from community and advocacy groups have been mixed. The program has been under fire because the bulk auctions of nonperforming mortgages have primarily benefited private equity firms and hedge funds, which bought the loans at a steep discount but did little to save homeowners from foreclosure or revitalize the communities where the properties backing the loans are located. HUD converted...

As one equities official noted: “It’s not fun being a stock analyst these days.”

A recession in the U.S. could cause the 10-year Treasury bond to yield 1.0 percent…

The refi share of new applications is now at 61.6 percent…

This attendee said one primary concern was whether nonbank Ginnie issuers would have the financial wherewithal to make advances to MBS investors in the event of another financial crisis.