Freddie Mac will now allow borrowers purchasing or refinancing a condominium to take advantage of its appraisal waiver. With condominium loans growing in popularity among first-time homebuyers, the GSEs are purchasing more of the product. As a result, Freddie announced last week it decided to expand the eligibility requirements. Fannie Mae has been offering its property inspection waiver to condominium borrowers since May.
Pershing Square Capital Management, the largest holder of GSE common stock, is telling its shareholders to be patient with its investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, despite the drubbing the shares have taken this year. As Inside The GSEs went to press late this week, Fannie common was trading for $1.41 a share compared to a 52-week high of $3.31 and a low of $1.21. Freddie common was selling for $1.60. Its high for the year is $3.24, its low $1.20.
The credit risk profile of incoming FHA business has shifted significantly since the beginning of last year, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities data. The biggest development has been the growth of loans with high debt-to-income ratios. There has also been a significant increase in the share of refinance loans that are cash-out transactions. FHA officials are well aware of these developments, having publicly mentioned them in testimony on Capitol Hill and at industry conferences. Officials have also raised concerns about FHA loans with downpayment assistance, although the MBS data don’t seem to indicate that there has been much change on that score. Among FHA loans endorsed in April and May, only 41.9 percent were at or below the benchmark DTI test for qualified mortgages, which is 43 percent. Through 2015 and 2016, well over half of new ... [Chart]
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