The Biden administration’s move to reduce the impact of medical debt from consumer credit reporting will make it easier for some homebuyers to qualify for government-backed mortgages.

Fannie joins Freddie in accepting attorney title opinion letters instead of title insurance. Industry observers said the new option will mostly impact refinances, not purchases.

Despite coming in the wake of a handful of senior executive departures, the resignations look like normal attrition.

The refinance sector took the biggest hit in the agency market during the first quarter of 2022, though it still accounted for just over half of the loans sold to Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie. (Includes two data charts.)

Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are animals of the secondary market, the FHFA director said they have programs that can increase the amount of housing available.

In a refinancing scheme involving some 2,500 units, Seth Levine defrauded lenders and investors out of $60 million.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchased fewer mortgages for mission-based multifamily lending in 2021. And this year their housing goals are even higher.

Mortgage professionals generally approve of the plan, but say more changes are needed to expand access to credit.

Regulatory oversight of nonbank mortgage lender/servicers has increased in recent years, but most of the actions have been uncoordinated. In the latest move, FHFA proposed financial standards for GSE seller/servicers.

Mortgage debt accounted for more than 80% of overall household debt in 2021, according to a new quarterly report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.