The official watchdog of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s regulator wants to know what’s the holdup with the GSEs’ implementation of new accounting practices to write off overdue single-family residential mortgages. Last month, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of Inspector General dispatched a “management alert” to the FHFA seeking answers as to why an advisory bulletin directing the GSEs to classify any single-family residence loan delinquent for 180 days or more as a “loss” has yet to be implemented. OIG issued the bulletin in April 2012, but the FHFA has given Fannie and Freddie until Jan. 1, 2015, to fully implement it.
A widely-expected reduction in conforming loan limits in 2014 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency will likely be confined to a handful of states, but that’s not stopping industry stakeholders and advocates from worrying about the implications of tighter credit for middle-income homebuyers in high-priced markets. Currently, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans are capped at $625,500 in high-cost areas and it’s been stuck at $417,000 for everywhere since 2006. According to an analysis by Barclays Capital, the FHFA currently has the authority absent additional legislation to lower the base GSE conforming loan limit under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. Lowering the conforming limit would in turn reduce the high-cost limit.
Large parts of the Bay Area and Southern California qualify for the top high-cost limit, while other California markets such as San Diego ($546,250) and Sacramento ($474,950) have intermediate high-cost limits.
The letter to members of Congress is notable for which trade groups didn't sign on, including the American Bankers Association and Mortgage Bankers Association.
A widely-expected reduction in conforming loan limits for 2014 would help the jumbo market continue to broaden its footprint in mortgage originations, but the impact would be largely confined to a handful of states, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. Jumbo production – originations of home loans that exceed varying conforming loan limits around the country – has been the brightest spot in a mortgage outlook made increasingly gloomy by rising interest rates. Non-agency jumbo originations rose 9.3 percent from the first to the second quarter, while total originations of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA loans fell 3.8 percent. Jumbo mortgages accounted...[Includes four data charts]
The secondary market for mortgage servicing rights is starting to look a bit frothy, so much so that many bulk offerings today garner upwards of 12 bidders per auction. A year ago just a handful of investors showed up. But that isn’t deterring Michael Lau, CEO of Pingora Asset Management, who earlier this year raised $500 million to buy MSRs. Lau said Pingora is plowing ahead with its acquisition plans, careful not to overpay while concentrating on “flow” deals on new originations. “We’re actively doing...
Two years ago, no megabank in its right mind would dare originate a jumbo mortgage without asking for at least a 20 percent downpayment – unless the borrower was a special client of the company’s wealth management division. Today, it’s a different story. As refi volumes begin to dwindle, a handful of large banks are loosening their jumbo underwriting standards, allowing for lower downpayment requirements and higher debt-to-income ratios. Wells Fargo has been offering...
A number of lenders in July stopped offering mortgages with characteristics outside of those allowed for qualified mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA said credit availability declined in August after four months of loosening. “The slight decline in the Mortgage Credit Availability Index in August reflected a reduction in the availability of certain loan features, particularly interest-only and terms exceeding 30 years,” said Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s vice president of research and economics. “As these loan features are outside of the QM definition, these changes may reflect the beginning of QM implementation, and the fact that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are limited to acquiring loans that meet the QM definition.” The MCAI is...
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