Counterintuitively, the bi-merge will increase the number of credit pulls necessary to complete the average mortgage loan application. Consumers will ultimately pay for those extra pulls.

The mortgage industry this week lamented the passing of Dave Stevens, who held several key jobs in residential finance, including both regulator and trade group CEO.

By automating its biennial review system, the FHLBank regulator has dramatically reduced the number of member institutions that are inadvertently omitted from community support reporting.

The latest mortgage rumor in the nation’s capital: President Biden might turn to Fannie and Freddie in an attempt to push down borrowing rates, thus aiding his reelection chances.

Appraisers are supposed to adjust the value of comparable properties to account for home price appreciation. FHFA found that most either don’t make these time adjustments or make them too small.

If the GSEs required stricter energy codes on new homes, savings on utility bills would cover borrowers’ costs within three years, a coalition of advocacy groups said in a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

First American Financial argues that title insurance is a negligible life-of-loan cost for homeowners and is not regressive.

The GSEs’ new multifamily loan acquisitions came to just $82.7 billion in the first 10 months of the year. That was down 23.8% from the first 10 months of 2022.

It’s unclear whether loans that have gone into forbearance post-pandemic will be eligible for new repurchase alternatives.

Lenders have launched a variety of products to reduce downpayment costs for GSE-eligible borrowers.