The secondary market in agency mortgage servicing rights cooled off in the first quarter of 2017 after a hectic end to 2016, according to an exclusive analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Trends. A total of $109.78 billion of agency MSR changed hands during the first three months of the year, down 32.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016. Part of that was due to a 26.2 percent decline in new business volume at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie ... [Includes three data charts]

Nonbanks serviced $2.418 trillion of agency loans at the end of the first quarter, up 21.6 percent from a year ago…

The trade group first launched its GSE task force in late 2012 with 17 initial executive members, including Bob Ryan, a Wells Fargo executive who is now the acting deputy director of the division of conservatorship at the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The outstanding supply of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae servicing continued to grow during the first quarter of 2017 despite a downturn in new mortgage-backed securities issuance by the three agencies, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. A total of $6.225 trillion of agency single-family MBS was outstanding at the end of March, up 1.4 percent from December 2016. That number does not include agency servicing of whole loans held on the books of Fannie and Freddie, or a smattering of adjustable-rate mortgages in seasoned Freddie securities. Freddie posted...[Includes two data tables]

The share of renters who expect to purchase a home is declining, according to a survey conducted for Freddie Mac. Even though many renters reported optimism about their financial situations, saving for a downpayment and other factors present hurdles to financing a home purchase. Some 41 percent of renters surveyed said they expect to purchase a home, down from 45 percent in September. Freddie also found that the number of renters who say they are working toward homeownership fell from 21 percent in September to 15 percent in March. Most renters said...

On a loan count basis, Michigan represents the largest chunk of the portfolio at 37.1 percent.

Of course the bigger question is this: what role, if any, will the Fed play in deciding the future of Fannie and Freddie?

The agency has acknowledged the need for a commissioned examiner program to provide classroom and on-the-job training…

In 2012, the g-fee disparity fell to about 6 bps. By 2013 it was just about gone. And you can credit Ed DeMarco…

In June of last year, DeMarco co-authored a Milken Institute white paper entitled “Why Housing Reform Still Matters." In it, he argues: "…we need to preserve the liquidity and capacity of an active, globally financed MBS market…”