Although all of Fannie Mae’s nearly 700 real estate-owned properties sold earlier this month as part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s first announced REO pilot transaction moved at near or above market value, a market analyst says it remains to be seen whether this deal is the shape of things to come. San Diego-based Pacifica Companies LLC was the winning bidder of 699 Fannie properties throughout Florida. The firm paid $12.3 million for a share in a joint venture with Fannie, resulting in an estimated transaction valuation to the GSE of $78.1 million or nearly 96 percent of the properties’ estimated value, according to the transaction summary.

Fannie Mae announced this week it has tapped Bradley Lerman to be the GSE’s new executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Lerman, 56, joins Fannie Mae from Pfizer where he was senior vice president, associate general counsel and chief litigation counsel.Lerman replaces Timothy Mayopoulos, who was promoted to CEO in June.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is currently pondering how, or whether, the GSE conservator will intervene in the controversial and ever more contentious proposal to use local eminent domain laws to effect principal reduction for homeowners by seizing mortgage loans. Early last month, the FHFA cited “significant concerns” about the eminent domain proposals, warning that “action might be necessary” on its part to avoid a risk to the safe and sound operations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as to avoid taxpayer expense. Some 74 organizations and members responded to FHFA’s request for input and submitted comment letters. “The acting director will consider the input received in making a final decision,” said a Finance Agency spokesman.

House Republicans this week made a surprise effort to advance a forgotten GSE reform bill with nominal bipartisan support directly to the House floor. It’s unclear whether the effort will succeed but an industry lobbyist says the move was an exercise in futility nonetheless. H.R. 2440, the Market Transparency and Taxpayer Protection Act, from Rep. Robert Hurt, R-VA, was one of more than two dozen “suspension” bills added to the lineup of expected quick and easy votes. In the House, suspension of the rules is a procedure generally used to quickly pass non-controversial bills. H.R. 2440 had not been advanced for a vote as Inside The GSEs went to press.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s official watchdog is advising the regulator to apply greater scrutiny to Fannie Mae as it works on a “promising initiative” to shift poor performing GSE loans to more capable financial institutions. This week’s report by the FHFA’s Office of Inspector General found little fault with a controversial transaction last summer between Fannie and Bank of America under the GSE’s High Touch Servicing Program. However, the OIG concluded that there was room for improvement in the FHFA’s and Fannie’s supervision of the program.

The new representation and warranty framework for GSE loans announced last week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency will go far to providing a clearer picture of prospective putbacks on loans delivered to the GSEs starting next year but more is needed, analysts conclude. At the FHFA’s direction, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are implementing a new rep and warrant framework for all conventional loans funded, acquired, securitized or guaranteed on or after Jan. 1, 2013. The new framework places greater emphasis on quality control review processes to be applied when the loans are delivered to the GSEs earlier in the loan process and improves the clarity around repurchase requests, noted Fitch Ratings.

Homebuyers are increasingly using mortgages instead of cash to purchase homes, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The share of non-cash financing methods for home purchases has increased significantly in 2012 as borrowers take advantage of low interest rates. Overall, the share of non-cash financing for home purchases increased from 65.9 percent in January to 68.9 percent in August, based on the three-month moving average. The increased use of ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac late last week announced another round of changes in the Home Affordable Refinance Program for underwater borrowers, including more liberal repurchase standards that some say may spur lenders to refinance other servicers’ loans. For HARP loans sold to the government-sponsored enterprises on or after Jan. 1, 2013, repurchase risk will be lowered if the borrower stays current in the loan for 12 months. Under a revised repurchase policy announced last week, representation and warranty risk will be eased for non-HARP loans that stay current for 36 months. Effectively immediately, the government-sponsored enterprises reduced...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposal to institute a higher “all in” annual percentage rate calculation that would incorporate additional fees and charges – one aspect of the larger proposed rule to combine and simplify the consumer mortgage disclosure under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac support the bureau’s proposal to expand the finance charge for several reasons,” the two government-sponsored enterprises said. “First, it will make comparison shopping easier for consumers by eliminating the lack of clarity that now leads creditors to treat identical fees differently.” Second, a more inclusive finance charge will eliminate...

As federal regulators move to raise Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranty fees for the second time this year, some industry analysts question whether it will help shrink the role of government programs in the mortgage market or simply shift more business to the FHA. “That’s a concern,” said Meg Burns, senior associate director for housing and regulatory policy at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, during the American Mortgage Conference sponsored by the North Carolina Bankers Association last week. “There are discussions all the time about what will FHA do when Fannie and Freddie are raising the g-fees, and whether FHA is actually in position to move the premium charges?” Burns noted that the government-sponsored enterprises have...