While the Federal Reserve intervened in the mortgage market to lower rates, lenders did not pass along all the savings to homebuyers, the former Freddie chief said.
Trade groups representing smaller nonbank seller/servicers say it’s the larger nondepositories, with nearly 70% of the market, that pose the biggest risk to Fannie and Freddie.
Rather than encouraging lending in flood-prone areas, mandatory flood insurance requirements limit mortgage originations for borrowers with low income or low credit scores, researchers at the NY Fed found.
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.
The new option is for borrowers who cannot achieve at least a 25% reduction in the principal and interest portion of their payment through a 30-year loan modification with a partial claim.
Lenders argue the temporary measures adopted by Fannie and Freddie to promote condo safety unnecessarily raise costs for borrowers and present liability issues for HOAs and cooperatives.
While states offered broad temporary flexibilities regarding LO licensing and location requirements during the pandemic, the transition out of the temporary standards has been bumpy.
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.