Relatively stable pricing and fairly healthy returns are giving mortgage reinsurers hope for a more robust market, according to a new analysis from Standard & Poor’s. Reinsurers seeking respite from a deteriorating property casualty reinsurance sector have found mortgage reinsurance a promising business diversification and source of growth – at least for now, said the rating service. However, reinsurers coming late to the feast might find...
The wholesale-broker market saw a surge in origination volume during the second quarter of 2017, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. All three primary-market production channels recorded big gains in the second quarter, but mortgage brokers posted the biggest increase, a 35.1 percent jump in first-lien mortgage originations to an estimated $50.0 billion. Most of the top wholesale funders in the sector reported similarly big increases in production. One reason the broker share of originations rose in the second quarter was...[Includes four data tables]
The Home Affordable Refinance Program was arguably one of the most successful initiatives aimed at delivering consumer relief in the wake of the housing meltdown. It’s proving hard to kill. The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week extended HARP for another year, until the end of 2018. It was slated to sunset at the end of this year. The program has been extended several times since it was authorized back in 2009. The extra year is...