The FHA will not issue a new case number for any FHA-to-FHA refinance if the current mortgage has a repair or rehabilitation escrow account in FHA Connection. The change, which is one of several updates to FHA Single Family Policy Handbook 4000.1, applies only to FHA streamline refis. It aims to ensure that escrow funds of the mortgage being refinanced are properly applied as well as conform to system requirements. The updated sections become effective on Sept. 14, 2015. Another change clarifies that the payoff statement for the mortgage being refinanced is the only document required when calculating the maximum mortgage amount for simple refi transactions. In addition, guidance for loan-to-value limits for cash-out refis has been updated to clarify that the 85 percent LTV restriction applies only to cash-out refis. HUD also noted that appraisers have flexibility in regards to when inspections should ...

All three mortgage production channels saw solid gains in originations from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2015, but correspondents had the best of it. Correspondent lenders generated an estimated $132 billion of new mortgages during the second quarter, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and market analysis. That was up 26.9 percent from the first quarter, a few clicks faster than the overall 23.6 percent increase in production volume. The correspondent share edged...[Includes four data tables]

DBRS was the most active rating service in the non-agency mortgage-backed security market halfway through 2015.

The newly-originated adjustable-rate mortgages have a weighted-average coupon of 7.387 percent and an average credit score of 688, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

A big part of Freddie’s sharp increase in issuance came from the $8.00 billion of seasoned loans the company securitized in July.

Timeshare collateral has displayed consistent year-over-year improvement since 2012.

Real estate investment trusts that focus on the MBS market saw the value of their holdings slump again during the volatile second quarter of 2015. Top mortgage REITs reported a fair market value of $249.10 billion for their single-family MBS holdings as of the end of June. That was down 5.6 percent from the previous quarter, and it was the group’s lowest MBS portfolio valuation since the fourth quarter of 2011. The decline came...[Includes one data table]

The average daily trading volume in agency MBS increased to $189.0 billion in July, a rare occurrence for an asset that’s been under selling pressure this year. According to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, trading volume peaked in January at $245.9 billion and hasn’t looked that good since. In June, trading volume was an anemic $183.7 billion, the lowest reading of the year. Investors continue...

It was the group’s lowest MBS portfolio valuation since the fourth quarter of 2011.