Sellers saw a modest increase in VA loans delivered to Ginnie Mae in the second quarter of 2015, most of which were streamline refinance loans, but FHA definitely took the cake, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of agency data. Approximately $39.1 billion in VA purchase and refi loans were placed in Ginnie Mae pools in the second quarter, up 11.8 percent from the prior quarter. Of that amount, $20.9 billion were VA refinances, up 2.1 percent from the first quarter. Some 52 percent of the VA refis were originated in-house while correspondents accounted for 30.7 percent. Brokers brought in 17.3 percent of the securitized VA refi loans. VA purchase loans underlie an estimated $18.2 billion in Ginnie mortgage-backed securities in the second quarter, 48.4 percent of them retail. That number was up 25.5 percent from the previous quarter. VA loan correspondents were busy as well, accounting for ... [ 2 charts ]

Moody’s Investors Service is worried about increasing leverage in commercial MBS conduit deals, which reached peak levels not seen since 2007. Issuance of non-agency commercial MBS has been strong in recent years, boosted by demand for conduit deals. In a recent report, Moody’s noted that the credit quality of conduit deals continues to deteriorate, with the third-quarter pipeline indicating further increases to loan-to-value ratios derived by the rating service. The Moody’s LTV ratio on conduit CMBS hit...

Investors interested in the jumbo mortgage-backed security from JPMorgan Chase that’s set to be issued next week received new disclosures with sometimes confusing information thanks to a rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission. JPMorgan Mortgage Trust 2015-4 will have a balance of $388.34 million, according to presale reports published last week by Kroll Bond Rating Agency and Moody’s Investors Service. A week before the presale reports ...

Originations of purchase mortgages were strong in the second quarter of 2015 and through the start of summer, according to industry participants. In recent months, demand for home purchases has been driven by current homeowners and first-time homebuyers, two groups that are particularly reliant on mortgage financing. “The purchase market has been stronger than people expected in the second quarter,” said Paul Miller, a managing director at FBR Capital Markets. Kevin Hester, chief lending officer at Home BancShares, said...

Originations to first-time homebuyers perform worse than originations for repeat buyers, with the differences tied to factors beyond solely whether the borrower is a first-time homebuyer, according to new research from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In a working paper published late last week, Saty Patrabansh, a senior economist at the FHFA, determined that the difference in performance between the first-time homebuyers and repeat buyers can be attributed to differences in the distributional make-up of the two groups and not to the premise that first-time homebuyers are an inherently riskier group. He analyzed...

Estimating where MBS prices might be headed has never been an easy game – and thanks to the debt crisis in Greece and a stock meltdown in China, it’s become a whole lot more difficult of late. But for now, analysts and market watchers are certain of one thing: MBS prices have been volatile the past two weeks thanks to a flight to quality, forcing investors everywhere to buy U.S. Treasuries. And because mortgages track Treasuries, yields have fallen and prices have increased. “The Greek crisis already has taken...

The enormous amount of capital flowing into the commercial real estate financing industry is the biggest factor that has shaped the market in recent years, according to Brian Stoffers, global president at CBRE Capital Markets. “It’s recognized as a good place to be if you’re an asset allocator, and it’s recognized as an institutional play with growth opportunities and cash flow,” he said speaking on a recent real estate panel in Miami. “So that kind of capital flow has driven [capitalization] rates lower.” Commercial real estate lending levels are exceeding...

Thanks to the recent uptick in interest rates, sellers of mortgage servicing rights are seeing strong bids on new production, but the market is being described by advisors as “sustainable,” compared to some of the frothy peaks of last year. June was actually a slow month for servicing sales, dealmakers told Inside Mortgage Finance, but that was to be expected, given all the contracts inked in April and May that needed time to close. With the second quarter having just ended, several large flow and bulk MSR transactions are...

Single-family rental securitizations appear to be performing well, according to analysts at Morningstar Credit Ratings, with few signs of trouble on the horizon. “Vacancy rates generally remain low, cash flows remain sufficient to cover bond obligations, and … the recently released May property-level data for the single-borrower, single-family rental asset class shows performance in line with its recent history,” the rating service said in a new report. Overall, monthly retention rates remain in the mid-70s to low-80s. Also, “delinquency rates are slightly higher from their April levels but remain mostly low.” Lease expirations are generally rising across SFR securitizations, Morningstar said, but vacancy rates have remained relatively flat month-over-month. “Although delinquency rates rose slightly across most transactions, the number of tenants past due on their payments remains low,” the analysts said. Elsewhere, so far, ...

While the characteristics of loans included in jumbo mortgage-backed securities continue to be strong overall, industry analysts note that there are significant differences in “soft” underwriting guidelines used by lenders. “Not all underwriting guidelines, and exceptions to guidelines, are created equal,” analysts at Morningstar Credit Ratings cautioned in a recent report. “Some originators recently have introduced programs that make qualifying for financing easier and require less income documentation.” The company, which is making a new push to rate jumbo MBS, reviewed the guidelines of a number of the most active jumbo originators and aggregators ...