Originations of non-agency jumbo mortgages in the first quarter of 2017 were down by 29.0 percent from the previous quarter, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. A decline in refinance activity contributed to the sharp drop in jumbo funding. An estimated $71.00 billion of non-agency jumbos were originated during the quarter. Not only did volume fall significantly from the fourth quarter of 2016, production was ... [Includes one data chart]

Redwood Trust posted $37.0 million of net income in the first quarter of 2017, up 45.8 percent from the previous quarter and more than double the net income the real estate investment trust reported for the first quarter of 2016. Income from Redwood’s mortgage-banking activities was boosted by higher loan purchase volume and strong demand in the secondary market for jumbo mortgages. Redwood purchased jumbo mortgages with a total unpaid principal balance of ...

Investors showed strong appetite for the largest non-agency mortgage-backed security backed by post-crisis nonprime originations. The $402.65 million COLT 2017-1 priced at tighter yields than any other post-crisis rated nonprime MBS amid stronger demand for mortgage credit, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank Securities. The deal from an affiliate of Lone Star Funds priced near the end of April and closed last week. “The transaction was priced at the tightest level ...

More buyers and sellers are getting into the whole-loan market for non-jumbo loans, especially nonprime mortgages, industry experts said. That’s especially true for loans that don’t meet the qualified-mortgage standard, said Matthew Nichols, CEO and founder, Deephaven Mortgage, during a panel session at last week’s secondary market conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Three keys spurred the market last year, he explained. First, performance of ...

Nonprime mortgages held by the government-sponsored enterprises continued a gradual decline in the first quarter of 2017, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac held nonprime mortgages with a total unpaid principal balance of $133.89 billion at the end of the quarter, down 5.3 percent from the end of 2016 and down 22.1 percent from the first quarter of last year. The holdings are largely ... [Includes one data chart]

Lack of basic information and knowledge about the application process and concern about rising interest rates are reasons why most homeowners are reluctant to take out home-equity lines of credit to meet their financial needs, according to a study by mortgage solutions provider Digital Risk. A company survey of 1,038 homeowners found that 21 percent have no clue what a HELOC is, while 45 percent did not even know how to apply for one. Sixty-five percent said they ...

Can the financially troubled and regulator-challenged Ocwen Financial survive? It’s not an unfair question given its most recent travails and this week’s news that it struck a $425.0 million transaction “in principle” to sell some of the cash flows on $117 billion in mostly non-agency servicing rights to New Residential Investment Corp. As the weekend approached, analysts that follow the company were speculating that Ocwen is going through what looks like a controlled liquidation, selling off assets – mostly the cash flow stream on its servicing portfolio – and buying time while it fights regulatory sanctions in 31 states. The company is...

Recent signs of life in the nonprime securitization market have lifted the hopes of participants from coast to coast, but a potential snafu could be in the works in the form of strong investor demand for whole loans. According to some participants, recent whole-loan bids have been as high as 104. “That’s for newly originated non-qualified mortgages,” said one manager who spoke under the condition his name not be used. The implication is...

Among the handful of lenders that provide relatively early reporting of their jumbo origination activity, production was down significantly in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the previous quarter, according to an analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets. Officials at the lenders noted that seasonal factors contributed to the slowdown along with an increase in interest rates. And the lenders stress that originations are likely to rebound. First Republic Bank funded $2.52 billion ...

An affiliate of Lone Star Funds is set to issue the largest nonprime mortgage-backed security backed by post-crisis originations. The deal will be nearly twice the size of the previous record holder, which was also issued by Lone Star. Most of the mortgages in COLT 2017-1 Mortgage Loan Trust were originated by Lone Star’s Caliber Home Loans, along with a 22.0 percent share for loans originated by Sterling Bank and Trust. The deal received preliminary AAA ratings from DBRS, Fitch Ratings ...