After the subprime mortgage crisis, renting is looking more appealing than ever and reshaping the outlook for residential mortgage lending. During a recent conference hosted by the Urban Land Institute in Washington, DC, many panelists agreed that single-family housing is becoming less popular, and more people are looking to...

Mortgage origination activity dropped sharply in early 2011 and momentum is pointing toward further declines as the housing market limps into a new buying season. Mortgage lenders generated an estimated $325.0 billion in single-family originations during the first three months of the year, a decline of... [Includes two data charts]

A number of firms are actively testing their jumbo securitization operations, according to Clayton Holdings. Notably, jumbo conduits are anticipating new mortgage-backed security issuance. “We have recently participated in several meetings centered around newly-developed jumbo conduit platforms and have performed...

The slow charge-off of home-equity mortgages outstanding, a concentration among the top four banks, and the strong performance of the mortgages have combined to hinder loss mitigation activities. At the end of 2010, $1.30 trillion in home-equity lines of credit, closed-end second liens and unused HELOC commitments were... [Includes one data chart]

Fitch Ratings’ proposed major revision of the ratings process for jumbo mortgage-backed securities “could pose obstacles” to the resumption of non-agency MBS issuance, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Under Fitch’s proposal, jumbo MBS ratings would be tied to home prices and potentially require...