Since the introduction of the single-security effort, pricing differences between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS have just about been eliminated, thanks in part to prepayment speeds converging. A paper recently published by the Urban Institute found that back in 2012 and 2013, Freddie’s 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 percent coupons traded at more than a $0.30 discount to Fannie Mae’s. But, by 2014 and 2015 that number narrowed to about $0.15, and by early 2017 the pricing differences had largely come together. The authors called...
Affordability and job availability are driving millennials to seek homes in more affordable markets, particularly in the upper Midwest, according to Ellie Mae data for the month of May. Ellie Mae’s Millennial Tracker, which monitors millennial mortgage applications during specific times, found that the higher percentages of loans made to millennial borrowers are in Hutchinson and Austin, MN, and Wahpeton and Williston, ND. Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, AL, rounded out the top-five markets. Ellie Mae defines millennials as applicants born between 1980 and 1999. Data showed that 48 percent of millennial borrowers who closed loans in May were single. In Hutchinson, for example, the majority of borrowers were single men. “This suggests millennials may be embracing homeownership in these areas for reasons other than what we have historically seen, which was family formation,” explained ...
Wells Fargo plans to increase originations by putting an emphasis on interest-only mortgages, according to John Shrewsberry, the bank’s CFO. “We are making some modest changes to generate new loan originations, including offering interest-only jumbo mortgage loans to high quality borrowers,” Shrewsberry said late last week during Wells’ earnings call for the second quarter. Wells had...
In a recent ruling, the Nevada Supreme Court decided that in the case of Nationstar Mortgage, LLC v. SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC, a homeowner’s association priority lien cannot extinguish a first deed of trust in an HOA foreclosure sale. This is a win for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Twenty-two states have super-lien laws that allow HOAs to take priority over first mortgages and foreclose the property to collect unpaid fees of up to six months’ worth. In 2014, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that an HOA could indeed extinguish a senior mortgage. But Nationstar Mortgage argued...
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