The FHA this week clarified its policy on insuring mortgages with PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) senior tax liens to make it easier for borrowers to obtain FHA financing for such mortgages, but the mortgage and real estate industries continue to have concerns. The new guidelines address state programs where the PACE obligation is treated like a property tax with priority over an FHA lien. The program provides financing for home-energy improvements and water conservation, and is repaid through an assessment added to the property’s tax bill. The guidelines are designed...

Fanie Mae made changes to its HomeReady program and Freddie Mac adjusted its Home Possible program.

“[The GSEs’] corrupt business model lets shareholders and executives reap huge profits while the taxpayers cover all losses,” according to the Republican platform.

Some 5.0 percent of MGIC’s new insurance written in the second quarter of 2016 was for mortgages with loan-to-value ratios above 95 percent.

While FHA forward mortgages continued to be the biggest source of collateral, the VA program actually produced a bigger gain, 42.4 percent, from the first to the second quarter.

The bill would expand flood insurance options by including private flood insurance and require the GSEs to accept any private flood insurance company a borrower chooses, as long as the company is financially sound.

The bank’s residential whole loan portfolio (based on average balances) totaled $275.85 billion at quarter’s end compared to $266.02 billion a year ago.

Lone Star produced a rare rated deal backed by subprime loans that had been originated within the past year …

The outlook for mortgage and housing activity in 2016 is expected to stay positive, but prime jumbo issuance won’t necessarily benefit from those fundamentals, according to S&P Global Ratings. Overall, the positive housing market is not translating into an increase in issuance or securitization. In fact, S&P analysts on a webinar this week said that non-agency securitization has been relatively flat over the past few years. Prime jumbo issuance continues to experience a dry spell that will most likely continue into the second half of 2016, they said. “If you look at the loans being originated, they are being held...

JPMorgan Chase is preparing to issue its second large prime non-agency mortgage-backed security with loans eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week. While there has been some speculation about the benefits big banks will see from such MBS, Marianne Lake, Chase’s CFO, said the Chase Mortgage Trust transactions are attractive to the bank. “We’re keeping the ...