The “major” counties where it’s cheaper to rent are all in Southern California...

Credit Suisse, the top jumbo MBS issuer through the first half of 2015, placed $629.6 million of jumbo MBS in 2Q, down 44.7 percent on a sequential basis.

Perry Capital and other speculators own the junior preferred and common shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...

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...

The Royal Bank of Scotland may face having to pay a potential settlement of $13 billion amid claims that it sold faulty MBS to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to court documents. RBS was part of a string of litigation initiated in 2011 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency against 18 financial institutions. The suits alleged violations of federal securities laws and state laws in the sale of the non-agency MBS between 2005 and 2007. “MBS volumes linked...

FUN FACT: PIMCO owns almost 12 percent of PHH Corp., the parent of the nation's ninth largest residential servicer.

While a number of structural issues continue to limit activity in the non-agency mortgage-backed security market, reform of the government-sponsored enterprises would dramatically help the sector’s recovery, according to officials at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. “Issuers and investors are not likely to build the infrastructure necessary for a vibrant private-label securities market until they have a better understanding of how the government’s role ...

Increases to guaranty fees charged by the government-sponsored enterprises along with cross-subsidization policies could prompt bank lenders to shift more of their originations from the GSEs to portfolio. According to a report released last week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charged an average g-fee of 60 basis points for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in 2014, up from 55 basis points the previous year and ...

Underwriting standards for jumbo mortgages tightened for the second consecutive month in June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s credit availability index for jumbos was slightly below the post-crisis peak set in April. The government-sponsored enterprises and Common Securitization Solutions announced this week that eight organizations will be included in an advisory group regarding the common securitization platform ... [Includes three briefs]

Ginnie Mae issuance of government-insured mortgage-backed securities rose a whopping 47.3 percent in the second quarter of 2015 from the previous quarter, powered by a robust FHA refinancing volume, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of agency data. Government-backed Ginnie MBS production in the second quarter totaled $117.5 billion, up from $79.8 billion in the prior quarter. Volume year-to-date also increased by 57.7 percent from the first six months of last year. From May to June, government-backed securitization increased a modest 2.9 percent. FHA loans comprised 62.6 percent of Ginnie MBS issuance in the second quarter while VA accounted for 33.7 percent. Securitized loans with a Rural Housing Service guaranty represented 3.6 percent of total Ginnie MBS issuance during the period. FHA loan securitization was robust in the second quarter, as volume ... [ Charts ]