The government-sponsored enterprises’ share of purchase-mortgage originations has increased each of the last two years, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends. The shift in market share includes decreased purchase-mortgage originations for the FHA and a lack of housing inventory, prompting increased home prices. Some $377.2 billion in agency purchase mortgages were originated in 2012, with a 66.5 percent share for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac combined. In 2010, the GSEs ... [Includes one data chart]

Mortgage lenders funded $232.69 billion worth of FHA loans in 2012, a 22 percent jump from the year prior, according to exclusive loan-level data compiled by Inside FHA Lending.

A large and potentially lucrative RFP issued several months ago by FHFA regarding its strategic plan for taking the GSEs to the next stage in their evolution has yet to be awarded.

Residential production increased modestly during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis.

An Obama administration official stressed that the White House is working to craft a comprehensive plan for housing finance reform but wants input from industry participants.tasked with crafting a plan to reform the government-sponsored enterprises provided a strong response yesterday to criticism of the White House’s lack of progress on GSE reform.

Fannie Mae appears to be getter faster in approving seller/servicer approvals.

Quicken is now a top-five ranked residential retail lender, but some of its loan volume comes from correspondent purchases.

Although Fannie Mae has set purchase limits on how much production newly approved seller/servicers can sell to the GSE, Freddie Mac has shied away from such caps.

Residential lenders that are relatively new to the seller/servicer ranks of Fannie Mae continue to gripe about the purchase limits the GSE has placed on them, causing the agency to spell out its reasoning in an online commentary. According to a recent message posted to Fannie’s website by Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer John Nichols, the caps the GSE placed on new customers – nonbanks primarily – were caused by what the company calls a “significant shift in the composition of our customer base and the emergence of many new originating institutions with whom we have done little or no business.” He adds: “This rapid change in the marketplace prompted...

The agency share of mortgage originations is expected to remain elevated for years to come due to profits at the government-sponsored enterprises, increasing home prices, a lack of non-agency production, and the new ability-to-repay rule, according to industry participants. The factors have combined to reduce the push for the Obama administration and Congress to take action on GSE reform. The most recent impediment to GSE reform appears to be new profits reported by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with expected profitable quarters going forward due to repurchase settlements, home price appreciation and other positive trends. “The Treasury Department has...