The home purchase mortgage market remained anemic in May as many would-be homebuyers remained on the sidelines for the start of the historically stronger summer home purchase season. And to make matters worse, a combination of tough mortgage underwriting and a high level of distressed properties continued to push up cash sales. According to new numbers released by the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey, cash sales accounted for 31.3 percent of the home purchase transactions in May. That was up from 30.1 percent in April and represented the ... [includes one graph]

Any reform proposal determining the future of the secondary mortgage market must retain, in some reduced but meaningful form, key features and principles that give all lenders equal access to the secondary mortgage market, according to industry representatives and policy advocates. Testifying before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs this week, community bankers and credit union industry representatives expressed their concern about a proposal to have some of the largest mortgage lenders replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if the government-sponsored enterprises were ...

A federal judge in Washington dismissed a class action lawsuit over the Home Affordable Modification Program this week, ruling that a group of New York homeowners lacked the standing to sue their mortgage servicer, as well as Fannie Mae and the Treasury Department.

Four more executives have been handed down jail terms for their role in a $2.9 billion fraud scheme that defrauded Freddie Mac, among others, and contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker.

Fannie Mae is loosening its loan modification requirements regarding “imminent default” by changing its requirements for evaluating a borrower’s financial condition for consideration of a loan modification.According to Announcement SVC-2011-06, the GSE’s revised policy would make the Home Affordable Modification Program less stringent by including non-HAMP modification evaluations for borrowers who are either current or in default but less than 60 days delinquent.

Fannie Mae is sweetening the incentives for its HomePath properties to both homebuyers and real estate agents in an effort to hasten the sales pace of the GSE’s real-estate owned inventory.Through Oct. 31, Fannie is offering homebuyers up to 3.5 percent of the final sales price to put toward closing costs while selling agents representing the owner-occupant buyer would receive a $1,200 bonus under the incentive plan.

Debt issuance for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks declined during the first three months of 2011, while Freddie recorded an increase in new debt in the first quarter.The GSEs collectively issued $707.6 billion in new debt during the first quarter, a 9.9 percent decline from the previous quarter, while total GSE debt outstanding at $2.222 trillion declined 1.8 percent from the previous quarter.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s management and decision making authority, both present and past, would be subject to special Congressional scrutiny under a bill filed by Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-OH, earlier this month.The bill, H.R. 2093, would establish the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Investigative Commission, composed of eight congressional lawmakers, to examine the practice, decisions and policies of the two GSEs that affect the financial stability of the mortgage firms.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders would fall to the very back of the line of creditors under the terms of a new rule submitted to the Federal Register by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.The FHFA’s final rule follows up on its proposed rule released last year to codify the Finance Agency’s terms of conservatorship and receivership operations for Fannie, Freddie and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Occupancy fraud risk increased by 25 percent during the first quarter of 2011, wiping out four straight quarters of decline, according to a quarterly report released by Interthinx. Occupancy fraud occurs when investors say they intend to live at a certain property, but maintain their primary residence elsewhere. The goal is the lower downpayment and lower interest rate that comes with living in a home. The Miami and Detroit metro areas are the riskiest in terms of occupancy fraud – and have been for the last five quarters. Reno, NV, Orlando, and Charleston, SC, round out ...