Paul Rozo, CEO of Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Corona, CA, said his shop witnessed a noticeable “uptick” in May and his fingers are crossed regarding the current month.

California led all states in VA mortgage securitization with $5.6 billion, 60.8 percent of which were refis.

The three agencies produced $114.71 billion of new single-family MBS last month, a 5.3 percent increase from April’s volume.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, wants the Federal Housing Finance Agency to delay any decision regarding contesting homeowner association foreclosures that will extinguish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rights under controversial state super-lien laws. Warren, who co-signed a letter to FHFA Director Mel Watt in May with Sen. Edward Markey, D-MA, and eight Massachusetts lawmakers, wants the FHFA to first solicit public comments on the potential change in policy. Under super-lien laws in 22 states, including Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia community associations are given...

In California, the average Fannie and Freddie loan was $307,302, in line with the state’s 2015 average of $310,185.

The letter is meant to counteract correspondence sent earlier in the week to Watt from 10 trade organizations and community groups that want the GSEs to build capital...

Two major banks recently launched their own 3 percent downpayment programs, which stakeholders say could shift volume from FHA to the government-sponsored enterprises. How much volume though remains unclear, analysts say. Last week, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase rolled out their respective low downpayment programs for first-time homebuyers and low-to-moderate-income families, which require only 3 percent down. Neither program involves the FHA, and they appear designed to pick up where Wells and Chase left off when they decided to cut back on their FHA business in order to reduce liability risk. Wells and Chase are among several major banks and nonbanks that have coughed up billions of dollars in settlements with the federal government in the last couple of years to resolve allegations of fraud under the False Claims Act and violations of ...

Although purchase-mortgage lending is expected to pick up considerably in the second and third quarters, the refi market isn’t dead yet.

Refinance lending gained strength in the first quarter of 2016 and surpassed origination of purchase-money mortgages, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $195 billion of refinance loans in the first three months of this year, an 11.4 percent increase over the fourth quarter. With purchase-mortgage production slumping by 11.9 percent to $185 billion, the refi market accounted for 51.3 percent of total originations for the first quarter. Although purchase-mortgage lending is expected to pick up considerably in the second and third quarters, the refi market isn’t...[Includes three data tables]

The banking industry sold $145.3 billion of home mortgages during the first quarter, a 5.1 percent decline from the previous period.