Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in July posted a combined increase in the volume of single-family mortgages they securitized, according to a new Inside The GSEs analysis.Fannie and Freddie issued $57.9 billion in single-family mortgage-backed securities in July, a 12.3 percent increase from June. However, July’s MBS issuance was down 59.0 percent on a year-to-date basis.

The increased market share for first-time homebuyers is part of a seasonal trend that has occurred in each of the past three years.

The second-quarter rebound in mortgage profits was linked to an increase in new lending and loan sales.

The average loan officer makes a $4,000 commission on each reach reverse mortgage they originate. Really?

Unlike the various 20 lawsuits filed against the government, Pershing Square Capital Management's legal actions focus on common shareholders.

Fannie and Freddie held a combined $252 billion in Alt A and subprime mortgage assets at the end of June, down 18.3 percent from the second quarter of 2013.

Many banks are beginning to shy away from the product as the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Justice Department take banks to task for underwriting flaws.

The mortgage REIT industry held $286.3 billion of MBS at the end of June, according to exclusive figures compiled by Inside MBS & ABS.

The notion of a common pass-through MBS issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was formally put in play this week, as the Federal Housing Finance Agency solicited comment on a proposed “single security” for the two government-sponsored enterprises. The Mortgage Bankers Association has been pushing the concept for several years, and it made it onto the FHFA’s formal agenda for the GSEs in 2014. Proponents say it would improve liquidity in the market and level out Freddie’s pricing disadvantage. Under the FHFA proposal, the new common MBS would adopt...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency should act now to slowly increase Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s guaranty fees, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. SIFMA’s tempered support of a proposed government-sponsored enterprise g-fee increase runs contrary to the position held by much of the rest of the industry – that now is not the time. “We encourage...