The FHA’s Homeowners Armed With Knowledge (HAWK) pilot program is getting strong public support, particularly from first-time homebuyers and housing counselors.Based on comments received by the Department of Housing and Urban Development so far, the HAWK pilot is already taking hold in the public’s mind despite its limited publicity. -Rachel Andreyo, a new college graduate who was turned down recently for a mortgage loan pre-approval, said HAWK not only would educate potential first-time homebuyers about homeownership but also raise their hope of becoming a homeowner before the age of 30. “The knowledge this program would provide could be a game changer for young people and struggling Americans everywhere,” she wrote. Shawanda Walker, a single mother, sees HAWK as an opportunity for her to learn how to negotiate her first home purchase, learn about property taxes and ...

FHA jumbo loan originations fell significantly in the first quarter of 2014 due primarily to higher mortgage insurance premiums and a decrease in the mortgage loan limits, particularly in high-cost areas of the country, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of agency data. FHA lenders reported a meager $2.4 billion in jumbo originations during the first three months of the year, a decrease of 21.2 percent from the previous quarter and down a whopping 55.7 percent from the same period a year ago. Purchase loans accounted for 81.0 percent of new originations while fixed-rate loans comprised 86.8 percent. FHA jumbo loans are those over $417,000 and they comprise a very small slice of the FHA’s overall loan portfolio. Citing FHA data, Brian Chappelle, a mortgage industry consultant, said that of the FHA loans originated in the last 12 months, roughly 11,000 loans were above $500,000, down from ... [ 2 charts]

NY Passes Bill to Reduce Number of FHA Loans that Would Fall Under Subprime. The New York Assembly recently passed legislation that would result in fewer FHA loans being classified as “subprime” under state banking law, according to the law firm Ballard Spahr. Already passed by the Senate, the bill would make permanent prior emergency rules issued by the Department of Financial Services, which raised the subprime threshold 75 basis points for those loans subject to the revised FHA mortgage-insurance premium cancellation policy. Although the emergency rules were set to expire on Dec. 31, 2013, the DFS granted an extension to allow the state legislature additional time to find a permanent solution, said Ballard Spahr attorneys. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and strong industry backing, and is expected to ...

The agency MBS market did grow by a slight 0.1 percent during the first quarter, but all of the credit goes to Ginnie Mae.

In a few weeks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will release second quarter results, likely posting positive earnings, but the revenue figures will not include any major boost from legal settlements or the recapture of previously set-aside loan loss reserves. In short, what the two government-sponsored enterprises report in earnings for the second quarter should reflect what their operating profits might look like going forward, given normal market conditions. However, over the past six months, the CEOs of Fannie and Freddie and top officials at the Treasury Department – the owner of its senior preferred shares – have consistently argued...

However, two of the largest home-equity lenders – Bank of America and Chase – both reported modest increases in production during the first quarter, up 3.1 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

Barring the discovery of a skeleton in his closet, Julian Castro’s nomination for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development appears to be a lock in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Appearing before the committee this week, Castro, a three-term mayor of San Antonio, TX, laid out his priorities for HUD if confirmed. He said he would emphasize working closely with agencies as well as the value of “measuring results” by setting precise goals, public consultation, development of a public report card and annual updates – tools he employed in his municipal housing education and affordable housing initiatives in San Antonio. Castro said...

Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s housing goal performance exceeded the benchmark levels for all of the single-family and multifamily goals set for the two government-sponsored enterprises in 2012, but preliminary figures show that Freddie is struggling to hit the mark for 2013, according to a new Federal Housing Finance Agency report. The FHFA’s annual report to Congress, released late last week, reveals official figures on each GSE’s goal performance in 2012 and preliminary data on goal performance in 2013. Both GSEs hit...[Includes one data chart]

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray came under sustained partisan criticism from Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee this week over the joint National Mortgage Database the CFPB is working on with the Federal Housing Finance Agency. “We have learned since Director Cordray was last before the committee that the joint database project by the CFPB and the FHFA will undeniably collect personally identifiable information on millions of Americans in the National Mortgage Database,” said Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX. “I’m not speaking merely of names, addresses and phone numbers – though the database will certainly include those – but shockingly also people’s Social Security numbers, their race, religion, personal financial information, and even the GPS coordinates of their homes. If this is not considered personally identifiable information by the CFPB, then I don’t know what is.” A breach of this database could cause...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a draft final rule that would determine how the controversial national Housing Trust Fund would work. It remains highly uncertain that the trust fund will ever get any money; one potential source is annual contributions by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Federal Housing Finance Agency under former Acting Director Ed DeMarco determined that the government-sponsored enterprises would not contribute to the fund, but housing advocates and Democrats on Capitol Hill have called for that decision to be reversed. In its annual strategic plan released earlier this year, the FHFA said...