The Home Affordable Refinance Program has nearly reached the practical limit of eligible homeowners willing and/or able to refi – whether or not the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac further tweaks the program’s eligibility requirements, say industry observers. This week, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt met with community leaders in Chicago in a town hall-style meeting to discuss the benefits of HARP. Last fall, the agency launched a nationwide public awareness campaign to reach eligible borrowers and encourage them to participate in HARP, with little apparent success. “We are...
A promising surge in purchase-mortgage lending was the key ingredient in the 13.3 percent increase in agency issuance of single-family MBS during the second quarter of 2014, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside MBS & ABS. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae issued a total of $212.23 billion of single-family MBS during the second quarter. That was a nice gain from an exceptionally poor $187.38 billion in production during the first three months, but it still marked the second lowest quarterly volume since the beginning of 2005 – and it fell short of the $213.12 billion produced at the low point in the financial crisis at the end of 2008. The agencies securitized...[Includes two data charts]
An industry that is used to reading about MERS’ court victories was stunned last week after a federal court judge in Pennsylvania found Merscorp Inc. and its electronic mortgage registry system in violation of state recording laws for real estate properties. While the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge J. Curtis Joyner may be appealed, MERS could be held liable for its role as an “agent” for member-lenders involved in property transfers and for alleged unjust enrichment, according to legal experts. The case was brought...
Recently implemented steps by the two government-sponsored enterprises to provide an alternative to repurchase when mortgage insurance is rescinded is a pleasant salve for a minor ailment, but it does nothing to address lenders’ chronic pain of sudden and unexpected buyback demands, according to a mortgage lender. Last week, new GSE repurchase requirements took effect, including the “MI stand-in” option, which Fannie defines as “the full mortgage insurance benefit that would have been payable under the original mortgage insurance policy if the mortgage loan liquidates.” In May, both Fannie and Freddie announced...
A number of consumer advocates strongly oppose a proposal from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would allow lenders to cure mistakes regarding debt-to-income ratios on qualified mortgages. Lenders calling for the DTI ratio right-to-cure on QMs are making “Chicken Little” claims to support their arguments, according to the National Consumer Law Center and the National Association of Consumer Advocates. In April, the CFPB requested...
The modest rebound in the housing market during the second quarter of 2014 produced a solid increase in the volume of home loans with private mortgage insurance securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking reveals that the two government-sponsored enterprises securitized $37.36 billion of single-family mortgages with private MI coverage during the second quarter. That was up 24.7 percent from the first three months of the year, which had produced a dismal $29.95 billion of MI-insured loans in new GSE mortgage-backed securities. By comparison, total GSE business was...[Includes two data charts]
One positive trend for the mortgage insurance sector is that the growth in business during the second quarter was squarely in purchase mortgages and traditional MI loan-to-value ranges.
Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals, said he is seeing more lenders entering the wholesale channel. Most are nonbanks.
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