The Obama administration is seeking ideas from stakeholders on how to thin out the FHA’s inventory of foreclosed homes, including turning the homes into rental properties to meet the growing need for affordable housing. In addition to addressing the FHA’s real estate-owned, or REO, problem, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are also calling for recommendations for similar home rental programs for REO properties held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The agencies’ request is aimed at finding the best alternative for “maximizing value to taxpayers and increasing private investment in the housing market, including ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has developed a new Web-based tool which allows FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to map all foreclosed properties for viewing by potential investors and homebuyers. The new mapping tool displays the location of all foreclosed homes in the agencies’ inventories, which account for nearly half of all real estate-owned or REO properties in the U.S. Communities with high foreclosure rates that are participating in HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) will find the REO portal useful in targeting federal funds to acquire, rehabilitate or demolish these REO properties, according to department officials. The map’s consolidated graphic listing enables ...

The consensus among mortgage market watchers is that the downgrade earlier this month of the GSEs by Standard & Poor’s will have no immediate, detrimental impact even as Fitch Ratings this week said it is keeping Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s “AAA” rating.Fitch this week also said its outlook for Fannie and Freddie’s ratings remained “stable.” The move was in concert with Fitch’s decision to keep its rating on U.S. debt at the highest grade.“A key element of the explicit support is the guarantee by the U.S. Treasury to inject funds into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so that each firm can avoid being considered technically insolvent by their regulator,” said the rating agency.

The Federal Home Loan Banks are moving forward with plans that would permit the Banks to bolster their capital following confirmation earlier this month that the FHLBanks have officially paid off their interest debt on Resolution Funding Corporation bonds.The Federal Housing Finance Agency formally announced on Aug. 5 that the 12 FHLBanks completed their REFCORP obligations with their July 15, 2011 payment. The Finance Agency subsequently approved amended plans for the Banks.

The Vice-Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and an outspoken GSE critic, is among the Capitol Hill lawmakers named to be one of the 12 “super committee” House and Senate members tasked with tackling debt reduction.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and three federal agencies are cranking up existing efforts to dispose of the GSEs’ ample real estate owned inventory of homes into overdrive by seeking investors’ ideas for converting thousands of REO properties into rentals.Last week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development put out a “request for information” on how best to sell GSE and FHA-owned REO properties.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lost less in the second quarter of 2011 than during the previous three month period and less than one year ago, but the two GSEs continue to struggle with a huge run of losses well into the fifth year with no end in sight.

Fannie Mae last week reminded its servicers of their responsibilities “for performing all property maintenance functions” throughout the foreclosure process “to ensure that the condition and appearance of the property are maintained satisfactorily.”

A group of House Democrats wants the Obama administration to extend the forbearance period up to a year for unemployed homeowners with mortgages owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

A report issued late last week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General has concluded that the FHFA did nothing to subvert its role as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator when the agency negotiated the GSEs’ administrative responsibilities under the Treasury Department’s Home Affordable Modification Program.However, the FHFA-OIG noted there was ample room for improvement in the Finance Agency’s oversight of the GSEs’ financial agency agreement (FAA) with Treasury, which resulted in poor communication and differing expectations as to the payment and scope of the HAMP-related work that the GSEs performed.