Who will take up the slack when the Fed is no longer the dominant buyer in the MBS market?

One veteran GSE investor and housing-finance system critic believes the $6 trillion book of business is actually worth more than $11 trillion.

At the direction of FHFA, the GSEs are permanently integrating desktop appraisals into their automated underwriting systems.

In April, Fannie and Freddie will begin charging sharply higher LLPAs on second-home and high-balance mortgages. The change is likely to expand non-agency securitizations at the expense of Fannie and Freddie.

Freddie veterans Steve Lineberger and Meg McElgunn will run the Western and Central districts as well as the Northeastern and Southeastern districts.

The new goals don’t deviate dramatically from what the agency proposed in August, but the mulitfamily goals will only apply to 2022 instead of the usual three-year time span.

GSEs issue lender letters/bulletins tweaking their guidelines for lenders and servicers.

In 2022, the GSEs will be able to purchase loans nearing $1 million, cutting into what has typically been the non-agency jumbo market.

Critics argue that the mechanical method for determining the loan limits distorts the market and makes it harder for the GSEs to meet their affordable housing goals.

Bitcoin and its competitors remain unwanted in the U.S. mortgage market.