Many trade groups denounced Freddie’s plan to buy second liens, saying key details were lacking. There are also concerns that Freddie’s effort will simply cannibalize an otherwise healthy and liquid non-agency market for second liens.
Fannie and Freddie boast about their downpayment assistance and consumer education programs, key initiatives to help first-time homebuyers in a high-interest-rate, low-supply market.
High delinquency rates in the GSEs’ senior housing portfolios suggest that the sector still hasn’t recovered from the panic created by the pandemic. High interest rates and inflation haven’t helped.
Mortgage deliveries to the mortgage-backed securities platforms of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose in April, but credit trends suggest these were seasonal increases rather than a start of a new trend. (Includes two data tables.)
Even though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maintained healthy profits in a tough market in the first quarter, their capital shortfalls under the ERCF remained absurdly high. (Includes data table.)
Although some non-agency players may see Freddie’s plan to purchase closed-end seconds as competition, many lenders see a way to create more liquidity in the sector.
Will allowing lenders to omit one of the three credit scores from the underwriting process reduce costs for borrowers or ensure that some unqualified borrowers inadvertently get a loan they can’t afford?
FHFA and HUD have teamed up to initiate a formal request for reconsideration of value for borrowers and sellers who believe their appraised value is undocumented or biased.
In an effort to reduce closing costs for low-income and first-time homebuyers, Freddie will now allow lenders to replace title insurance with attorney opinion letters in all but one state.
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