The change – whose likelihood was first reported by Inside Mortgage Finance last Thursday – affects new loans with a closing/disbursement date of Jan. 27, 2017.
One big positive for lenders: the mortgage industry could see a reduction in new rule-making from HUD and perhaps a reversal of certain regulations promulgated during the Obama administration.
Ginnie Mae guaranteed a total of $507.46 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities in 2016, its biggest annual volume ever, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside FHA/VA Lending. That was up 16.4 percent from the agency’s previous record of $435.80 billion set in 2015. (Those figures include MBS backed by FHA home-equity conversion mortgages, which are not included in the table below or in the rankings on pages 3-5.) In 2016, Ginnie guaranteed $497.03 billion of MBS backed by traditional forward mortgages, also a record, which was up 16.9 percent from the previous year. The biggest factor in last year’s record-setting production was the boom in VA lending, particularly VA refinance loans. Issuers securitized a record $203.03 billion of VA loans last year, up 33.0 percent from the 2015 total. Some 54.3 percent of those loans were refinance transactions. Total VA refi loan ... [4 charts]
Industry stakeholders are anticipating an FHA insurance premium reduction soon from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sources say a 25-basis-point premium reduction is in the works and HUD Secretary Julian Castro may announce it during his farewell address. His last day in office is Jan. 20, President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration day. A HUD representative declined to comment on the report citing department policy against “commenting on rumors.” A number of lobbyists and consultants said they have heard similar reports but cautioned it is not a done deal. Two industry executives expressed certainty about the veracity of the report. The idea of a premium cut has been raised with neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, Trump’s nominee for HUD secretary, who will have his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 12. A mortgage insurance premium reduction at this time would ...
The FHA this year will focus mainly on the completion and implementation of the Defect Taxonomy to help lenders easily identify and categorize loan defects found in FHA-insured loans. At least that was the plan announced by the outgoing Obama administration. The agency urged lenders to be on the lookout for detailed information about Defect Taxonomy and other process improvements in the coming months. “As we begin to implement these changes and transition from current processes, some lenders may experience a temporary decrease in loans selected for review,” the FHA noted in Lender Insight, which updates lenders on the latest rulemakings and policy changes. Announced in June last year, Defect Taxonomy is part of the Blueprint for Access, which embodies three core concepts: identifying a defect, capturing the sources and causes of a defect, and assessing the ...
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