The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a proposed rule establishing standards that FHA loans would have to meet to be considered “qualified mortgages,” varying slightly from the QM rule approved earlier this year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. According to HUD, the proposal is aligned with the ability-to-repay criteria set out in the Dodd-Frank Act and the CFPB’s QM rule. The key difference is in the pricing threshold that puts QM loans in the safe harbor, rather than the less desirable rebuttable assumption category that exposes lenders to more legal risk. Under the CFPB rule, safe harbor QM loans must have...

Sellers to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will get a temporary, limited reprieve from repurchase requirements as the mortgage industry implements the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ability-to-repay rule, according to new guidance from the two government-sponsored enterprises. “During the initial transitional period ..., Fannie Mae will not require repurchase of a loan on the grounds of noncompliance with the applicable QM-related points-and-fees eligibility requirement as long as it was otherwise eligible for acquisition,” the GSE said in a lender letter. “However, if a court of law, regulator or other authoritative body determines the loan exceeded the applicable QM-related points-and-fees limitation in violation of the CFPB final rule, such loan is subject to repurchase.” In addition, if Fannie determines...

The home-equity market has been down so long it doesn’t take much to make it look like it’s looking up. Firming house prices in 2013 may be leading to a revival. The outstanding balance of home-equity loans, including home-equity lines of credit and closed-end second mortgages, continued to decline during the second quarter, dropping another 2.3 percent, according to the Federal Reserve. Since the end of 2007, the home-equity market has shrunk by 35.5 percent. Depository institutions hold...[Includes three data charts]

The U.S. homeownership rate fell to 63.9 percent in 2012, according to figures compiled by the Census Bureau through its “American Community Survey.” In case you’re keeping tabs, it’s the fifth year in a row that the rate has gone south.

Critics contend that jumbo MBS investors don’t have access to mortgage documents.

The Federal Reserve is pointing its finger at both loan officers and applicants for the misreporting of borrower income.

FHA claims it is still endorsing loans but only 2 percent of its staffers are on duty. Also, the USDA mortgage program lies dormant.

All five mortgage servicers participating in the settlement will be subject to tougher testing, said Joseph Smith, the settlement’s monitor.

As the government shutdown continues and many federal workers go without pay checks, there’s a growing concern that these potential borrowers will see their credit scores get dinged.

According to interviews with investors in Freddie Mac’s $500 million Structured Agency Credit Risk bond, 50 different companies bought into the deal.