There’s a big disparity between default rates on Fannie/Freddie loans and government-insured loans in Ginnie MBS. The combined total delinquencies for the government-sponsored enterprises was 4.13%, compared with Ginnie’s 10.81%.
The one truism about mortgage banking that everyone knows: It’s a highly cyclical business that lives and dies on two central factors, interest rates and employment.
Thanks to the economic carnage caused by the pandemic, interest rates continue to drift lower, with some originators offering 30-year FRMs at under 3.0% and 15-year mortgages below 2.0%.
For HUD, the central question boils down to this: Will the MMIF have enough cash on hand to weather what could turn out to be a delinquency tsunami on the FHA book of business?
Altisource added: “We anticipate this short- to medium-term pressure on our default related businesses to continue with governmental forbearance programs and moratoriums temporarily preventing servicers from pursuing foreclosure of delinquent loans..."
But there was good news. Thanks to the origination boom, the company’s new insurance written jumped to $25.5 billion in 2Q20, a sequential gain of 52.7%.
The Caliber CEO recommends patience in reopening offices, saying opting to wait has kept his employees safe from the surge of COVID-19 cases in Texas...