FHFA acting director says the GSE capital rule shouldn’t change every time the agency gets a new director.

The central bank outlined plans to reduce the size of its balance sheet. It’s still unclear what impact it will have on the mortgage and MBS markets.

The Underserved Mortgage Markets Coalition has put together a list of actions the GSEs can take to meet their obligations under FHFA’s duty-to-serve program.

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

Some delinquent loans have been removed from MBS trusts before completing their modification trial periods.

Biden’s FHFA nominee Sandra Thompson has made it clear that the agency can’t end the conservatorships without help from the Departments of Treasury and Justice and, most importantly, Congress itself.

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.

The GSEs will have to find ways to better serve the rural housing, manufactured housing and affordable housing preservation markets.

Multifamily caps have kept Fannie and Freddie from expanding their footprint in the apartment market, which grew by 25% in 2021 and is expected to expand by as much as 11% this year.

Don Layton believes the new 2022 loan limits will cause home prices to increase even more, but the politicization of the housing-finance system makes it unlikely FHFA will be able to do anything about it.