A working paper released by the National Association of Realtors at a conference in Washington, DC, this month makes a persuasive case that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be restructured as strictly regulated, shareholder-owned utilities. Perhaps more important, the paper establishes an effective format for evaluating other proposals for GSE reform.

Despite a slow fourth quarter, 2018 turned out to be the most profitable year since 2013 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And, although only a fraction of the size of the GSEs’ single-family business, multifamily remained a bright spot. [Includes one data chart.]

In his testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs last week, Mark Calabria, President Trump’s nominee to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, reinforced expectations that, as director, he would begin the long-awaited recapitalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Fannie Mae stepped up its efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing, announcing earlier this week that it was increasing the loan limit for multifamily small mortgage loans from $3 million to $6 million.

Investors Unite, a group of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders seeking to reverse the so-called net profit sweep — the mechanism by which the Federal Housing Finance Agency sends all GSE profits to the Treasury as dividends — held a sort of figurative rally last week to celebrate a recent string of legal victories.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued a combined total of just $51.86 billion of single-family mortgage-backed securities in January, their lowest monthly production since February 2016. [Includes two data charts.]

Blend, the Silicon Valley fintech vendor, announced Tuesday that recently departed Fannie Mae CEO Timothy Mayopoulos will take over as company president. Mayopoulos also will join the firm’s board.

In what must come as a relief for Fannie Mae, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month ruled that the enterprise is not a credit reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The supply of Freddie Mac single-family mortgage servicing rights grew at more than twice the rate of increase in Fannie Mae product during 2018, according to a new Inside the GSEs analysis and ranking. [Includes two data charts.]

Fannie Mae has revised the maximum number of allowable days for routine foreclosure proceedings in 20 jurisdictions. For servicers in 16 states plus New York City, the number of days has been increased, while in three states the permitted time frame has been decreased.