Most of the drop-off in production hasn’t been because borrowers didn’t want to pay high interest rates, an analysis from FHFA showed. It’s because high interest rates have spiked DTI ratios, disqualifying borrowers for a mortgage.

The inclusion of new-built homes with high energy efficiency ratings in Freddie’s green bond program significantly boosted the program’s impact.

The big winner was the Finovation team, which floated the idea of creating an industry cooperative similar to the Mortgage Electronic Registration System.

Most GSE sellers increased production in the second quarter, though first-half deliveries were still off 60.9% from a year ago. (Includes two data charts.)

Consolidating FHFA’s authority to support fair housing and fair lending laws under the umbrella of the GSEs’ equitable housing finance plans will improve access to mortgage credit for underserved communities, supporters say. The GSEs, however, see key problems.

Lenders have chafed at the temporary regulations put in place following the collapse of a Surfside, FL, condo in 2021, but those rules become permanent in September.

The inclusion of sales data on comparable properties and statistics on the racial and ethnic composition of neighborhoods should allow researchers to better identify incidents of appraisal bias.

Delinquencies inched up slightly in the first quarter, despite remaining near historic lows. Meanwhile, loan forbearances rose while modifications declined.

All House Republicans and 14 House Democrats voted to undo FHFA’s revision of GSE loan-level pricing adjustments. The bill would also require future changes to the grids to follow risk-based pricing.

The FHFA needs to slow its roll to new credit scores, a swath of stakeholder organizations argues.