Many industry analysts believe the tax incentive, given a lack of housing inventory, would act as a subsidy to sellers rather than an aid to homebuyers.

Despite soaring profits, Fannie and Freddie continue to levy a 50-basis-point fee on nearly all refis to pay for the cost of COVID-19.

Mortgage industry groups continue to put pressure on the Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to revisit the restrictions on the amount of loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase.

Several trade groups are urging the FHA to adopt identical compliance aid language used in other federal agency regulations when allowing private flood coverage as an option for single-family insured loans.

The co-inventor of the MBS says Fannie and Freddie should be regulated as utilities to improve their affordable housing and racial equity activities. He recommends Treasury use its equity to fund joint venture.

The surge in new business at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wasn’t accompanied by a comparable increase in profits for the two.

The bill includes more than $10 billion in homeowner assistance funding. The vast majority of that would go toward helping borrowers pay their mortgages, property taxes, home insurance and utilities.

HUD issued a final rule on the much-debated disparate-impact theory in September. A month later, a federal court ordered a preliminary injunction blocking its implementation.

Since President Biden’s inauguration last week, speculation has risen that the FHA might trim its annual insurance premiums.

Industry insiders speculate on how the Biden administration might alter the recently amended preferred stock purchase agreement.