The new policies were established days before the end of the Biden administration and won’t take effect until February 2026. The policies won praise from industry trade groups.

The fees in question related to mortgage payments made over the phone or online. HUD said accepting and processing mortgage payments is part of a servicer’s ordinary activities for which it is already paid.

Among the changes, FHA has reduced the required rental income history to 12 months from two years.

HUD gets acting secretary; FHA revises qualification requirements for single-family nonprofit program; exemption from hiring freeze excludes VA’s home loans program.

Endorsement activity involving traditional HECMs declined slightly and production of HECMs for home purchase increased during the third quarter. Mutual of Omaha remained the top HECM lender. (Includes three data tables.)

Among a large group of FHA/VA lenders, the broker channel accounted for 24.8% of government-insured originations in the third quarter. UWM and PennyMac sharply increased their broker volume in the quarter. (Includes data table.)

The pilot seeks to demonstrate how HUD could reduce the costs associated with delivering and retaining original partial claim documents.

FHA Commissioner Julia Gordon said it is probably time to consider FHA pricing adjustments. However, any decisions may need to wait until the next administration comes in. (Includes data table.)

FHA and Ginnie Mae officials are working to ensure HECMs are available by implementing various reforms.

Chairs of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs lose re-election bids; HUD announces sale of residential loans on non-vacant properties; FHA issues standards for flood risk management tied to minimum property standards; FHA appraisal data added to Uniform Appraisal Dataset.