Chinese nationals remained the top foreign buyer group in terms of dollars, followed by the Canadians ($8.0 billion), and Indians ($6.9 billion). For full details, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Trends, now available online.
Global slowdown, tighter Chinese cash flow, and fewer available homes for sale triggered a steep decline in U.S. home purchases by resident and non-resident foreigners, a recent NAR survey found.
The department has temporarily shut down the FHA Loan Review System to fix server-related problems that resulted in the loss of data and documents. HUD expects the problem will be resolved this weekend.
FASB plans to adopt a staggered approach to implement new accounting rules, including one that would require financial institutions to anticipate and estimate future losses as soon as a loan is made.
Ginnie Mae’s counterparty risk measures, including stress testing, are credit positive for the MBS sector but may be daunting for smaller participants, says Fitch Ratings in a new report.
FHA has indefinitely suspended its guidance on downpayment assistance provided by government entities. The decision comes just a week after a federal judge granted an injunction on the implementation.
The House approved legislation discounting FHA single-family mortgage premium payments for certain first-time homebuyers. However, the move will not stop FHA’s market share from skidding further.
Acting Ginnie Mae President Maren Kasper: “The RFI enables the agency to incorporate the views of a wide variety of stakeholders as we continue to refine the model, implement policy and evaluate potential risk to the U.S. housing finance system.”
Veterans are charged a funding fee at origination to cover the cost of administering a VA-guaranteed loan. However, certain veterans are exempt from the fee…
The figures are not adjusted for seasonal factors, and FHA/VA default rates often trend lower in the first quarter. FHA home equity conversion mortgages are not included in the data.