Mortgage repurchases and indemnifications declined significantly in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of buyback disclosures filed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Lenders repurchased $230.4 million of single-family loans from mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by the two government-sponsored enterprises during the fourth quarter. That figure – which includes loans for which lenders indemnified ... [Includes two data charts]
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Half of the six active private mortgage insurers in the market reported solid earnings gains on their core MI business during the fourth quarter of 2017, enough to offset losses at the other three firms. As a group, the private MI industry generated $834.7 million in pre-tax income from their U.S. mortgage insurance operations during the fourth quarter. That was up 7.1 percent from the previous period and raised full-year income to $3.06 billion. The full-year ... [Includes one data chart]
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Technology-based, or “fintech,” lenders are revolutionizing the mortgage-lending process with new, innovative ways of doing business, far from the more traditional methods of delivering loan products and financial services, according to a new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The study, “The Role of Technology in Mortgage Lending,” describes fintech lenders as “lenders that offer an application process that can be completed entirely online.” Fintech lenders have grown ...
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The share price of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac common has taken a nosedive since the fall, dropping by almost 50 percent, while leaving speculators twisting in the wind and sitting on potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. The reason for the slow but steady decline is hardly surprising: Reform of the government-sponsored enterprises by legislators appears to be a long shot at this point. Moreover, there’s increasing talk in Washington that an “administrative solution” to ...
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Delinquencies on mortgages largely continue to decline, with strong performance expected ahead. But housing counselors look to be staying busy with an increased emphasis on issues facing potential homebuyers. One factor contributing to improving mortgage performance but hurting affordability is home price appreciation. House prices increased by 6.7 percent on an annual basis in 2017, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s home price index. From the ...
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