FHA

Mortgage applications increased 2.7% from one week earlier, as purchase volume is now outpacing the prior year's activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Forecasts about the pandemic's impact on the mortgage market have grown less dire after forbearance requests by homeowners nearly leveled off in the first half of May.

With mortgage rates reaching all-time lows in the opening quarter, refinance originations were up in 97% of housing markets during 1Q, according to Attom Data Solutions.

The agency's announcement came one day after the agency said it would provide borrowers struggling to stay current with an additional payment deferral option.

Many originators stopped making riskier products, including jumbo loans and low credit score offerings, during April.

Purchase mortgage activity rose for the third consecutive week, although the total volume was flat compared with the previous seven-day period, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

About 7.3% of U.S. mortgages entered forbearance plans in April, providing temporary relief to more than 3.8 million borrowers who have lost income during the coronavirus pandemic.

Efforts to calm lenders’ fears about coronavirus-related forbearance may not offset tightening standards, and the FHA is less likely to boost volume than it was during the financial crisis.

Federal backing for firms facing a deluge of missed mortgage payments is still on the table despite recent comments by an official who questioned the need to help the industry.

Tenants have threatened to suspend payments during the pandemic to pressure officials into providing rental assistance, but the effects on multifamily loans would compound concerns about servicers' liquidity and, ultimately, lenders' performance.

Ginnie Mae and the FHA provided temporary liquidity relief for mortgage servicers bracing for higher delinquencies, but the industry continues to pressure Treasury and the Fed to provide more comprehensive support.

Mortgage servicers need direction from federal agencies on how to implement the forbearance plans called for in the CARES Act, according to the Community Home Lenders Association.

The temporary foreclosure moratorium on loans backed by HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac comes after lawmakers and housing advocates had pushed for steps to avoid consumers getting booted from their homes.

Dana Wade would succeed Brian Montgomery, the acting deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A dip in conventional mortgage refinance demand drove mortgage application volume down compared with one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Despite changes by the Federal Housing Administration, bankers remain reluctant to join the program for fear of legal liability. But that could change if it revamps servicing processes, experts say.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria discussed the possibility of having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac operate under a consent order to allow the government-sponsored enterprises to be able to raise capital.

The Federal Housing Administration has implemented defect taxonomy revisions for 2020 that it considers one of several milestone achievements in its efforts to "provide greater clarity and consistency for lenders.”

Now is not the time for the government to cut Federal Housing Administration premiums and enter new segments of the housing market.

A trade group is looking into why New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo felt foreclosure risks were too high to sign a bill that would have approved reverse mortgages for cooperative properties.