Underwriting

The move allows Freddie Mac to start purchasing certain second lien mortgages, but establishes limits on how much volume it can do.

The partnership between personal finance platform Esusu and the National Rental Home Council has several of the trade group's members delivering payment data. They say that has helped result in over 85,000 originations across lending segments.

If approved by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the program will not lead to large amounts of home equity being extracted, nor is it mission creep, wrote Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Bose George.

Originators increased program offerings for the fifth consecutive month, but overall credit availability remains tight, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

A new Federal Reserve analysis finds rising debt-to-income and loan-to-value ratios over the past two years, while credit scores largely remained the same.

Mortgage lenders offered more cash-out refinance programs at a time when consumers might be coming to terms with the rate environment.

In a study posted weeks after it raised concerns about "junk fees," the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau noted that the amount of borrowers paying discount points doubled from 2021 to 2023, with the increase larger among consumers with lower credit scores.

Fannie Mae's latest forecast now predicts rates to be half a percentage point higher, and volume to be $1.5 trillion lower than previously expected in 2024.

While some said the agency was ignorant of its own rules, one trade group praised the goals of the posting.

Regulatory reform – rather than Biden's proposed solutions – is needed to fix the inventory crisis, some say, but others applauded the president's buyer cost-cutting initiatives.