Mortgages

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a temporary final rule that allows mortgage servicers to initiate foreclosures on abandoned properties and certain delinquent borrowers, but it also outlined additional measures that shield distressed homeowners.

The lack of homes for sale is supporting the record values, unlike what happened in the mid-2000s, analysts say.

The Supreme Court decision cleared the way for further revisions to the agreements between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury, which could include dismissing the January changes.

The Community Home Lenders Association has called for suspension of federal limits on the loan volumes that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase from individual lenders. The demand came on the same day that the Biden administration fired FHFA Director Mark Calabria and started the process of nominating his successor.

Growing CRE mortgage volumes raised the bar for the coming year despite lingering concerns, according to the CRE Finance Council.

Increases in refinances, both in applications and average size, help lead overall numbers higher

So far companies plan on using roughly the same number of employees as they shift from handling payment suspensions to assessing borrowers who have seen long-term declines in their incomes.

Experts expect only a small uptick in distressed mortgages, either through default or inability to refinance, which will create some opportunity for debt buyers

The data also showed that more purchase loans were made to low- and moderate-income borrowers last year, but fewer refinances.

Demand was strongest at the high end of the market, which pushed loan amounts up for the fourth straight month.

Radnor Re will pay interest on the notes out of proceeds on coverage premiums on private mortgage insurance contracts for residential mortgage loans.

A spike in government-sponsored applications helped lead indexes to their largest gains in several weeks.

Changed borrower psychology and the severe housing inventory shortage dropped lending activity across the board, according to Black Knight.

Meanwhile, National MI has been increasing its new insurance written by slightly widening its credit standards.

More than two-thirds surveyed said they expect to make less money over the next three months as price reductions ramp up along with a market shift to purchases.

But March's overall late payment rate was 1.3 percentage points higher than one year ago, while the 90-day-plus rate was 2.3 percentage points higher.

Home prices grew at a record annual pace in April but indicators of a possible slowdown popped up in May, Redfin noted.

The four-week high in forbearance exits also helped drive the considerable drop in plans, according to Black Knight.

Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, the Banking Committee's top Republican, is talking up the prospects of a bipartisan deal to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Democratic leaders sound less motivated to change the status quo for the government-sponsored enterprises.

Refinancings more than doubled the year-ago amount and made up for the slowed purchase activity, according to Attom Data Solutions.