Mortgages

Issuance of securitizations backed by these loans is becoming more dependable, and Fannie will need more mortgages that finance newly-built energy-efficient homes to keep it going.

The CARES Act-related forbearances could be “lulling us into a false sense of security” as 12-month expirations approach, according to Black Knight.

The transaction consisting of $24 million in securitized Ginnie pools followed a 265% jump in broader industry eNote registrations last year.

Investors were also reacting to the inauguration of Joe Biden and uncertainty over additional fiscal relief, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Sam Khater said.

While financing costs are still low enough to offset sticker-shock from rising home prices, a slight increase in the average 30-year conforming rate weighed on borrowers, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The subsidiary of New Residential Investment produced nearly $400 million in non-QM volume in the first quarter of 2020 before putting a hold on the product offering in March.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council could determine that a broad range of mortgage companies should be subject to “heightened prudential standards,” said Andrew Olmem, a partner at Mayer Brown and a former senior economic adviser to the White House.

If new housing policy initiatives are not adopted by Congress, the Biden Administration may seek to push the GSEs into receivership, which would damage the conventional market, columnist and analyst Chris Whalen says.

The Biden administration could encourage the FHFA to increase the caps or restore exclusions for certain types of loans, which would boost overall volumes.

Declining month-over-month delinquency levels and the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations potentially give hope to more normalized economic activity.

Mortgage applications decreased 1.9% from one week earlier as rising rates started to affect refinance activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The government-sponsored enterprises’ moratoria will now continue well past inauguration day, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Upcoming changes to underwriting regulations, as well as the end of the QM patch, in addition to growing home values, all add up for this market to have a good year.

Despite mortgage rates expected to rise modestly in 2021, a bolstered Biden administration stimulus package and COVID-19 vaccination efforts bring promise for economic recovery.

Deals, trends and research in structured finance and asset-backed securities for the week of Jan.7-14

While the annual total marks a 16-year low, the numbers are likely to change dramatically once government moratoria expire, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Mortgage rates, whose movements until now had not reflected gains in the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, rose 14 basis points this week, according to Freddie Mac.

Commercial real estate portfolios have held up better than expected during the pandemic. But rising delinquencies and fears of a delayed economic recovery are renewing questions about credit quality.

The volume of Ginnie securities issued in December marked the first time more than $80 billion has been issued in a month.

Fitch and Trepp reported that overall commercial mortgage-backed security delinquencies were down, while the MBA reported a slight increase.