Mortgages

The agency's request for input will shape how mortgages underwritten by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac handle appraisals and curb risk.

Industry watchers make their wildest guesses (more or less) about developments in real estate finance that could rock the industry in the upcoming months.

Falling interest rates more than canceled out median home listing prices, reaching an all-time time high during the month, Redfin said.

Recipients can’t charge penalties for, or engage in, evictions solely for nonpayment, must provide a written notice of tenant rights, flexibility in repayment and, where applicable, 30-day vacate notices.

Mortgage rates yet again have dropped to a record low, even as the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury flirts with breaking back above the 1% mark, according to Freddie Mac.

The availability of financing hasn’t been an issue to date, but it still could be.

The legislation would let banks postpone the start date of the Current Expected Credit Losses accounting standard and delay categorizing pandemic-related loan modifications as troubled debt restructurings.

About 4,400 loans started the foreclosure process in November, alongside 176,000 mortgages in active foreclosure.

The company was accused of sending borrowers erroneous loan modification information between 2014 and 2018.

The company expects a good year ahead for mortgage insurers, assuming that rising employment, higher home prices and payment timing deferrals will help them to mitigate risk.

With infection rates rising and unemployment claims increasing since Thanksgiving, mortgages in coronavirus-related forbearance rose by 37,000 last week, according to Black Knight.

The proposal builds on guidance the agency gave to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earlier this year.

The percentage of seriously delinquent loans hit 5.8% in the third quarter, up from 1.5% a year earlier but down from 6.8% in the second quarter.

The deadline for inclusion in Ginnie mortgage-backed securities has been extended and an exception will be made for some participations.

The $425 million loan securitization is among two single-asset, commercial-mortgage deals launching this week. Brookfield Asset Management's global real estate arm is also tapping investors to finance an $825 million loan backed by a downtown Manhattan office building.

With coronavirus inoculations underway and government stimulus likely to come, the outlook for next year’s housing market and lending environment grew more optimistic in December.

Last year, smaller lenders were put at a slight disadvantage in terms of what they were charged in guarantee fees when they sold loans for cash.

The pool of 359 loans also on average carry higher balances (over $900,000) compared to the REIT's earlier pass-through deal this year.

While 12,000 mortgages exited forbearance, the most borrowers entered forbearance protection in a week since early September, according to Black Knight.

But late payments for all other investor types rose compared with the second quarter.