Mortgages

Some believe the administration will delay action on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to avoid any political fallout. Others say the window for reform is closing.

The mortgage industry was caught off guard by regulators’ decision to cease special treatment for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in complying with underwriting rules. But how big of an impact will the new policy have?

President Trump has signed the Protecting Affordable Mortgages for Veterans Act, which aims to address concerns that rules around certain VA refinances were impeding those loans' inclusion in secondary market pools.

The agency’s director said it will let a temporary GSE exemption from the “qualified mortgage” regulation expire.

Ginnie Mae is requesting feedback on a new proposed stress test for mortgage-backed securities issuers that would take into account the government agency's increased nonbank counterparty risk.

The incentives are stronger than ever to work toward standardizing the documentation, language and process for loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities to be combined with PACE financing.

While seasonal factors were attributed to the monthly rise in mortgage delinquencies for June, the jump was still much higher than last year's fairly steady increase, according to Black Knight.

Although the presidentially directed reports on housing finance reform are "essentially done," FHFA Director Mark Calabria doesn't expect them to be published until August or September.

Fannie Mae increased its mortgage origination forecast as lower interest rates, driven by economic uncertainty, will lead to more refinance activity, but other factors will continue to hold back home purchases.

Life insurance companies increased their mortgage investments to levels higher than historical norms, creating more potential danger for their portfolios in the event of a real estate downturn, a Fitch Ratings report said.

The more than $44 billion in new Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities that came to market in June marked the strongest month for the government bond insurer in more than two years.

Treasury and HUD are close to unveiling administrative and legislative options for ending the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Will their findings be heavy on detail or leave a lot unanswered?

The agency had decided not to challenge a recent court ruling that its structure violates the separation of powers, but newly confirmed Director Mark Calabria now appears willing to the fight the case.

After the government-sponsored enterprise patch expires, "near prime" loans over the 43% debt-to-income ratio should be qualified mortgages if they have compensating factors, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.

Builder MDC Holdings' preliminary numbers for net new home orders registered their highest quarterly increase in years, adding to signs of growing demand for housing.

While mortgage rate optimism kept consumer confidence about the home purchase market high in June, affordability worries pulled overall sentiment lower, a Fannie Mae survey said.

The post-crisis operational improvements at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have resulted in stronger mortgage loan performance, a Fitch Ratings report said.

Mortgage lenders might be feeling a little less stressed over False Claims Act actions being brought against them following recent headlines but there is still some work to be done before they can chill out.

Mortgages using alternative documentation like bank statements for underwriting performed stronger than expected, but uncertainty remains about their default rates in stressed environments, Fitch Ratings said.

Former Freddie Mac CEO Donald Layton has joined the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies as a senior industry fellow focused on reform of the government-sponsored enterprises.