Mortgages

A change in investor sentiment toward an expected pause by the Fed in short-term rate hikes was the driving force behind the current surge, Freddie Mac said.

But when compared past periods of upheaval, those rates remain relatively low, the Mortgage Bankers Association report showed.

But there are regional variations in housing markets across the country, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

Citing "changing market dynamics," the company announced it will exit mortgage lending this summer.

Home purchasers had to come up with 0.9% more in April versus what they would have paid in March and 11.8% higher on a year-over-year basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Some in the space say they've seen new players coming in but others disagreed during a panel at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Secondary and Capital Markets conference.

The Mortgage Bankers Association sees the likelihood of a rise in sales activity later this year based on recent construction trends, in a turnaround from the 2022 market.

The government-sponsored enterprise only tweaked the two-year mortgage origination forecast, with a $6 billion reduction for 2023, but an increase of $7 billion for 2024.

Jobs numbers, inflation data and the continued debate over raising the debt ceiling are factors applying upward pressure.

Now that the national emergency is over some — but not all — government-related entities have set what may be final deadlines for this form of pandemic relief.

But the percentage of loans in workout no longer current increased in April, the Mortgage Bankers Association found.

Although issuance of new securitizations has been low compared to year-ago levels, it rebounded as spring buying began

Low interest rates on 2021 and 2022 mortgages might mean low prepayment rates, exposing investors to duration risk on supported mortgage-backed securities.

Home price overvaluations over 10% are easing in some markets, analysts say, but RMBS investors are still cautiously tightening liquidity amid uncertainty.

The offering comes amid an ongoing wave of private and public MSR sales.

Brian O'Shaughnessey's latest venture, Imperial Bancorp, LLC, is set to secure licensing in the next four to six months, when he expects that "spreads and interest rates will tighten and loans will be worth more."

The Philadelphia-based company will eliminate an undisclosed number of jobs as part of a plan to refocus on core business lines and markets, CEO Thomas Geisel said.

Meanwhile, the average purchase loan amount surged to its highest level in 2023, showing signs of continued demand amid limited inventory.

All told, Icahn's fortune sank by an unprecedented 41% to $14.6 billion, according to the wealth index, dropping him from the world's 58th-richest person to the 119th.

Although the company reported a loss, executives expressed confidence in its funding and liquidity.