Secondary markets

The government-sponsored enterprise announced Wednesday it will change eligibility criteria for vacation homes and investor properties starting April 1 to fulfill a directive by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

January’s excess return came in at a level well above the trailing average for the month, thanks in large part to a helpful hand from the Federal Reserve.

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

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.

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

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 average per-loan profit margin remains incredibly strong, but the share of senior executives expecting it to fall has risen markedly.

Whether Ginnie issuance increases in the future may depend in part on the extent to which the Biden administration wishes to tap the FHA to promote affordable housing and homeownership.

Even government-sponsored enterprise loans, which have seen forbearance rates drop for 24 weeks in a row, saw a slight uptick.

The Structured Finance Association fears Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin may release the government-sponsored enterprises from conservatorship ahead of the change in administration, and that doing so could disrupt the mortgage-backed securities market.

The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility was brought back to inject $100 billion into the pandemic-battered economy, but only a fraction has been disbursed. Yet experts, pointing to its calming effects on markets, recommend that it be extended into next year.

Lenders also increased jumbo product availability as well as rolling out new SOFR-indexed ARMs.

There have been several extensions of the policy since it was put into place as a way to sustain originations amid a wave of forbearance allocated to borrowers with government-related loans.

The sector’s leaders are hoping for better in 2021, while not forgetting lessons learned about the market’s risks in 2020.

FHA volumes, a key contributor to Ginnie Mae issuance, could fall as long as the refinancing boom continues — unless the FHA takes a step that could reverse that trend.

How we resolve millions of delinquent mortgages due to COVID is the only question that matters.

The recent decrease in the rate at which current loans became impaired could further encourage the cautious return of the non-QM market currently underway.

The restrictions on the pooling of loans with any interest term based on Libor will be effective for traditional mortgage-backed securities issued starting Jan. 21, 2021, and earlier for reverse-mortgage securitizations.

Bondholders could see principal losses if, due to the way the documents are worded, the rate is frozen at the last published amount.