Issuance of Ginnie Mae single-family mortgage-backed securities dropped 5.6% in November as refinances hit their lowest level in more than three years. (Includes two data charts.)

Commissioner Julia Gordon said FHA is considering all the potential pieces of a mortgage insurance premium cut, including the upfront premium and the life-of-loan requirements.

The Office of Inspector General says the Department of Housing and Urban Development could realize a $19 billion savings if it implemented them all.

The Mortgage Bankers Association and others in the mortgage lending and affordable housing communities commented on an FHA request for information on the challenges of small-balance mortgage lending.

FHA announces 2023 loan limits; VA circular describes interplay of conforming loan limits and VA entitlement; Ginnie makes VA lending recommendations; Ginnie offers new flexibilities for issuer financial eligibility requirements; FHA extends temporary loss-mitigation waivers; HUD IG issues reverse mortgage scam warning.

The Community Home Lenders of America wants federal officials to ban significant disparities in the fees charged to lenders for credit reports, but analysts say it’s unlikely that policy pressure will stop them.

Trade group President Taylor Stork said the reasoning behind the price increases have been shrouded in secrecy...

The rule, which takes effect Dec. 21, differs somewhat from those that apply to other federally backed mortgages. 

New loss-mitigation techniques helped reduce the FHA serious delinquency rate to 4.77% by the end of fiscal 2022, according to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund report released last week. 

All 10 of the top management challenges facing the Department of Housing and Urban Development last year, including mitigating counterparty risk to mortgage programs, remain, the HUD Inspector General reported last week.