New FHA guidelines for the condominium insurance program could potentially exclude financially sound condo associations from the FHA program, warned an advocacy group for condominium communities. The apparent lack of transparency has raised concerns about the criteria FHA used in developing guidelines for the condo program and new provisions in a mortgagee letter issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in June, according to the Community Associations Institute. The CAI said the FHA continued to create unnecessary obstacles for qualified condo buyers by developing requirements without prior notice or...

The FHA has announced changes to help ensure prompt, accurate and consistent responses to industry and public inquiries about FHA matters. The new primary electronic mail address and Internet site of the FHA Resource Center, which includes a Frequently-Asked-Questions site, will be easier to remember and access, according to the FHA. The new email address is answers@hud.gov, which replaced the previous info@fhaoutreach.com. The site address for the FHA FAQ site will change from www.fhaoutreach.gov/FHAFAQ to www.hud.gov/answers. Users should begin using the new addresses exclusively on Aug. 15, according to the FHA. The primary...

The zero risk weight for Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities remains despite Standard & Poor’s recent lowering of the long-term rating of the U.S. government and federal agencies from AAA to AA+ and affirmation of the A-1+ short-term rating, according to federal regulators. The rating agency also removed both the short- and long-term ratings from CreditWatch, where they have been since July 14 with negative implications. On August 5, federal banking and credit union regulators announced that, for risk-based capital purposes, the risk weights for Treasury securities and securities guaranteed by...

Short of a market miracle, the chances of other Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities servicers catching up with market leaders Wells Fargo and Bank of America are practically nil. Wells Fargo and BofA appear to have a solid lock on 55.0 percent of Ginnie Mae servicing outstanding based on a combined portfolio total of $634.0 billion at the end of June. Overall, the supply of Ginnie Mae servicing grew 3.8 percent during the second quarter. Wells Fargo commanded a 28.2 percent share of Ginnie Mae servicing during the second quarter, up 4.7 percent from the first quarter. Not far behind is second-ranked BofA with a 26.6 percent share, thanks to... [Includes one data chart]

Private mortgage insurers took heavy losses during the second quarter of 2011 but managed to recover some market share that had been lost earlier in the year to the FHA, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. Overall, mortgage lenders originated $82.70 billion of home loans with primary mortgage insurance coverage during the second quarter, down 11.6 percent from the first three months of the year. That was measurably better than the 18.5 percent sag in total mortgage originations, however, and it lifted the primary MI share of new business to ... [contains four data charts]

Mortgage lenders faced a rising tide of repurchase requests from the secondary market during the second quarter of 2011, according to an Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of earnings reports from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two government-sponsored enterprises said they realized $4.1 billion in repurchases and indemnifications during the second quarter, up 46 percent from the first three months of the year. It was the second largest repurchase binge on record, trailing only the $5.9 billion reported for the fourth quarter of 2010. Most of the damage was done by ... [contains one data chart]

Struggling with a run of huge losses well into its fifth year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now confront the added challenge of worsening financial condition among private mortgage insurers, one of the few backstops the government-sponsored enterprises have to offset some of their losses. Fannie noted in its 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the “current weakened condition” of its mortgage insurer counterparties has created “an increased risk that the insurers will fail to fulfill their obligations” to reimburse the GSE for its ...

The real estate industry may try to push for a loan limit measure in an appropriations bill after Labor Day but whether that will result in an extension of the current temporary high-cost area loan limit is unclear, industry sources say. Industry strategists are said to be considering an attempt to use the next budget bill as a vehicle for a provision extending the existing maximum loan limit of $729,750, but there are concerns about this approach. Piggybacking an extended loan limit proposal on to a budget bill would be difficult given the bitter ...

Like many industry commenters, consumer groups are urging federal regulators to lighten up on what has been largely regarded as an overly-restrictive definition of “qualified residential mortgages” that will get preferential treatment in future mortgage securitizations. The interagency risk-retention proposed rule would limit QRM status to purchase mortgages with a minimum 20 percent downpayment and conservative underwriting standards on debt-to-income ratio and credit history. The proposed QRM rule will “further slow the process of clearing ...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development this week announced a “request for information” on how to best sell Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA-owned real estate owned properties. The regulators are looking for ways to dispose of REO inventory while improving loss recoveries and adding to the supply of rental housing, according to the RFI. “While the [government-sponsored enterprises] will continue to market individual REO proper-ties for sale, FHFA and the enterprises seek input on ...