The mortgage and housing sectors expect the Federal Housing Finance Agency to unveil lower GSE loan limits this fall its just a matter of when. A handful of developments are affecting the timing of that decision, including intense lobbying by the National Association of Realtors and National Association of Home Builders, and a growing concern that mortgage bankers are already swamped with implementation deadlines tied to a slew of new rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Our tool puts valuable information into the hands of the public in an accessible way," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. But will consumers use this information against mortgage lenders?
The Federal Reserves relentless acquisition of agency MBS has been the biggest factor in the changing complexion of the MBS investor picture, far outstripping the tortoise-like pace at which the market has expanded this year. The Fed increased its agency MBS holdings by 12.8 percent during the second quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS profile of investor classes in the mortgage securities market. The central bank added $137.2 billion to its agency MBS holdings during the quarter, and its gross acquisitions totaled $466.6 billion since the beginning of the year. That represented...[Includes two data charts]
The loan limit reduction under consideration by the Federal Housing Finance Agency wouldnt have a major impact on the volume of agency MBS issuance, but industry analysts say prepayment rates on outstanding agency MBS could slow. Mortgages with loan balances greater than $417,000 accounted for 7.9 percent of the $327.76 billion in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac production in the second quarter of 2013. And mortgages with balances of between $400,000 and $417,000 accounted for a 7.2 percent share, though a significant portion of those originations were in areas with high-cost loan limits and would likely still be eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises. Analysts at Barclays Capital said...
Investors are eager to get their hands on upcoming risk-sharing deals from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac even though Freddies recent deal was unrated. According to interviews with investors in Freddies $500 million Structured Agency Credit Risk bond, 50 different companies bought into the deal with at least 20 different investors in each tranche, according to confidential research on the transaction supplied to Inside MBS & ABS. Word has gotten around...
Top officials in the Federal Reserve System were making the rounds of the financial and economic intelligentsia this week, shedding some light on the central banks decision to prolong its support of the financial and housing markets through its admittedly unconventional means of massive asset purchases, accommodative monetary policy and explicit forward guidance. Several questions have emerged following the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, said FOMC member William Dudley, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, during a speech this week in New York City. Most noteworthy was given that market expectations were skewed towards anticipating the beginning of a taper at this meeting why the committee did not begin to reduce the pace of asset purchases. Although he was not presuming to speak for the committee, Dudley did provide...
With mortgage refinance activity flagging in the wake of a spike in interest rates that began months ago, the Federal Housing Finance Agency this week launched a campaign to get more mileage out of the Home Affordable Refinance Program. (Includes one data chart.)