Mortgage bankers originated $54 billion of jumbo loans in the first quarter, a slight decline from the prior period but the second best showing in two years.
The two biggest components of the residential mortgage market conventional loans below the conforming loan limits and government-insured mortgages saw measurable declines in new originations in early 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. The conventional-conforming market nearly all of which is financed through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitization fell to an estimated $333.0 billion during the first quarter of 2013. That was down 5.4 percent from the fourth quarter of last year, but the sector still accounted for a hefty 66.6 percent of total originations during the period. The conventional-conforming market share hasnt changed...[Includes two data charts]
Mortgage lenders that specialize in refinance lending have made a killing the past few years, especially call center operations with state-of-the-art technology. But is now the time for these firms to take their chips off the table or ponder a merger with more traditional lenders that have ties to real estate brokers and homebuilders? Paul Reddam, founder and president of CashCall, a top 30 lender, told Inside Mortgage Finance that he would be open to selling the company. We would entertain an offer at any time, said Reddam, who first made a name for himself in mortgages with Ditech Lending early last decade. Reddam noted...
Loan sellers and servicers doing business with Freddie Mac will be charged a so-called low-activity fee for not meeting new quotas for loan deliveries and mortgage servicing beginning next year, according to a policy change announced recently by the government-sponsored enterprise. Freddie Mac said it will assess lenders a fee of $7,500 if they fail to deliver mortgage loans with an aggregate principal balance of more than $5 million or service mortgages for the GSE with an aggregate balance of at least $25 million. Freddie will begin monitoring loan sales and servicing beginning this year and imposing the low-activity fee on slackers on Jan. 1, 2014. There were at least 277 lenders that sold...
The mortgage M&A market is heating up and not just in the lending space. Moreover, a large insurance company is contemplating an entry into the business.
Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and elsewhere cite evidence of a creeping goal line to move back by 12 months the June 1, 2009, cut-off date for HARP eligibility.
Reps. Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV and Sean Duffy, R-WI, respectively chairman and vice chairman of the subcommittee, had not viewed the CFPBs analysis on QM.