New issuance of agency single-family MBS rose for the fifth straight month in August, including an unexpected boost from refinance activity, according to an Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae issued $120.10 billion of single-family MBS last month, a 6.9 percent climb from July’s total. August represented the second biggest month of 2017 but fell short of the $134.21 billion issued back in January. At that point, the MBS market was digesting a strong wave of refinance loans that quickly deteriorated over the following months. But the agencies saw...[Includes two data tables]

The agencies saw an 8.6 percent increase in refi volume from July to August, roughly triple the growth rate of the purchase-money business…

Just because consumers might be off the hook for at least 90 days on making their payments, MBS investors will want their money, noted on observer…

Purchase loans accounted for 67.5 percent of the estimated $455.0 billion in first-lien mortgage originations during the April-June cycle...

Spot-condo approvals would require property recertification every three years…

Wells Fargo’s CMO business was down 36.7 percent from the first half of 2016…

CFPB's Cordray clerked for both Robert Bork and Anthony Kennedy...

First-time homebuyers accounted for $170.3 billion of securitized purchase mortgages during the first half of 2017, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of loan-level data for mortgage-backed securities issued by Ginnie mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Purchase-mortgage origination to first-time homebuyers was up 15.7 percent year-over-year and comprised 50.3 percent of total purchase-mortgage loans securitized during the six-month period. FHA accounted for 36.8 percent ($61.4 billion) of first-time homebuyer purchase mortgages delivered into agency pools from beginning to midyear, while conventional purchase mortgages with private mortgage insurance accounted for 28.3 percent ($48.3 billion) over the same period. FHA and private MI are the two leading mortgage insurers for first-time homebuyers. Together, they have provided mortgage insurance for nearly ... [Charts]

The Department of Housing and Urban Development this week announced changes to the FHA-insured reverse mortgage program, including a 200 basis point adjustment in the upfront mortgage insurance premium that may shut out some potential borrowers. HUD officials acknowledged during a press call that changes in both the upfront MIP and the HECM principal limit factors could reduce the number of borrowers initially by as much as 20 percent. Officials estimated that there are approximately 24 million seniors with untapped equity in their homes. “Overall, it is still a very large potential market,” said one official who spoke on background. “In the last few years, we did about 45,000 to 50,000 reverse mortgages annually. The net effect of all these changes is a better and safe HECM program for seniors. We’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out.” The revisions would help stabilize the ...

Working past age 62 is usually a less costly way to increase a senior’s Social Security benefit than borrowing a reverse mortgage, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In a report published last week, the CFPB warned that a strategy touted by financial consultants to seniors – borrowing a reverse mortgage loan to get more SS benefits later – could result in significant costs that may erase gains from delaying SS benefits. The strategy would require older homeowners to borrow a reverse mortgage at age 62, the minimum age a person can begin collecting SS benefits, in order to delay claiming such benefits. This means retirees would use the proceeds from a reverse mortgage to replace the money they would otherwise receive from SS in the years between 62 up to their full benefit age of 66 (for those born before 1960) and 67 (for those born after 1960), or their maximum ...