Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank mortgage lenders, reported significant increases in the first quarter. But PlainsCapital Bank and Federal Savings Bank both posted double-digit declines.
Then again, Fannie and Freddie don’t buy everything that’s eligible. In recent months, there has been a burst of non-agency MBS issuance backed by GSE-eligible loans...
For some sellers, the curbs don’t represent much of a bump in the road. For Quicken Loans, the top GSE seller over the 12-month period, investor/second-home loans were roughly 5.5% of its sales to both Fannie and Freddie.
Some sellers may be able to redistribute their sales of investor and second-home mortgages to meet new Fannie and Freddie purchase limits. But many will have to sell fewer of the loans. (Includes two data charts.)
The conventional-conforming market saw solid gains from retail lenders and wholesale-broker platforms, but correspondent production was off 3% in the first quarter of 2021. (Includes two data charts.)
Jumbo mortgage originations were up in 2020 but most production remained on the lenders' books. Direct sales of conventional loans to non-agency securitizers also fell. (Includes data chart.)