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Inside Mortgage Finance

September 11, 2008

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GSE Takeover Already Lowering Rates, But What About Affordability, Availability and Underwriting?

Whether the federal government’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was warranted by their economic fundamentals remains a matter of debate, but it’s already having a positive effect in terms of lowering mortgages rates for new homebuyers and people looking to refinance. That’s expected to continue. The key long-term question for the mortgage market, however, may be whether an infusion of... Read More

With New GSE Focus on Affordability, Lenders Expecting Changing Landscape

Industry sources say Bush administration officials who are setting the game plan for the conservators at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are making “affordability” and “availability” the new mantra for government-sponsored enterprises that in recent months have been more focused on struggling to return to profitability. Major lenders and industry analysts are still early in the process of... Read More

FHA Production Volume Keeps Streaking To New Record Levels in Third Quarter

A new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of FHA data suggests that the venerable government-insurance program is still being revved at a record pace during the third quarter in an otherwise despondent mortgage market. Over 97,000 mortgage loans were endorsed by FHA lenders during August, up more than 10 percent from the record 87,246 FHA loans put on the... [Includes one chart and one graph] Read More

Correspondent Production Continues Gaining Share in 2Q08; Chase Becomes Top Wholesaler

More of the mortgage origination market tilted toward correspondent production as wholesale lenders pushed more third-party originators to use their own financing – and take some responsibility for loan quality – in the second quarter. A new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance shows that correspondent originations actually increased by 3.1 percent from the... [Includes five charts] Read More

MIs, Analysts See No Significant Short-Term Effect of Government Takeover of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

The government’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the weekend left the private mortgage insurance industry relieved that the intervention did not affect MI ratings or disrupt insurers’ business with the government-sponsored enterprises. But some observers expect the government to push the GSEs to do more high loan-to-value mortgage business, both as a way to stimulate the... Read More

Delinquency Rates Climb Higher in Second Quarter Of 2008 as Prime ARMs Continue to Deteriorate

Mortgage delinquency rates continued to rise in virtually every loan category during the second quarter, but optimists could point to a few signs that the housing downturn may be easing up slightly.According to the Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index, 6.10 percent of home mortgages were in some stage of delinquency or foreclosure as of the end of... [Includes one chart] Read More

Fannie Attempts to Further Tighten Its Mortgage Underwriting Standards

Fannie Mae announced a significant tightening of mortgage purchases late last week, although the recent takeover of the government-sponsored enterprise suggests the new policies may soon be reversed.Fannie introduced new seasoning requirements for refinance transactions that prohibit cash-out mortgages if the borrower purchased the loan within the past 6 months. Fannie’s Desktop... Read More

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