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Inside Mortgage Finance

February 18, 2016

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Private MIs Regained Some Market Share in 4Q15, But FHA and VA Posted Biggest Gains for the Year

Private mortgage insurers saw spirited competition in 2015, both within their own ranks and against a surge in government-insured products, especially the FHA program, according to a new market analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. Private MIs wrote coverage on an estimated $219.64 billion in mortgage originations last year, a 23.2 percent increase from 2014. The estimate includes $315 million in coverage on Home Affordable Refinance Program loans provided by the three MIs in run-off mode. The private MI business surge included...[Includes three data tables] Read More

Warehouse Commitments Edged Up Ever So Slightly in 4Q15 As TRID Issues Caused Loans to Stay on Lines Longer

Although residential originations fell by roughly 15 percent in the fourth quarter on a sequential basis, warehouse lenders saw their commitments inch up slightly, according to new figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance. At Dec. 31, warehouse banks had extended an estimated $49.0 billion of commitments to non-depository lenders, a 2.1 percent sequential gain. Compared to yearend 2014, commitment levels rose a handsome 28.9 percent. Part of the reason for the increase in activity – especially year-over-year – can be explained...[Includes one data table] Read More

FHA Chief Denies Life-of-Loan Pricing Policy Change, House Republicans Renew Calls for Tough FHA Reforms

Top officials of the Department of Housing and Urban Development have explicitly ruled out lower FHA premiums or making other significant changes in the program any time soon. Testifying before a House Financial Services subcommittee late last week, FHA Commissioner Edward Golding did not provide any updated guidance on mortgage insurance premiums but made clear there are no plans to revise FHA’s current life-of-loan policy. Under the existing FHA policy, borrowers are required... Read More

Plenty of Talk About Mortgage M&A; RPM Mentioned as a Buyer, but Will Refis Slow or Increase the Probability of Deals?

RPM Mortgage has acquisitions on its mind once again and could be an aggressive buyer of other lending shops this year, according to industry advisors – if only falling interest rates didn’t get in the company’s way. It was originally thought that 2016 could be a robust year for mortgage mergers-and-acquisitions activity, but tumbling interest rates are making some owners think twice about selling – or getting picky about what they’re willing to take. For buyers, the best time to pounce is... Read More

First-Time Homebuyer Share of Home Purchases Increasing as Spring Homebuying Season Nears

The first-time homebuyer share of home purchases increased for the second consecutive month in January, according to results from the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The increase is part of a seasonal trend where first-time homebuyers take market share from current homeowners as part of the spring homebuying season, though there could be some constraints on first-time homebuyer activity this year. First-time buyers accounted for 35.9 percent of home purchases in January, based on a three-month moving average. Their share increased from a trough of 35.1 percent in November. The current homeowner share of home purchases in that time declined from 49.2 percent to 47.8 percent, with investors also gaining some share from current homeowners. Tom Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys, noted... Read More

House Passes Legislation Removing Limit on VA Guaranty in High-Cost Housing Markets

The House of Representatives last week passed legislation containing a provision to eliminate the cap on VA loan guaranty limits. Sponsored by Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-OH, the “Veterans Employment, Education, and Healthcare Improvement Act,” H.R. 3016, included an amendment added by Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-NY, in committee. The amendment would eliminate the maximum loan amount the VA will guarantee, allowing more veterans to purchase homes in high-cost areas such as San Francisco and San Jose, CA. The bill was agreed to... Read More

HARP Volume Continued to Decline in Late 2015 as Program Turns Toward Final Stretch

Activity in the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac refinance program for underwater borrowers continued to decline in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The FHFA said the two government-sponsored enterprises securitized 21,079 loans originated under the Home Affordable Refinance Program during the fourth quarter. That was down 18.4 percent from the previous quarter and brought year-to-date production to just 110,113 loans, a 48.2 percent decline from 2014. HARP accounted...[Includes one data table] Read More

Homeownership Rate Expected to Decline Due to Trends in Demographics, Housing Costs and Underwriting Standards

A variety of factors could cause a significant decrease to the homeownership rate in the coming years, according to industry analysts. Under a scenario where the housing market resembles the current market in California and high-income European countries, the U.S. could shift to having a majority of renters instead of homeowners in 35 years. In a paper set to be published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Arthur Acolin, Laurie Goodman and Susan Wachter projected that the homeownership rate will decline from 63.4 percent in 2015 to 57.9 percent in 2050. Acolin is a PhD student at the University of Southern California, Goodman is the director of the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center and Wachter is a professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The researchers said... Read More

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