Purchase-mortgage lending, like virtually every other component of the home-loan market, was down in the first quarter of 2018. But first-time buyers continued to fight the challenges of rising house prices, higher interest rates and depleted inventory, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of agency mortgage-backed securities data. [Includes four data charts.]
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The number of homes sold to first-time homebuyers fell in the first quarter of 2018, indicating that the market’s rapid growth in recent years may be over and that slower production with occasional pullbacks may be expected in the future, according to Genworth Mortgage Insurance.
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Subservicers increased their base of contracts to $2.19 trillion in the first quarter, a modest 3.3 percent sequential gain, according to survey figures compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance. Compared to the same period a year earlier, contracts increased by 15.3 percent. [Includes one data chart.]
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The interim chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said at an industry meeting in Washington, DC, this week that he is paying close attention to what the agency cannot do.
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The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it is most concerned about whether the government-sponsored enterprises are resilient and able to quickly recover from a disaster. In the agency’s annual report to Congress released last week, the regulator listed a number of management and supervisory concerns spotted by FHFA examiners in 2017.
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The mortgage industry isn’t fully prepared to accept borrowers with income from the so-called gig economy, according to a survey by Fannie Mae. Nearly every mortgage executive surveyed reported that such income is difficult to approve when considering a loan application.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued guidance to VA program participants to ensure that all mortgage loans meet the requirements of the recently enacted Dodd-Frank Act reform law prior to endorsement.
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