News

While most representation and warranty guidelines for recent residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) have been substantially stronger than observed in pre-crisis transactions, according to Fitch, the ratings agency has begun to encounter some proposals that fall short of the industry's recently-enhanced standards. Fitch is a strong proponent of the American Securitization Forum's Project Restart, which created a rep and warranty framework following the housing crisis. According to Fitch, the framework offers ""a high standard that provides the most assurances about loan origination and underwriting quality."" Some of the most recent RMBS transactions the agency reviewed stray from these guidelines and are ""weak,"" according to Fitch.

Even with tax hikes and spending cuts creating a significant headwind to the economy, Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group is maintaining its outlook for slow and steady growth in 2013. On the housing front, continued lean inventory and the increase in rate of household formation bode well for homebuilding activity and residential construction employment, the outlook says, giving housing an opportunity to contribute more to economic growth. However, one unknown variable on the supply side is how many underwater borrowers are waiting to list their homes.

Florida's housing market continued its upswing into the new year, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors. Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 13,679 in January, up 11.7 percent year-over-year, the group reported. Prices also rose: The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in January was $145,000, up 12.4 percent over January 2012.

Florida-based Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) introduced It's Listed! Alerts as a way to let servicers know when properties in their portfolios show up on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

Bank of America announced it has completed or approved nearly $30 billion in relief to more than 330,000 homeowners as of the end of 2012.

A year after the nation's largest mortgage servicers reached a monumental settlement with 49 state’s attorneys general and several federal agencies, the five servicers have reportedly provided assistance in the amount of $45.83 billion to 550,000 homeowners, according to the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight reported. The greatest portion of the total $45.83 billion distributed since the settlement went to ""relief to support home ownership."" About $24.7 billion went to these efforts. Short sales made up another significant portion of servicers' efforts, totaling $19.5 billion.

Fixed mortgage rates moved up just a smidgen this week, according to surveys from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.56 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending February 21, up from 3.53 percent last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.95 percent. Meanwhile, Bankrate's findings showed the 30-year fixed rate rising a single basis point to 3.80 percent.

The national delinquency rate moved against the seasonal trend and declined from the third to fourth quarter, while foreclosure starts and the foreclosure inventory rate made history with their decreases, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the national delinquency rate fell to 7.09 percent, a quarterly and yearly drop of 31 and 49 basis points, respectively, the MBA reported Thursday. Foreclosure starts were down to the lowest level since the second quarter of 2007 after representing just 0.70 percent of loans in Q4.

Over the course of last year, nearly 2 million homeowners were released from negative equity, Zillow reported Thursday. Data from Zillow revealed 1.9 million homeowners came out of negative equity due to two main reasons: the continuation of high foreclosure rates and rising home values, which increased by 5.9 percent year-over-year, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.

Existing-home sales rose 0.4 percent in January to 4.92 million after December sales were revised downward, the National Association of Realtors reported. The median price of an existing single-family home fell to $173,600 in January, the lowest level since last March. The inventory of existing homes for sale fell 4.9 percent to 1.74 million, the lowest level since December 1999. At the reported sales pace, that represents a 4.2 month supply of homes for sale, the lowest supply since April 2005.