News

Though volume remains low on an absolute level, commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations seem to be on the journey upward. According to the Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association, second quarter 2010 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations inched up 1 percent from the same period last year and surged 35 percent from the first quarter of this year.

Fannie Mae is building the ""strongest book of business we've seen in the last decade,"" according to the GSE's president and CEO, Michael Williams. While tighter underwriting may mean fewer consumers are able to get loans and banks are holding credit close to their chests, Williams says the type of prudent lending that has taken hold in the aftermath of the housing bust is translating into higher quality loans for Fannie Mae - namely plain, old-school mortgages; credit scores of 760; and loan-to-value ratios of 70 percent.

Residential mortgage loan officers at banks, credit unions, and other federally regulated financial institutions are now required to register their names and fingerprints with a national database. Federal banking regulators approved new rules Wednesday that say all mortgage originators who are employees of both state and federally regulated lenders must meet the requirements of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (S.A.F.E. Act) by the middle of next year.

Even with record-low mortgage rates, many refinancing borrowers are choosing to pay down their loan balances rather than borrow more money. According to a recent report by Freddie Mac, cash-in borrowers - those who reduced their principal balance by paying in additional money at the closing table - represented 22 percent of all borrowers who refinanced during the second quarter, up from 19 percent the previous quarter. This, Freddie said, tied the record for the third highest cash-in share since the GSE began keeping records on refinancing patterns in 1985.

The residential real estate market in Massachusetts seems to be on the mend. According to a recent report by the Warren Group, a provider of real estate data in New England, the Bay State saw year-over-year increases in both sales and prices of single-family homes and condos in June and in the second quarter.

Mortgage rates continued to slide downward for the week ending July 29, 2010, marking yet another round of record lows, Freddie Mac and Bankrate reported Thursday. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.54 percent this week, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4 percent. Bankrate said 30-year fixed-rate mortgages came in at 4.71 percent, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages inched down to 4.17 percent.

A new report published by RealtyTrac Thursday shows that 75 percent of the nation's largest metro areas posted increases in foreclosure activity during the first half of 2010. RealtyTrac says it's seeing early signs that foreclosures may have peaked in some hard-hit markets, but with three-quarters of the nation's most populated metros showing continued increases in foreclosure filings, the numbers illustrate just how fragile the housing recovery really is.

The PMI Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the PMI Group, Inc., has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of San Francisco. The grant will support continued funding for CCCS of San Francisco's nationwide mortgage default counseling program and homebuyer education initiatives.

In the first half of 2010, Fannie Mae provided $5.9 billion in investments to the multifamily rental housing market, according to a semiannual report released Tuesday. The multifamily unit at Fannie Mae said it has bolstered mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issuance since focusing its efforts on securitization and broadening the investor base in 2009. Of the $5.9 billion invested in the first of this year, $5.5 billion was delivered through MBS execution.

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book depicts only intermittent spots of economic growth, with residential real estate markets across the country characterized as ""sluggish,"" and commercial real estate garnering a descriptor of ""weak."" Nearly all 12 Fed districts reported a slow-down in housing activity since the homebuyer tax credit expired. Most reported lending standards to be restrictive, with loan delinquencies above historic norms.