Secondary Market

Based on new data released by Fitch Ratings, $512 million of loans held by investors in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) were added to the past-due bucket last month. The net increase pushed the U.S CMBS delinquency rate to 8.14 percent. While it's the first time Fitch has reported delinquencies beyond the 8 percent mark, June's 17 basis point rise was the smallest increase in 11 months, thanks to loan resolutions on $1.5 billion during the one-month period. However, the ratings agency says this trend isn't likely to continue.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is putting a host of private-label mortgage-backed securities (MBS) under the microscope in an effort to examine their role in losses suffered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As conservator of the nation's two largest mortgage investors, FHFA has issued 64 subpoenas seeking documents related to the GSEs' investments in private mortgage bonds. The agency is looking into whether the MBS issuers should be held liable and forced to buy back bad mortgages.

According to a recent report by DebtX, the aggregate value of DebtX-priced commercial real estate (CRE) loans that collateralize commercial mortgage-backed securities inched up to 76.6 percent as of May 28, 2010, rising slightly from 76.4 percent in April. Despite the month-to-month increase, loan prices were still down on a year-over-year basis, as CRE loan values were 77.6 percent in May of last year.

As of Thursday morning, shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are trading exclusively on the over-the-counter (OTC) market. This announcement comes shortly after the Federal Housing Finance Agency directed the companies to voluntarily delist their common and preferred stock from the New York Stock Exchange and any other national securities exchange. Fannie Mae's common stock will commence trading on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol ""FNMA,"" and shares of Freddie Mac's common stock will now trade under the symbol ""FMCC.""

The U.S. Small Business Administration recently announced the first nine loan pool originators authorized by the agency to assemble and sell pools of 504 program first mortgage loans. The federal agency called this a major step to jump-starting a secondary market that will make financing more accessible for small businesses.

Though property and mortgage performance remain weak, commercial real estate fundamentals are beginning to show signs of stabilization, according to the first quarter 2010 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Quarterly Data Book recently released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). MBA said the economy showed signs of economic traction in the first quarter - with gross domestic product and job growth both firmly positive. And this economic growth translated into some stability for commercial real estate fundamentals.

Commercial real estate investors have become both frustrated and disappointed at the lack of quality buying opportunities that many expected would have materialized by this point in the downturn, according to the second quarter findings of the PricewaterhouseCoopers' Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey. The report also notes that the unknown speed and strength of the economic recovery has many investors anxious, particularly with the large volume of commercial mortgage debt coming due in 2011 and 2012.

Morgan Stanley will pay $102 million to Massachusetts homeowners and taxpayers, following an investigation by state Attorney General Martha Coakley into the firm's securitization and financing of subprime loans. Coakley says the settlement provides ""substantial relief"" to help hundreds of Massachusetts homeowners keep their homes. It also requires Morgan Stanley to change its business practices in the state and to hand over additional materials for the attorney general's ongoing investigation of subprime securitizations.

Fannie Mae says delinquencies on home loans it guarantees declined again in April, marking the second consecutive month that past dues have fallen. The GSE's 90-plus-day delinquency rate fell 17 basis points to 5.30 percent. That follows a drop of 12 basis points in March, which was the first decline in three years. Fannie also reported that its mortgage holdings grew for the third straight month, as it continued to buy back loans from investors that were 120 days or more past due.

Driven by drops in commercial and multifamily mortgages held in commercial mortgage-backed securities and construction loans held by banks, the level of commercial/multifamily debt outstanding fell to $3.31 trillion in the first quarter of this year, according to a recent study by the Mortgage Bankers Association. That represents a $31 billion, or 0.9 percent, decrease from the fourth quarter of 2009. However, multifamily mortgage debt alone rose to $852 billion, an increase of $3 billion, or 0.4 percent, from the previous quarter.