Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

In Fannie Mae's monthly National Housing Survey, more than half of those surveyed (51 percent, up from 48 percent in March) said they expect home prices to climb in the next year, while 10 percent--flat for the fourth straight month--expect declines. Thirty-five percent expect no changes. April's report marks the first time in the survey's three-year history that more than half of respondents projected price gains.

After being developed and tested over the past three years, Fannie Mae announced the broad release of a tool that helps to streamline foreclosure prevention efforts. Leslie Peeler, SVP of Fannie Mae's national servicing organization, explained that while adoption of the tool is voluntary for servicers, it will be required at some point in the near future.

Refinances through the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) remained strong as mortgage rates stayed near record-low levels, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) most recent refinance report. In February, 97,738 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans were refinanced under the program, bringing the total to 2.3 million since HARP's April 2009 inception. Underwater borrowers also continued to represent a large share total HARP refinance volume. Year-to-date through February, borrowers with LTVs beyond 105 percent accounted for nearly half of all HARP refinances.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to limit future loan purchases to those that meet the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) criteria for ""qualified mortgage"" loans. In a release, FHFA said that beginning January 10, 2014, the GSEs will no longer purchase loans subject to CFPB's ""ability to repay"" rule if those loans are not fully amortizing, have terms of longer than 30 years, or include points and fees in excess of 3 percent.

Without a government guarantee, Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's multifamily businesses would be less viable and ""have little inherent value,"" according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the entities' conservator. As the FHFA works toward its goal of winding down the GSEs' presence in the market, the conservator required each GSE to determine whether its multifamily business could operate without a government guarantee. Both GSEs suggest without a government guarantee, their multifamily units would not be able to support affordable housing programs.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are offering a relief program to victims of Superstorm Sandy who were current on their mortgage before the storm, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York announced in a release Thursday. According to the release, the program is in response to letters the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) sent in April, which urged for a change in what Cuomo's administration called ""restrictive"" guidelines that could lead to a spike in mortgage payments for Sandy victims.

In a notice Thursday, Freddie Mac encouraged servicers to prepare for new requirements for default-related legal services that will take effect in less than a month. Under the new requirement, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicers must select qualified law firms by June 1 to handle all new referrals of default-related legal services, such as foreclosures, loss mitigation, bankruptcy, and related litigation.

Fannie Mae made available loan-level credit performance data for single-family mortgages delivered to the GSE from January 1, 2000 to March 31, 2012. The release of the new data marks a step toward greater transparency. Through the data, investors can model the credit performance of Fannie Mae loans and analyze potential risk sharing transactions. In a statement, FHFA applauded Fannie Mae's release, explaining it ""represents an important step toward returning private capital to the mortgage market.""

The broadening housing recovery has firmed up home prices around the country, with the potential to restore many underwater mortgages to a position of positive equity, according to Fannie Mae's economic and strategic research group. Citing data from CoreLogic, the GSE notes that 1.7 million properties moved from negative to positive equity last year. Provided the home price gains seen so far this year continue, Fannie's economic analysts anticipate another 1.8 million properties will rise out of their underwater positions by the end of 2013.

Starting July 1, large numbers of non-paying borrowers will have the opportunity to modify existing mortgages through a more streamlined process. This sounds like a good way to reduce foreclosures and prop up home prices, but as we will shortly see the proposed program is oddly risky and likely to encourage additional defaults. The program is open to borrowers who have already modified their loans once, perhaps a few years ago when rates were higher. This, at least, is a good idea. So what's the big difference between the new program and the modifications offered previously?