Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has issued a new policy that outlines specific steps Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicers should take to identify and correct deficiencies in foreclosure paperwork. Evidence of servicing staff cutting corners to process foreclosures quickly has lawmakers, consumer advocates, and the entire general public calling for an immediate moratorium on foreclosures. But FHFA says bringing the process to a complete halt is not the answer.

The last time rates for 30-year mortgages were as low as they are now was in April 1951. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages have been under 5 percent for 23 weeks in a row, according to data gathered by Freddie Mac. This week, the GSE reports that the average 30-year rate fell again to break the survey's all-time low, hitting 4.19 percent. The 15-year fixed rate also averaged a record low of 3.62 percent.

Mortgage interest rates dropped again this week, setting new record-lows across the board. Analysts say we have bond investors to thank for the continuing declines. Investors are expecting the Fed to begin pumping more money into the economy to reinvigorate the now lukewarm recovery, so there's been a rush to buy up mass amounts of government- and mortgage-backed debt. This, in turn, has served to drive mortgage rates lower - now at their lowest point in more than a half-century.

One of the nation's foremost banking regulators has issued a directive to large mortgage servicers, ordering them to reassess their procedures for foreclosing on defaulted borrowers. John Walsh, head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) told lawmakers that he contacted seven institutions his agency supervises, after several large lenders announced a halt on foreclosures in states where filings might contain erroneous paperwork and preparers may have broken the law in their haste to process large volumes of cases.

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives voted Thursday to extend increased loan limits on mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The higher loan limits of $729,750, which were scheduled to expire at the end of 2010, have been extended for an additional nine months, and are now set to expire September 30, 2011. The approved bill also appropriates $20 billion for the Federal Housing Administration to continue making loan commitments though the end of 2010 for a special risk fund.

How low can we go? When it comes to mortgage rates, the floor keeps dropping. Industry reports released Thursday show that interest rates for home loans - already at their lowest marks in more than a half-century - dropped again this week. Market analysis conducted by Freddie Mac puts the 30-year fixed rate at 4.32 percent and the 15-year rate at 3.75 percent. Bankrate says rates for the larger jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage also inched lower to 5.16 percent.

The nation's largest mortgage financier is shrinking its portfolio. Fannie Mae reported this week that its holdings declined at a compound annualized rate of 4.1 percent in August, while its total book of business fell by 1.3 percent. At the same time, delinquency levels fell across the board. Fannie Mae's single-family serious delinquency rate dropped 17 basis points in July to 4.82 percent. The multifamily serious delinquency rate declined 6 basis points to 0.74 percent.

The Treasury Department has instructed three of the nation's largest mortgage servicers to make changes to the way they solicit distressed borrowers for the government's loan modification program and evaluate applicants for eligibility. In Treasury's latest report card on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America were called out by name as receiving sub-par grades in complying with the program's guidelines.

Last week, GMAC Mortgage called for a halt on foreclosures and REO sales in 23 states that may have been impacted by an internal procedural error. The incident could give cause for homeowners to file lawsuits against the lender, bondholders could be impacted, and the problem could reach beyond just GMAC since it also services mortgages for other firms, including the GSEs. A number of analysts have since weighed in on GMAC's foreclosure snafu. Attorneys general in several states are also launching their own investigations.

Legislation to stabilize the foreclosure crisis through the federal government's conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday. The Housing Opportunity and Mortgage Equity (HOME) Act would require Fannie and Freddie to allow borrowers to refinance their mortgages by locking in today's record-low interest rates for longer fixed-term loans. The legislation would affect up to 30 million mortgages held or backed by the two GSEs.