The Associated Press reported today that, if Congress has its way, the two government-controlled mortgage guarantee entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — could close down, resulting in higher mortgage rates. The House and Senate have separate bills that would phase out both Fannie and Freddie over a five-year period. But while the House […]
Mortgage News Daily recently reported that four members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee have introduced legislation that would control how the increase in guarantee fees levied by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are used and when the stock in the two companies can be approved for sale. The Jumpstart GSE Reform […]
Economists at Fannie Mae recently released their first economic forecast of 2013. The survey, titled “Transition to Normal,” describes where the direction the housing market is going will be affected by economic policy decisions being made and yet to be made by the federal government. The forecast states that the Federal Reserve will not raise […]
With a $1.3 billion tax break on write-offs of mortgage debt set to expire at the end of the year, homeowners’ and mortgage industry advocates are urging Congress to the tax break, even as lenders continue to cut loan principal in order to aid borrowers who continue to struggle making payments. The Mortgage Debt Relief […]
The Treasury Department recently released a report showing that, as of June 30, more than 1 million temporary and permanent loan modifications have failed since the start of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) took effect three years ago. According to the report, had the larger servicers were better-equipped to handle the crushing caseload of […]
The number of mortgage applications fell 6.5% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA also reported that refinancing activity also fell by 6.5% to 64.9% of total applications last week, down from 65.7% the week before. The four-week moving average for all mortgage applications was down 2.5%. Adjustable-rate mortgages made up 5.5% […]
The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales in December jumped 12.3% from the previous month. The NAR recently reported a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.28 million units in December, compared to the upwardly revised figure of 4.70 million units in November. However, the December 2010 figures are 2.9% below the December 2009 figure […]
Housing Wire recently reported that mortgage applications to lenders fell 2.3% for the week ending December 10, marking the third straight week of declines. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the refinance index also declined for the fifth consecutive week by 0.7%. However, the refinancing share of the mortgage activity grew to 76.7% of total […]
Bloomberg recently reported that mortgage-bond yields that guide home-loan rates have reached their highest levels in four months, suggesting that borrowing costs may rise from record lows. As of 9:30 Monday morning, Fannie Mae’s current-coupon 30-year fixed-rate mortgage bonds went up to 3.71%, tracking 10-year Treasury notes today as those yields rose from 3.64%. This […]
Today’s Wall Street Journal reported that it will cost taxpayers another $154 billion to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac afloat under the most likely scenario for home prices. But if the economy slides back into a recession and the housing market worsens, then the price tag to the taxpayers can be higher than that. […]