Originations

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it would heed the recommendation from a report by its Office of the Inspector General released this week.

The homeownership gap between Black and white populations has widened in the years since the Great Recession, putting obstacles in the way of achieving wealth for a large percentage of Americans. How did we get here, and what do the housing and home lending industries need to do to change the current course?

The increased limit on the size of the mortgages the government-sponsored enterprises will be able to buy reflects the year-over-year change in home prices.

However, a tiered pricing system will limit an inflation-driven increase to under 10% for a small group of originators.

The gain of 3 percentage points in 2022 reinforced industry calls for the agency's mortgage insurance premium to be slashed when the current fiscal year federal budgeting process is completed.

The Fed's interest rate hikes are meant to tame inflation, but the secondary impacts on housing could give the central bank a reason to pump the brakes.

The agency expects one in five borrowers to be eligible for the new pricing benefits.

The mortgage market is reeling from the central bank's strategy of raising rates and reducing its holdings of mortgage-backed securities. Lenders face the worst headwinds in more than a decade.