Housing

FHA loosens condo owner-occupancy rules and pledges to make further changes to facilitate condo financing.

WASHINGTON — Four Federal Home Loan Banks have recruited 74 members to participate in their new Mortgage Partnership Finance jumbo loan program.

The added clarity provided by the Federal Housing Administration's revised single-family handbook comes at the expense of lender flexibility to get loans qualified, including a popular workaround for borrowers with deferred student loan debt.

Fannie Mae was affected by the same derivatives accounting mismatch that led to Freddie Mac's first quarterly loss in four years. But its bulk and balance sheet provided enough cushion for the larger of the two government-sponsored enterprises to post a profit for the third quarter.

Fannie Mae will pay the U.S. Treasury Department $2.2 billion after reporting a net income of $2 billion for the third quarter.

Nationstar will provide servicing-released option for fledging Chicago's MPF Government MPF program.

Luther Burbank Savings, in Santa Rosa, Calif., has established three home loan programs aimed at helping low- and moderate-income borrowers afford to buy homes in nine California counties.

While Texas has been among the strongest housing markets in the country over the past few years, the recent decline in oil and gas prices is affecting its housing market at a time when an overall sluggish economy can't pick up the slack.

Freddie Mac Chief Executive Donald Layton insisted Tuesday that the government-sponsored enterprise showed "very strong fundamentals" in the third quarter, despite reporting a $501 million loss due to an accounting mismatch with its use of derivatives.

Freddie Mac posted a third quarter loss of $501 million, its first quarterly loss in four years, but the government-sponsored enterprise will not request a draw from the U.S. Treasury.

Though the deadline for compliance is more than two years away, lenders are already warning that they do not have enough time to comply with a new rule that requires institutions to report additional data to regulators on home loans.

The administration apparently intends to leave office without addressing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's capital bases and therefore the tight credit conditions.

The report from independent auditors will likely show that FHA remains below its 2% statutory minimum capital ratio, but HUD officials and outside observers still expect it to show major improvement over last year.

California’s Richmond Community Foundation will pursue a new social impact bond vehicle with a $3 million revenue bond private placement it hopes to close next month with the local Mechanics Bank.

Department of Housing and Urban Development staff are working on a revision to the agency's condo rule and "we anticipate a rulemaking process," the HUD Secretary Julian Castro said this week.

Rep. Paul Ryan’s expected election as House Speaker this week may ultimately prove a boon for the banking industry — especially for critics of the Dodd-Frank Act and the current mortgage finance system.

The financial condition of the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance fund has improved “significantly” over the past year, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro predicted late Monday.

Lawmakers and industry groups are urging FHA to update condo rules to provide more homeownership opportunities for first-time buyers.

Mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial failed four servicing tests in the second half of 2014. Joseph A. Smith Jr., the monitor of the $25 billion national mortgage settlement, said the Atlanta servicer was “beginning to show progress” in complying with terms of the 2012 agreement.

The head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned software vendors that they face new scrutiny from regulators for causing mortgage lenders to miss the TRID-compliance deadline. He was vague about how far the CFPB might go, but many in the industry are prone to fear the worst.