Housing

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers put Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro on the hot seat Wednesday, criticizing his decision to allow nonprofit community groups to bid on more nonperforming Federal Housing Administration loans.

Freddie Mac is on track to issue mortgage-backed securities via a common securities platform by the end of this year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The scheme is used by borrowers who don't have enough income to qualify for a regular mortgage, so they apply for a higher-rate non-owner-occupied loan.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has opened the door to experimenting with front-end credit risk transfer transactions, but it is not wide enough for some market players.

Fannie and Freddie regulator's first report on NPL sales shows more borrowers avoid foreclosures when their loans are sold to investors.

NPL investors will have to consider principal reductions and offer more sustainable loan modifications.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Home Loan banks of Topeka and San Francisco have signed up to participate in a Mortgage Partnership Finance program that pools and securitizes government-backed loans via Ginnie Mae.

WASHINGTON — Big banks have drastically reduced their share of the Federal Housing Administration market, a massive shift that has big implications, according to new analysis by the American Enterprise Institute.

The market gyrations following the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union have an upside for mortgage lenders, as already-falling interest rates are expected to boost home purchases and refinancing.

For the first time, Ginnie Mae has edged out Freddie Mac as the second largest securitization platform.

WASHINGTON — Industry and consumer groups are calling on the Federal Housing Finance Agency to reduce the loan fees that homebuyers have to pay on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranteed mortgage loans.

Michael Stegmanm President Obama's former point man on housing-finance reform, is taking a job with a think tank that has sought to play a major role in shaping rules for a world without mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — at least in their current form.

Steps to improve credit access, evangelize for down payment programs and offer borrower counseling can stop and even reverse the decline in homeownership.

Fears about repurchase requests made by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac persisted beyond the crisis, but those fears don't match actual repurchase numbers.

An executive from Regions Financial said recently that his bank plans to pad fee income by expanding into syndication of low-income housing credits. The comment shed light on an increasingly competitive business — and reminded the world again how eager banks are for even incremental boosts to revenue.

Fearing that housing finance reform has fallen off the congressional priority list, bank and housing trade groups sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt on Wednesday to draw attention to the issue.

MFA Financial has carved out an impressive niche for itself by buying re-performing and nonperforming residential mortgages and securities.

Several civil rights and community development groups wrote Tuesday to urge the Federal Housing Finance Agency to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency is set to make the sales of nonperforming loans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac more transparent, including providing information on trends at the individual pool level, according to a top agency official.

Many appraisers are charging more or simply refusing to do FHA work, which to their minds now comes close to, if not crossing into, the remit of the home inspector.