Secondary markets

Home valuation professionals have had mixed feelings about automation out of concern that some forms could result in less accurate assessments.

The government-sponsored enterprise also unveiled two new tranche slices for investors to purchase.

Average per-loan charges last year were little changed despite the addition of a new temporary fee for refinancing. Those for loan-to-value ratios above 80%, home-purchase financing and adjustable-rate mortgages only rose slightly.

The mortgage giant’s net worth of $42 billion at the end of the quarter was more than double what it was a year earlier. CEO Hugh Frater said that financial strength puts the company on better footing to support affordable housing goals outlined by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The combined refinance and purchase total was nearly double the average quarterly volume logged before the pandemic, the company said in its third-quarter earnings call.

The company will return to selling pieces of its credit exposure to private investors during the last three months of the year, but is still evaluating its strategy for 2022.

The home purchase target for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would set a new 10% benchmark for qualified single-family lending in census tracts that meet certain demographic and income targets.

DeVito takes over on June 1, replacing interim CEO Mark Grier, who returns to his seat on the government-sponsored agency's board.

Democratic senators seek to block the "true lender" regulation, which they say lets national banks sell loans to lenders who then avoid state usury caps. Republicans say overturning the rule would restrict access to credit.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has moved ahead with an earlier proposal to postpone the full adoption of the qualified-mortgage ability-to-repay rule, citing a need to maximize borrowers' credit access.