Fannie Mae

With coronavirus inoculations underway and government stimulus likely to come, the outlook for next year’s housing market and lending environment grew more optimistic in December.

Many have assumed the high court would rule that presidents can fire the Federal Housing Finance Agency director at will. But during oral arguments in a case challenging the agency’s structure, some justices suggested they could stop short of such a decision.

The average per-loan profit margin remains incredibly strong, but the share of senior executives expecting it to fall has risen markedly.

Fannie hasn't completed any credit risk transfers to private investors since the second quarter. Some experts worry the decision — likely spurred by the company’s concerns about a recent capital regulation — could put the mortgage giant on unsteady footing.

President Trump is running out of time to do what hedge funds and other investment firms with big ownership stakes in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have wanted since he took office: put the mortgage giants on a path to exiting government control.

The Mortgage Bankers Association sees rates rising over the next two years, while Fannie Mae expects the average to remain under 3%.

There have been several extensions of the policy since it was put into place as a way to sustain originations amid a wave of forbearance allocated to borrowers with government-related loans.

The sector’s leaders are hoping for better in 2021, while not forgetting lessons learned about the market’s risks in 2020.

The forbearance rate continued recovering in lockstep with employment improvement, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The former FDIC chief oversaw the resolution of hundreds of failed banks during the financial crisis and knows how to build relationships with regulators. Those skills could be crucial in helping Fannie exit federal control.

A number of unknowns about the election and the coronavirus response kept consumer confidence in check, according to Fannie Mae.

A White House-backed effort to free mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control has been cast into doubt by former Vice President Joe Biden’s victory over President Trump.

Mortgage rates are currently the lowest in the history of Freddie Mac’s survey, but sharp differences of opinion persist on whether that will make this a $4-trillion year or not.

One of the top banking regulators during the 2008 financial crisis could have a hand in nudging Fannie Mae out of conservatorship.

The forbearance rate improved to the a level not seen since early April, but getting back to pre-COVID levels will require employment gains or additional government stimulus measures, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

But both fell short under the Duty to Serve goals in rural housing.

Also: Fannie Mae announces imminent implementation of hedge accounting.

The upcoming shift may help to prepare the government-sponsored enterprise for a conservatorship exit by reducing interest-rate volatility in Fannie’s earnings.

A booming housing market contrasts with a slow-to-improve job market, making for lopsided improvement in the number of troubled mortgages, according to numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Existing-home sales reach 14-year high as bidding wars increase across the country.