FHA

While most single-family Federal Housing Administration lending is somewhat insulated from the government shutdown, the impasse is doing more to hurt funding in niches like nursing home loans and reverse mortgages.

Mortgage applications for new homes declined again as worries over the stock market and the global economy outweighed lower interest rates for potential buyers, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Purchase mortgage application volume reached its highest level in almost nine years as homebuyers took advantage of what might be a fleeting window for lower interest rates.

With a number of affected borrowers, Freedom Mortgage has assembled a team dedicated to providing assistance for homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments.

Many federal agencies have been closed for more than three weeks, making it the longest shutdown in U.S. history. With no end in sight, here's how it's affecting banks, credit unions and mortgage lenders.

The American Bankers Association has called for an end to the government shutdown, saying it has prevented customers from securing loans and threatens even more damage.

A lapse in rental-assistance funding, an understaffed FHA and other effects of the government shutdown are causing real harm to families, said the chair of the House Financial Services Committee.

Residential lender and Warburg Pincus portfolio company Newfi Lending is helping tackle upfront costs for homebuyers with the launch of its 2-1 Buydown Program.

The agency wants mortgage servicers to extend special forbearance plans to those affected by the partial government shutdown and evaluate borrowers for loss-mitigation options.

Consumers reacted in a big way to falling interest rates as mortgage applications increased 23.5% from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The government shutdown is not just affecting federal agency employees' ability to make their mortgage or rent payments, it could take them out of the home buying market, Zillow said.

As the government shutdown enters its third week, mortgage servicers are activating the response plans they normally use during hurricanes and wildfires to assist federal workers who may have trouble paying their mortgages.

Borrowers and financial institutions may be feeling the strain from reduced operations at the FHA and IRS, which has suspended the release of certain income documentation during the budget impasse.

Despite mortgage rates continuing their two month downslide, applications decreased 9.8% from two weeks ago due to market uncertainty, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

With its bolstered fundraising cache, the Mortgage Bankers Association Political Action Committee should hold an increased influence over the industry's policy and regulation issues in the coming year.

Home retention actions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the first three quarters of 2018 already eclipsed 2016 and 2017 while forfeitures kept declining, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Many servicers expect their Federal Housing Administration mortgage portfolios to grow in the next year or two, and that increase could coincide with an uptick in delinquencies, warns Altisource Portfolio Solutions.

Mortgage applications decreased 5.8% from one week earlier, although rates fell during the period to their lowest point in three months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The current deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Pam Patenaude, will step down in January.

The Federal Housing Administration mortgage loan limit will increase by approximately 7% for next year, mirroring the rise for conforming loans.