Finance

Households shelled out 5% more to upgrade their properties compared to a year ago, but volume will decline by almost 8% over the next 12 months, according to Harvard researchers.

While the company's long-term issuer default rating has slipped a little, affiliates of Blackstone that have a higher one back the reverse mortgage player.

Unlike some banks that reported earlier, the subsidiary of PlainsCapital Bank saw its gain on sale decrease from the second quarter.

Questions about how it will be implemented and whether the rest of the market will follow the agency's lead make the expense involved difficult to estimate.

While on the positive side, Fannie Mae CEO Priscilla Almodovar said the loan defect rate has dropped 75%, she and Freddie Mac President Michael Hutchins noted that they're closely examining disruptive servicing transfers and standards for multifamily properties.

While the latest change applies specifically to COVID forbearances, the agency is looking at more options for alternatives that can be offered on a regular basis, Director Sandra Thompson said.

The government-related loan buyer also is looking into whether there are ways to offer options other than buybacks in some instances, said Senior Vice President Sonu Mittal, head of single-family acquisitions.

An analysis of previously released S&P data suggests the Federal Housing Finance Agency's initiative would have mixed impacts on the price of loans and eligibility that vary by individual.

JPMorgan Chase now tops Wells Fargo in third-party servicing, origination volume and on-balance-sheet home loans, according to company filings.

The Pittsburgh-based regional bank expects to save $325 million next year as it reduces its staff by 4%. Executives said the cuts are necessary because revenue has fallen amid a surge in interest rates and a decline in loan volumes.

US 30-year yields dropped seven basis points to 4.79%, unwinding part of Thursday's surge that was driven by a somewhat disappointing inflation reading and a weak bond auction.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development affiliate is making it easier to repackage securities backed exclusively by these mortgages.

Numbers the Federal Housing Finance Agency just reported for 2022 were the third lowest since the program began, and this year's probably won't be high either.

The shape it takes could have implications for how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac price loans for nonbanks and depositories.

Should the Federal Reserve step back into the market and restart their loan purchase activity?

The share of companies experimenting with artificial intelligence has increased, but full deployment is another matter, a Fannie Mae survey found.

The transaction was scheduled to be completed in the first half of this year, and a "substantial first close" was already announced in February.

Lenders could gain efficiencies from advances in artificial intelligence as the related development of alternative data potentially opens up the market to more borrowers, but hurdles exist.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a mortgage report based on statistics from 2022 and is looking for ways to simplify the refinance process while considering changes to mortgage servicing standards.

Reluctance to eliminate staff with the hope that business will turn around has been a driver of the multiple quarter stretch of industry losses, its latest study of mortgage lenders found.