GSEs

Home purchase lending hit its highest point since 2007 as low interest rates and growing consumer confidence continue to support the housing market.

Regardless of who wins in November, the mortgage industry will see significant changes, but Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would take very different approaches to housing and regulatory issues, said Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO David Stevens.

Mortgage rates moved slightly lower for the week, helping to spur ongoing refinance activity, according to Freddie Mac.

Though the Federal Housing Finance Agency has yet to provide full details about its new refinancing program to be launched next year, some analysts and industry observers are already convinced it will have only a limited impact.

Affiliates of Goldman Sachs, Lone Star Funds and Neuberger Berman are among the winners of Fannie Mae’s latest nonperforming loans auction.

So long as government-backed entities are guaranteeing 90% of originations, competition that could result in greater mortgage options for borrowers is being stifled. But a return of private capital to the market, possibly through securitization, could fix that.

Over the next 40 years, the rate of homeownership is likely to continue to decline further as changes in demographic trends, increased regulation and stagnant incomes make that dream harder to achieve.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can still manage their risk exposure even after reducing or eliminating "loan level price adjustment" fees.

The slow start to Fifth Third's 3%-down mortgage illustrates some of the logistical challenges with such programs, which are on the rise across the industry.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has released the details of its next nonperforming residential loan sale through the Distressed Asset Stabilization Program.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquency rates remained low during the second quarter, although two lender categories reported an increase, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage rates moved slightly higher in reaction to Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen's Aug. 26 speech, but still remain near their all-time record lows, according to Freddie Mac.

In an unusual move, Fannie Mae has obtained credit ratings for eight previously unrated tranches of five Connecticut Avenue Securities transactions issued between 2012, when the program was launched, and 2015.

Home purchase applications are at their highest level in almost five years but a level that is still considered weak, according to the Freddie Mac Multi-Indicator Market Index.

The National Association of Realtors is urging policymakers to implement reforms meant to qualify more condominium buyers for Federal Housing Administration loans.

The mortgage application forms from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should make for stronger loans, according to an analyst at Moody's Investors Service.

Equifax and TransUnion have stopped selling traditional credit reports, forcing lenders to buy their new, more expensive "trended" data reports that mortgage investors aren't using yet.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced the extension of the Home Affordable Refinancing Program through September 2017 as well as the creation of a new program for those with high loan-to-value ratios.

Mortgage rates held steady from the previous week, while still remaining near their all-time record lows, according to Freddie Mac.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking to make it easier for Federal Home Loan Banks to accept certain kinds of collateral for advances.