GSEs

It's a good idea to raise the asset threshold at which financial institutions are automatically designated as systemically important financial institutions. But Sen. Richard Shelby's proposed legislation for regulatory relief does require one crucial change.

New residential construction surged in April to the highest level in more than seven years, indicating the industry regained its footing after the soft patch at the beginning of the year.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has formed three new partnerships in an effort to provide new benefits to members.

Politicians and regulators need to get with the times — for the sake of the housing market and its participants.

The regulatory relief package coming before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday would force the Federal Housing Finance Agency to withdraw the contentious proposal within 30 days.

As major banks have pulled back from originating Federal Housing Administration single-family loans, nonbank mortgage lenders have become bigger players in the Ginnie Mae program.

Confidence among homebuilders unexpectedly fell in May, reflecting cooling sales and slower buyer traffic, a sign the residential real estate market will take time to gain momentum.

Nomura Holdings Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group should pay $806 million in damages to government-owned mortgage companies over misleading securities pitches, a federal housing agency told a judge.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency provided more details Friday about key features for the new single security that will be issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Builder Application Survey reported that applications for new-home purchases rose by just 0.3% in April.

The multifamily market is heating up as apartment owners and investors refinance in a rush to lock in low interest rates, but caps on government-backed lending programs are threatening to disrupt momentum.

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings president and chief operating officer Harold Lewis has announced his plans to retire and resign his posts with the company, effective May 31.

Lenders are heading into the MBA's Secondary Market Conference with stronger origination volumes and secondary market relationships than last year. But how long will these volumes last and how can the industry make the most of them?

Fannie Mae has created a new financing option for multifamily properties looking to undergo energy- and water-cost saving improvements.

Other regional Federal Home Loan Banks are lining up so their members can securitize FHA and VA loans through Chicago FHLB conduit.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 3.85% this week, up from 3.8% last week and the highest since mid-March.

Mortgage origination activity slowed in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2014, but showed improvement on a year-over-year basis.

The number of mortgage loan products offered increased in April, driven by lenders adding the FHA's 203K home improvement program, VA offerings and jumbo products to their mix.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp.'s net earnings rose in the first quarter to $13.3 million, more than seven times higher than its income of $1.8 million during the same period in 2014.

More lenient capital requirements than expected from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were good news for two legacy private mortgage insurers, but another is facing a bigger deficit than initially thought.