GSEs

Loan limits for most mortgages Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy will exceed $500,000 for the first time ever next year, and the maximum for most high-cost areas will be $765,000.

From product-specific variations in refinancing rates to pockets of depreciation in an otherwise healthy market, here are some details in housing-related data that highlight important underlying trends in the mortgage business.

Private mortgage insurance now has almost matched the government's Federal Housing Administration program in market share, having gained approximately eight percentage points in the past five years, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods found.

For the private-label mortgage-backed securities market to grow, regulators need to focus on collateral management in addition to changes to data disclosure rules.

The former head of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight explains why he thinks the mortgage industry is closer than ever to having a truly paperless process, and weighs in on GSE reform.

Changing or eliminating the exemption to the qualified mortgage rule could harm consumers and put smaller lenders at a disadvantage to the big banks.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has extended its deadline for investor comments on a proposal aimed at better aligning pooling practices for loans in uniform mortgage-backed securities.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is scrapping a capital proposal it released last year and will seek comments on a new plan in 2020.

With economic expansion expected to keep churning through at least the first half of next year, Fannie Mae upwardly revised its single-family mortgage origination outlook for 2019 and 2020.

The Federal Housing Financial Agency's latest report on credit risk transfers shows Fannie Mae continues to slowly improve a multifamily mortgage risk-sharing metric that lags Freddie Mac's by a wide margin.

JPMorgan Chase may be leading the next trend for banks seeking to shift risk away from their mortgage portfolios — if regulators give Wall Street the green light.

And the government-sponsored enterprises could hold initial public offerings in 2021 or 2022 to ensure they hold adequate capital, FHFA Director Mark Calabria said.

The American Mortgage Network name is being revived again, this time for a de novo company that will be 100% employee owned.

Mortgage credit availability increased in October from the previous month, as mortgage lenders increased their product offerings outside the government market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s exemption from the Qualified Mortgage rule is on borrowed time, but a House bill would allow lenders to use the mortgage giants’ guidelines for documenting borrower income.

The two newest private mortgage insurance companies had their best quarters ever for new insurance written, aided by the increase in consumers refinancing with less than 20% home equity.

Though still comparatively strong, consumer confidence in the housing market dropped again in October in response to economic uncertainty and lack of affordability, according to Fannie Mae.

An increase in credit risk transfer activity since 2015 signifies a sea change for private mortgage insurers that may be about to intensify, according to an industry trade group.

The Supreme Court is ready to weigh in on the CFPB’s leadership structure, but both agencies are facing similar constitutional challenges, suggesting a broader impact of any decision.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking comment on a proposal that could pave the way for potential Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac competitors to use the uniform mortgage-backed security structure.