Servicing

Despite recovery concerns at least one insider sees the glass as half full in the mortgage market.Real estate risk exposure factors affecting mortgage lenders, servicers and investors right now remain the same.

Regulatory changes such as the pending definition of what consists of a qualified residential mortgage have increased perceived and real mortgage investment risk.Meanwhile, the Dodd-Frank Act requirement—which could be described as a call to arms so the mortgage industry gets back to what used to be good old fashioned underwriting standards—is to some extent open for discussion.

One consequence of the prolonged financial crisis is the amelioration of its business structures and processing through new legislation and lessons learned on the ground. And investors are at the forefront of efforts trying to ensure that potential outcome becomes a reality.

Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Denver, is selling a $334 million package of mortgage servicing rights tied to Government National Mortgage Association loans. The identity of the seller was not disclosed.

Thanks to rising interest rates the value of mortgage servicing rights has increased roughly 15% since the end of the third quarter, according to Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Denver.

A Fitch Ratings’ update of U.S. RMBS Servicers’ Loss Mitigation and Modification Efforts report finds loan modifications are “on a steady decline” as only 36,500 modifications were completed in December 2010, raising concerns about how many distressed U.S. mortgage borrowers will get a final response and by when.

The Obama administration should speed up the sale of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolios to reduce taxpayer risk and capture "unrealized gains" in the assets, according to Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J.

Who will take on the catastrophic risk associated with making mortgages, a risk that has flared twice since 1989 and has caused the taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars in losses?

Fannie Mae provided $17 billion in mortgages for multifamily properties in 2010, down from $20 billion in 2009.

Altos Research has launched an automated valuation model that uses current real estate listings to forecast future housing valuation trends.