Servicing

Sales of single-family existing homes rose 4.4% in February from the previous month and sales may be stabilizing as the spring selling season begins. The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing SF homes rose from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.05 million in January to 4.23 million in February. The median price of a home sold in February was $164,600, up $400 from January. However, the median house price is down 15% from a year ago. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun noted that foreclosures and short sales make up 40% to 45% of sales. "Our analysis shows that distressed homes typically are selling for 20% less than the normal market price, and this naturally is drawing down the overall median price." Meanwhile, sales of condominiums and co-ops jumped 11.4% in February, compared to the previous month.

A survey conducted for Move Inc., Los Angeles, found that 23% of adults plan to purchase a home in the next five years, and more than half of them (53.5%) are first time homebuyers. Despite today's challenging market conditions, 18.1% of adults plan to buy a home this year in order to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit recently passed by Congress in the administration's economic stimulus package. Another finding was that 18.9% of respondents plan to take advantage of the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention plan. Just over half of the respondents, 52%, said they are concerned they or someone they know will face foreclosure in the next six to 12 months. In the past 12 months, 21% of respondents with a mortgage contacted a lender to restructure their loan. Half (10.6%) of those homeowners that contacted their lender experienced success while 5% still await an answer. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of adults reduced spending in the past year in order to make monthly mortgage or rent payments, mostly by cutting discretionary spending such as vacations, entertainment and eating out (75%), personal items such as clothing, personal care and personal luxuries (72%) and energy costs such as gasoline and utilities (71.6%). "It's not all doom and gloom. We found Americans are optimistic about homeownership despite concerns," said Move Inc., chief executive Steve Berkowitz. "They're doing everything they can, from reducing discretionary spending to pay their mortgages, to planning to take advantage of the administration's new program to stop foreclosures. They're also working with lenders to modify loans. Even more impactful are numbers that show interest in home ownership is strong as nearly a quarter of all adults plan to buy a home in the next five years."

The National Credit Union Administration seized control of the nation's two largest corporate credit unions on Friday due to growing losses on their private label mortgage-backed securities. NCUA placed into conservatorship Western Corporate FCU, San Dimas, Calif. which provides services to 1,022 regular credit unions, and U.S. Central FCU, Lenexa, Kan., which serves as a banker to both WesCorp and 25 other corporate credit unions. Friday's action came just hours after U.S. Central released financial figures for February showing that unrealized losses on its securities rose by $1.2 billion, to $10.5 billion, with almost all of the new losses accruing on private-label mortgage-backed securities. The unprecedented government takeover came after NCUA received an independent review of the investments in U.S. Central, WesCorp. and the 25 other corporates conducted by Pimco Investors. Pimco found that the corporates' current holdings could result in losses of more than $16 billion, which would wipe out the capital of every corporate CU. The Pimco report runs 4,500 pages. According to The Credit Union Journal, regulators are discussing a plan to combine the distressed corporate investments into a single "bad bank," while trying to rescue the remnants of the corporate credit union system, which provides critical investment and payment system services to the nation's 8,000 regular credit unions. U.S. Central holds $34 billion in credit union funds and WesCorp $24 billion.

The Treasury Department on Monday unveiled two separate programs for the removal of more than $500 billion in toxic private-label mortgage-backed securities and bad real estate loans from the balance sheets of financial institutions. Both initiatives involve the participation of private investors willing to partner with the federal government, which is putting up financing and 50% of the capital for the these public-private partnerships. Under the new effort, federally insured depositories can sell troubled real estate loans into pools that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will auction off to the private investors. Treasury and private capital will provide equity financing and the FDIC will provide guaranteed debt financing issued by the public-private investment funds. The second program is designed to remove formerly AAA-rated residential and commercial MBS from the balance sheets of banks and other financial institutions. However, Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board are still working the details of this program, which will provide non-recourse loans to investors willing to purchase these "legacy securities" and employ a long-term buy and hold strategy. "Haircuts will be determined at a later date and will reflect the riskiness of the assets provided as collateral. Lending rates, minimum loan sizes and loan duration have not yet been determined. Asset managers selected by the Treasury and FDIC will oversee the public-private investment funds."

The rapid growth in FHA originations during 2008 has many concerned the federal mortgage insurance program is headed for trouble, but so far agency officials say they have not seen deterioration in loan performance, even when it comes to borrowers missing their first or second payments. "We have not seen any increase in early payment defaults," said Meg Burns, director of Federal Housing Administration single-family program development. FHA data and analysis show that only 0.6% of the over one million FHA loans originated in the first nine months of 2008 experienced first or second payment defaults, down from 0.8% in the same period in 2007. In addition, the default rate on FHA loans where borrowers miss three of the first six payment months has declined slightly. Early defaults generally are caused by income, martial or illness problems and they don't necessarily lead to foreclosures or claims on the FHA insurance fund. "There really is no correlation there," Ms. Burns said.

Fitch Ratings has cut the insurer financial strength ratings at MGIC Investment Corp. and The PMI Group to 'BBB' and 'BB,' respectively. For Milwaukee-based MGIC, the cut "reflects the loss expectations and capital constraints facing MGIC as an independent mortgage insurance company," Fitch said. "In addition to limited capital markets access, MGIC has few remaining assets that could be monetized to increase its capital resources (as the company did in 2008 with the sale of its interest in Sherman Financial LLC) and will largely have to rely on current capital resources to satisfy ongoing MI claims." Fitch said PMI requested that the rating agency withdraw its ratings and will no longer provide it with non-public data. "PMI has extremely limited access to the capital markets and, as a result, will largely have to rely on current capital resources to satisfy ongoing MI claims," Fitch said. Both MIs have posted large losses in the past year and their shares trade for $1 or less.

The price gap between homes that sell as REO and the rest of the market is widening, according to a new study by Lender Processing Services. Prior to 2007 the difference in prices was slim, said LPS, a mortgage software company based in Jacksonville, Fla. Using a home price index that it developed, LPS conducted a study of changes in regional home prices between 2007 and 2008 in the nation's top housing markets. "In general, markets that experienced sharp drops in home prices in 2008 also saw deeper REO discounts," said LPS senior vice president Nima Nattagh. The largest drop in prices of REO sales were found in Riverside County, Calif. In 2008 home prices fell 28% there compared to 2007. However, when REO sales are factored in, prices fell by 34%. Home prices declined by 29% during 2008 in Phoenix where analysts cite significant overbuilding. When REO sales were excluded from the analysis, though, the price decline was less severe at 19% year over year. The gap between home prices with and without REO sales was smallest in Seattle, New York and Cambridge, Mass. While the Western states and Michigan and Florida saw double-digit declines in home prices, other regions have fared much better. But further deterioration in the housing market will most likely deepen the REO discount levels in these markets, LPS said.

The Government National Mortgage Association is poised to play a role in easing the warehouse lending liquidity crisis but does not think it will be a direct lender.In an interview with the American Banker GNMA president Joe Murin said the agency cannot become involved in warehouse lending without a change to its government charter but noted that "we certainly could help administer a program." He said one option is for GNMA to take possession of loans three days after they close and fund, instead of the 15 to 45 days it typically takes to put the mortgages in securitization pools. Depositories that hold warehouse loans on their books face a 100% risk weighting on such debts until the mortgages can be taken off the lines. Recently two of the largest players in warehouse lending—the PNC-owned National City and Guaranty Federal Bank—made plans to exit the business.

The Federal Reserve Board has expanded its new TALF lending facility to help cash strapped mortgage servicers that pay advances to MBS investors to cover missed payments by delinquent homeowners. Starting in April, the Fed's Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility will start accepting servicing advances as collateral in asset-backed securities. Details for the first TALF funding for mortgage servicing advances will be released March 24. "Accepting ABS backed by mortgage servicing advances should improve the servicers' ability to work with homeowners to prevent avoidable foreclosures," the Fed said. Scott Talbott, senior vice president for the Financial Services Roundtable, welcomed the Fed's initiative. "This will help restore liquidity in all areas of the mortgage market," Mr. Talbott said.

While the gap between REO sales prices and the rest of the market was very slim prior to 2007, a new study from Lender Processing Services, Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla., shows that gap is growing at an accelerating pace. Using LPS' newly developed, proprietary home price index that can include or exclude real estate owned sales, the company conducted a study of changes in regional home prices between 2007 and 2008 in the nation's top housing markets. "In general, markets that experienced sharp drops in home prices in 2008 also saw deeper REO discounts," said Nima Nattagh, senior vice president, LPS Applied Analytics. The largest drop in prices of REO sales were observed in Riverside County, Calif. Home prices fell by 28% here in 2008 versus 2007; however, including REO sales, prices fell by 34% when compared to 2007. Home prices declined by 29% during 2008 in Phoenix where analysts cite significant overbuilding. When REO sales were excluded from the analysis, though, the price decline was less severe at 19% year over year. The gap between home prices with and without REO sales was smallest in Seattle, New York and Cambridge, Mass. While the Western states and Michigan and Florida saw double-digit declines in home prices, other regions have fared much better. But further deterioration in the housing market will most likely deepen the REO discount levels in these markets, the study said.