Organization Root Tag

The Federal Housing Finance Agency authorized the government-sponsored enterprises to lend additional support to the mortgage-backed securities market and temporarily allow some flexibility in lending requirements to address coronavirus-related concerns.

While the mortgage market began the year healthy, lenders and borrowers need to prepare for the impacts of the coming coronavirus recession.

The rush to unload mortgage-backed securities signals that a credit meltdown that began with corporate bonds is spreading to other corners of the market.

The coronavirus pandemic has created confusion, delays and uncertainty in housing projects around the Bay Area, despite a crushing need for new homes from an industry deemed essential to work through the regional lock-down.

Flagstar Bancorp, one of the nation's biggest lenders to mortgage providers, has stopped funding most new home loans without government backing.

The Federal Reserve committed Monday to conducting more asset purchases of Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities and announced $300 billion in new financing for credit facilities.

The California Association of Realtors told its members Friday to stop all face-to-face sales activities including showings, listing appointments, open houses and property inspections due to coronavirus concerns.

Accommodations for borrowers affected by the coronavirus pandemic, such as payment delays and fee waivers, are "positive and proactive actions that can manage or mitigate adverse impacts," the regulators said.

For Central Texas' long-sizzling housing market, 2020 is the year the unexpected catastrophic global event — the typical caveat in the region's otherwise ongoing rosy market forecasts — has actually come calling.

Figures released Friday show that the central Ohio housing market remained robust through February, but evidence mounted this week that the coronavirus outbreak is crushing that market along with the rest of the economy.

Consumer sentiment about home price growth during a potential recession flipped because of the coronavirus scare. Now, just one-third expect an increase in value, according to Redfin.

Sales of previously owned homes surged in February to the fastest pace in 13 years, highlighting a flurry of activity in the housing market before the economic repercussions of the coronavirus.

The fallout from the coronavirus could turn a situation in the U.S. where many homes were overvalued into a scenario where prices drop, a Fitch Ratings report said.

Forbearance and loan-modifications programs implemented after the financial crisis left borrowers bewildered and angry. Now the mortgage industry wants to create a common standard for providing relief to homeowners whose livelihoods have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mark Calabria said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are currently equipped to handle elevated delinquencies, but they might need congressional or Federal Reserve help if fallout from the coronavirus persists.

As financial hardships mount with the COVID-19 outbreak, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released their plans for mortgage borrowers impacted by the pandemic.

A number of proposals have been floated for debt payment holidays and other types of moratoria, but such approaches offer solutions that are worse than the problems.

Southern California's 2020 housing market got off to a good start before the pandemic shook the economy in mid-February, CoreLogic figures show, with both prices and home sales up in the six-county region from February 2019 levels.

To address the coronavirus' impact, banks like Truist and Ally and nonbanks like Quicken Loans are assisting communities as well as making adjustments to support their workforce and customers.

Mortgage rates rose sharply this week as originators looked to manage the overwhelming demand from consumers, according to Freddie Mac.