FHFA

Although housing costs are still far higher than levels from a year ago, monthly data showed prices declined across five U.S. regions in June, and a separate survey indicated almost one-third of sellers had recently slashed prices.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants to change some of the government-sponsored enterprises' targets in ways that could create more low-income rental units as higher costs squeeze tenants.

A significant divergence between the FHFA and the Ginnie Mae issuer rules could greatly disrupt the secondary market — and that is precisely the outcome that now faces the mortgage industry, writes the chairman of Whalen Global Advisors.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are mum on whether a temporary solution from Florida officials to support downgraded home insurance firms will pass muster for the enterprises' underwriting exceptions.

In actuality, the law establishes the procedure for setting the maximum limits; in principle, the director could set the limits below these maximum levels, argues a former principal economist for the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

While housing costs were still up nationwide, Pacific states saw the most rapid pace of moderation on an annual basis, a Federal Housing Finance Agency study found.

Although the Federal Housing Finance Agency did move ahead with a controversial upfront charge aimed at covering commingled securities risk, it also committed to exploring alternatives that would address concerns from trade groups.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is moving forward with the charge but also pledged to ensure it doesn’t undermine the uniform security’s advantages the way trade groups say it could.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency also noted limits to its authority in efforts to free the government-sponsored enterprises from conservatorship in its report to Congress.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will need to submit annual capital plans to the agency. The move follows the introduction of new public disclosure requirements through a separate action last week.

Talk'uments already enables English and Spanish speakers to understand their documents and will soon add Vietnamese, Korean and Tagalog.

The system may be good for the banks that own it, but it is not meeting its public mission.

The government-sponsored enterprises will start releasing information similar to what large banks already do, starting in the first quarter of 2023.

Calls for “reform” in times of high liquidity ignore the scalability of the system, and the need to have it around in times of trouble.

Moving towards bank-like capital standards for all independent mortgage banks that sell loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could limit consumer access to mortgage credit, writes Community Home Lenders Association executive director Scott Olson.

If lenders get to choose the credit-scoring model, the Big Three credit bureaus will likely set a price for VantageScore that is super low, so low that FICO cannot compete, just as Uber decimated the taxicab industry by setting prices artificially low until the taxicabs were gone, writes an attorney at the National Consumer Law Center.

If put into force, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s plan will severely impact the working capital and profitability of IMBs, and reduce volumes in the industry, Whalen argues.

These standalone properties make up nearly half of all rental units and the financing of them by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should reflected in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's affordable housing goal calculations, writes Manchester.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have used the classic FICO score since 2003.

Its modifications aim to help two government-sponsored mortgage investors manage risk and rebuild capital while retaining enough flexibility to fulfill their affordable housing missions, said the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s acting director, Sandra Thompson.