Fitch

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.

The delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities ended 2019 at its lowest point in nearly 11 years, aided by increased issuance and the resolution of legacy transactions, Fitch Ratings said.

Goldman Sachs is sponsoring a $1.33 billion bond offering backed by commercial mortgages, in the first rated conduit deal of the year.

The United Kingdom’s legal separation of retail deposit-taking from risker activities prevents banks from transferring domestic earnings internally, and the trapped capital has become the catalyst for a mortgage price war.

Fitch may use a new Structured Finance Association framework aimed at prioritizing only riskier TRID errors to assign grades to loans sold into residential mortgage-backed securities, reducing rating-related compliance burdens.

The recent run of lower interest rates may bode well for today's commercial mortgage-backed securities, unless it's undermined by an increase in leverage, according to Fitch Ratings.

Still overvalued — that's the latest assessment of the Dallas housing market by one of Wall Street's big ratings firms.

The use of state housing finance agency down payment assistance programs is part of the solution to address the growing affordable housing gap, a Fitch Ratings report said.

Trustees are concerned about obtaining proper consents from legacy residential mortgage-backed securities investors in a timely fashion in order to make the switch from Libor to another index, Fitch Ratings said.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's corporate debt ratings shouldn't be downgraded in the near term as a result of the Treasury Department's to-be-released government-sponsored enterprise reform plan, Fitch Ratings said.

Life insurance companies increased their mortgage investments to levels higher than historical norms, creating more potential danger for their portfolios in the event of a real estate downturn, a Fitch Ratings report said.

Some commercial mortgage-backed securities due next year could have difficulty refinancing due to the recent Ridgecrest earthquake, according to a new Morningstar report.

The post-crisis operational improvements at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have resulted in stronger mortgage loan performance, a Fitch Ratings report said.

Mortgages using alternative documentation like bank statements for underwriting performed stronger than expected, but uncertainty remains about their default rates in stressed environments, Fitch Ratings said.

While Ada and Canyon County, Idaho, home prices keep setting records, a credit rating service warns that Idaho home prices are among the most overvalued in the nation.

Fitch Ratings is considering making adjustments to property valuations used in sizing up private residential mortgage securitizations to better account for possible exposure to uninsured, catastrophic risks.

Delinquencies associated with the government-sponsored enterprises high loan-to-value ratio programs that target low-to-moderate income homebuyers are slightly better than expected, at least early on, according to Fitch.

Private-label mortgage securitizations with variable servicing fee arrangements could become more common going forward as issuers look to increase investor cash flow while reducing the loan servicer's economic exposure, Fitch said.

Commercial mortgages placed into special servicing grew last year, but default and foreclosure dollar volume fell as legacy loan resolutions outpaced newly distressed loans, according to Fitch Ratings.

The commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate increased for the first time since October lead by a 31-basis-point rise in late payments for loans secured by retail properties, Fitch Ratings said.