Freddie Mac

Borrowers will be able to take out a substantially bigger home loan backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac next year, thanks to a 6.8% increase in home prices nationwide.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's final guidelines for evaluating "duty to serve" activities create new ways for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to get extra credit for going above mandatory levels of lending to underserved markets.

Mortgage rates moved lower this week, but strong economic data and comments by the outgoing Federal Reserve chair left many anticipating higher rates, according to Freddie Mac.

The financial services industry has cheered a proposed reduction in the corporate tax rate, but a lower rate could force Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to write down assets, increasing the odds that the companies will need Treasury support.

New Residential Investment Corp. is planning to purchase Shellpoint Partners in the first half of next year for $190 million with an additional earn-out over the next three years.

Conforming loan limits for mortgages bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will increase for the second consecutive year in response to the rapid rise in home prices, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

Nonprofit agencies looking to purchase unsubsidized affordable housing properties can use a new impact gap financing program from Freddie Mac to fund the acquisition.

The Show Me State passed legislation enabling residential and commercial PACE financing in 2010; however, Renovate America only started funding assessments through the Missouri Clean Energy District three months ago, in August 2017.

Sometimes reaching underserved borrowers takes experimenting with changes to the mortgage finance system. That's why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are working with lenders to test innovative loan products that meet borrowers' evolving needs.

Mortgage rates ticked down this week after previously hitting their highest level since July, according to Freddie Mac.

The White House and congressional GOP leaders are eyeing a tight window between tax reform passage and the 2018 midterms to pass housing finance reform. And with key policymakers readying their exit, the effort could be the most concerted push yet.

Mortgage rates moved to their highest mark since July and the 10-year Treasury yield ticked up 6 basis points, according to Freddie Mac.

That’s an about-face from the bank’s previous transaction, completed in October, which was backed by fixed-rate mortgages, nearly half of which were underwritten to standards for purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Mortgage rates fell slightly across the board after the release of the Republican Party tax plan and the nomination of a new Federal Reserve chairman.

So long as the current monetary regime survives, homeowners — present and potential — can expect higher average prices interspersed with wild rides up and down.

Lenders selling loans through Freddie Mac's system experienced access difficulties Monday afternoon, when the government-sponsored enterprise sent out an alert to lenders about the problem.

Growth in loans with higher debt-to-income ratios is reviving focus on a regulatory exemption for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other federal agencies that back mortgages.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency must set fees equal to the cost of capital that private banks hold against similar risk, not just the amount of capital that Fannie and Freddie think are right for themselves.

Mortgage rates were unchanged or up slightly this week even as the 10-year Treasury yield retreated from its recent gains, according to Freddie Mac.

Mark Calabria, the chief economic adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, said the administration is focused for now on more pressing issues than GSE reform, including addressing housing damage from recent hurricanes.