Freddie Mac

Mortgage rates have been on a steady decline since the March 15 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, hitting a new low for 2017, according to Freddie Mac.

The lender relationships resulted from a partnership the government-sponsored enterprise entered into with a non-profit housing group.

More renters are optimistic about their financial situations and expect to stay where they are even if their rents increased.

The average weekly rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.1% from 4.14% despite the release of information about further tapering of the Federal Reserve's mortgage bond holdings.

Freddie Mac has obtained two new insurance policies under its Agency Credit Insurance Structure program.

Private market mortgage insurance companies should better align their buyback and rescission policies with those of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.14% for the week ending March 30, down from last week when it averaged 4.23%.

A bipartisan group of senators told Mel Watt, the regulator who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that he shouldn't allow the companies to recapitalize without congressional approval.

In a bitterly partisan Congress, two senators are making a rare push across party lines to solve a persistent riddle with huge implications for the U.S. housing market: What to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Suspending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regular dividend payments to the Treasury, thus enabling the companies to replenish their reserve capital, would put their future on better footing.