Origination

While sales shot up from the same time last year, inventory reached its lowest level since Remax started its National Housing Report in 2007.

Origination volume hit a record high in 2020 as more borrowers tapped the equity in their homes and investors and second-home purchasers flocked to the market at levels unseen since before the Great Recession.

The shrinking ranks of appraisers, combined with the record number of loan applications in 2020, created "the perfect storm between supply and demand," which inspired the new payment plan, Incenter's Mark Walser said.

Between the dip in refis and the approach of the spring buying season, mortgage lenders are likely to start paying a little more attention to the purchase market, which is less rate-sensitive.

While the Mortgage Bankers Association hailed the move, some experts say it could negatively impact housing inventory.

With pandemic conditions in place for a second spring, lenders and brokers discuss the indicators that will reveal whether the market is shifting away from the traditional selling season to one that runs hot throughout the year.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's recent allowance of a 3-month extension of CARES Act forbearances stands to upend the trend in plan exits.

While its net income declined annually for the second consecutive year, CEO Hugh Frater touted Fannie Mae’s resiliency in a record year for providing mortgage liquidity.

The offering went down to $14 from an anticipated $19 to $21 per share.

The company purchased $1.1 trillion of single-family mortgages and $83 billion of multifamily loans during 2020.