GSEs

After a run-up in the latter half of last year, delinquencies on mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac look fairly stable for the time being.

As the House Financial Services Committee prepares to hold a hearing Thursday on oversight of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the exact focus of the hearing remains somewhat in flux.

Lower corporate tax rates weakened the incentive for developers to use the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which could prompt affordable housing construction to fall by as much as 40% by 2022, according to data aggregator Reis.

Increased competition among non-qualified mortgage lenders leading to lower starting interest rates for borrowers should result in fewer of these loans prepaying within one year of origination, said Standard & Poor's.

A stronger economy, easing house price appreciation and slightly improving inventory conditions aren't enough to push up home sales this year, according to Freddie Mac.

Fannie Mae will add an appraisal waiver option for mortgages in regions that its Duty to Serve program designates as high-needs rural areas, but only if home inspections are completed instead.

The CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are stepping down because the job they were hired to do — return the GSEs to profitability — is done. But attracting top-flight candidates to lead the mortgage giants into a new phase may not be easy.

Brian Brooks, the mortgage giant's general counsel, is leaving this week to head the legal team at Coinbase.

Accessing a mortgage applicants' data from a direct source goes a long ways toward shortening the origination process, according to 96% of mortgage underwriters responding to a recent CoreLogic survey.

While new-home construction and sales should rise in the next 18 months, next year's mortgage origination volume estimate was cut slightly as the economy is expected to slow down soon, said Fannie Mae.