Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

April saw continued growth in American optimism when it comes to housing health, according to results in Fannie Mae's monthly National Housing Survey. More than half of those who took the survey (51 percent, up from 48 percent in March) said they expect home prices to climb in the next year, while 10 percent--flat for the fourth straight month--expect declines. Thirty-five percent expect no changes. April's report marks the first time in survey history that more than half of respondents projected price gains.

Both GSEs suggest without a government guarantee, even a mild downturn could impact their ability to operate and support affordable housing programs.

Fannie Mae's book of business shrank at a compound annualized rate of 1.5 percent in March, closing the quarter with a negative average monthly rate of 1.7 percent. The book totaled $3.177 trillion as of the end of the first quarter. New business acquisitions totaled $71.4 billion, meanwhile, down from $80.2 billion the previous month and $95.3 billion the year before. The last time new business was this low was in June 2012, when acquisitions totaled $70.6 billion.

First-quarter commercial and multifamily loan originations decreased 36 percent quarter-over-quarter but climbed 9 percent over the same period last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported. According to MBA, the overall increase in commercial/multifamily lending volume was driven largely by increases in originations for hotel and multifamily properties, which rose 35 percent and 30 percent, respectively. Compared to last quarter, numbers were down, following the traditional seasonal pattern.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released Tuesday its House Price Index (HPI) for February, revealing home prices rose 0.7 percent month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis. Year-over-year, U.S. house prices were up 7.1 percent. As of February, the U.S. index rested at 196.3, 13.6 percent below its peak in April 2007 and was roughly the same as its October 2004 reading. FHFA's index has not declined on a monthly basis since January 2012.

Commercial and multifamily originations rose 33 percent to $244.2 billion in 2012, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Fannie Mae issued approximately $8.2 billion of multifamily mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in Q1 2013, according to a company release.

After recently reporting predictions of declining originations, FBR Capital Markets & Co., now says the market looks a little brighter, and a resurgence of refinances through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) will contribute to originations volumes this year. While FBR maintains its prediction that origination volume will be lower than the volumes recorded in the second half of last year, the company now suggests originations "will largely be better than the 20-25 percent drop-off we projected late last week."

Fannie Mae's Q4 earnings report shows the mortgage behemoth earned a quarterly net income of $7.6 billion in Q4 and an annual net income of $17.2 billion throughout 2012.

Jobs, consumer confidence, and the stock market have all been on the rise, and the manufacturing and service industries are experience growth "at a healthy pace," according to Fannie Mae.