Consumer attitudes toward the current condition of the home selling market and future home rental prices may launch purchase activity forward for the rest of 2015, according to Fannie Mae’s June 2015 National Housing Survey. Optimism among consumers about the housing market has reached new survey highs and strong job and income growth are making consumers appear more favorable in the selling market, indicating a possible increase in the existing home supply.
Read More »Millennials Favor Single-Family Homes when Establishing Households
Millennials are leaning toward single-family homes when browsing the housing market. A recent analysis from Fannie Mae titled “Rent or Own, Young Adults Still Prefer Single-Family Homes” determined that householders aged 25-34 were more likely to occupy a single-family home in 2013 than in 2006, during the peak of the last housing cycle.
Read More »CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Receive Pay Raises
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEOs are expected to get multimillion-dollar increases to their paycheck approved by the GSE’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), according to recent 8K Filings (Mayopoulos and Layton) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On June 29, 2015, the FHFA approved changes to the compensation of Fannie Mae’s CEO Timothy J. Mayopoulos, and Freddie Mac’s CEO Donald H. Layton to address recent objectives outlined by the FHFA. Both salary adjustments will go into effect on July 1, 2015.
Read More »Fannie Mae Updates Private Mortgage Insurer Requirements
Fannie Mae released an update to their Private Mortgage Insurer Eligibility Requirements (PMIERs) today regarding the treatment of loans with lender-paid mortgage insurance. The PMIERS are scheduled to go into effect on December 31, 2015. Fannie Mae made updates to the PMIERS FAQs section, eligibility requirements, operational performance scorecard, quarterly portfolio and financial supplement, quarterly portfolio loan level dataset, and their selling guide.
Read More »FHFA Reports that Guarantee Fees Have More Than Doubled Since 2009
Under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) requirements, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is obligated to submit an annual report to Congress concerning Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s guarantee fees. According to the FHFA report, the average level of guarantee fees charged has increased since 2009, when the report began. The guarantee fees are now two-and-a-half times their previous level from 2009 to 2014.
Read More »GSEs Post Positive Net Income for the First Quarter
Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the FHLBanks experienced a substantial increase in their net income for the first quarter. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released the Quarterly Performance Report of the Housing GSEs today analyzing the first quarter earnings and other contributing factors that boosted these GSEs’ incomes.
Read More »Fannie Mae Follows Freddie Mac’s Lead and Offers Underwriter Tools for Free
Earlier this month, Freddie Mac announced that it would offer its Loan Prospector underwriter system free of charge as of June 1, 2015. Today, Fannie Mae matched Freddie Mac’s offer and announced that it will eliminate fees on its Desktop Underwriter automated underwriting system and Desktop Originator tool.
Read More »Economy Expected to Recover From First Quarter Decline
After a decline in economic activity in the first quarter, research has shown that a complete turnaround is expected for the second quarter. Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group found indicators of the U.S. experiencing a moderate rebound in economic growth for the current quarter.
Read More »Five Star Partners With Industry to Launch Mortgage Diversity Council
The AMDC's goal is to drive results that support the application and promotion of the mortgage industry's best diversity practices, and advancing solutions that support initiatives outlined by Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Act–which focuses on minority and inclusion rules that call for greater supply chain diversity and greater diversity in hiring and promoting in the workforce.
Read More »Survey Says Mortgage Lenders Are Showing Increased Optimism for Q2
Mortgage lenders are feeling more positive on purchase mortgage demand, profit margin, and credit standards over the next three months, according to a recent Fannie Mae’s second quarter 2015 Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey. The survey shows that lenders’ near-term outlook for purchase demand and profit margin are reaching higher levels than 2014’s survey results.
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