Secondary Market

On Thursday at 10 a.m. EST, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing titled “The Status of the Housing Finance System After Nine Years of Conservatorship,” with Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Mel Watt serving as a witness. With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preparing for change under the current administration, the nine-year mark of the conservatorship of the GSEs could mean big changes.

According to Ellie Mae’s most recent Millennial Tracker for March, millennial homebuyers are moving to the Midwest. Homes in Midwestern states have proven to be more affordable, and Mount Vernon, Illinois was the most popular metropolitan area for homes purchased by millennial buyers. Other popular cities for millennials included Midland, Texas and Odessa, Texas.

The Supreme Court found that the Miami's claims against Bank of America and Wells Fargo fell within the “zone of interests” established by the Fair Housing Act (FHA), which means that Bank of America and Wells Fargo’s practices had led to decreases in tax revenue and increased costs for maintaining foreclosed properties. What are the implications of this finding? We hear from industry lawyers to find out.

A key industry organization has released a white paper outlining a GSE reform plan. The paper details how the reform should occur, how to handle the transition, and the secondary market’s role in it all. The organization hopes to work with legislators on creating a bipartisan reform plan.

A new report shows refinancing is continuing its downward trend, declining for the third month in a row this year. Just 37 percent of all closed loans in March were refinance loans. The report also shows closing times down and FICO scores up, particularly on conventional loans.

A new list reveals the country’s most overleveraged cities—areas where mortgage balances far outweigh home values and median incomes. San Luis Obispo, California, topped the list, with a mortgage debt-to-income ratio of more than 2,000 percent. The market’s historically low mortgage rates are likely to blame for overly ambitious buying.

Low inventory continues to hinder the housing market. Many potential sellers simply aren’t selling out of fear of not being able to afford a new home. Moving may mean losing their low mortgage rates, which were locked in after the crisis.

The April Economic and Housing Outlook report from Fannie Mae paints a steady picture of an economy the GSE expects to give no big surprises. The combination of potential political unrest home and abroad and a smoothly growing housing market are keeping the GSE’s predictions on the safe side. Still, housing is a significant bright spot this year.

Refinances fell in February as mortgage rates rose, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) February 2017 Refinance report. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage in February 2017 was 4.17 percent, up from January 2017’s 4.15 percent.

Despite rising home prices, investors are still flocking to the market—and in droves. Investment home sales grew 4.5 percent last year, while the average median investment-home price jumped 8 percent. Low mortgage rates helped to keep investors in the market as prices climbed.