Secondary Market

Seniors are sitting on trillions in untapped equity. A recent report noted that retirement-aged homeowners saw an increase of 2.8 percent in home equity, or $170.7 billion, in Q4 2016. This puts their total housing wealth at $6.2 trillion. However, many seniors are still unwilling to tap into this wealth.

According to a Progress Report released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency on Wednesday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have made significant movement on goals set forth by FHFA in the 2016 Scorecard. The report notes credit risk transfer programs that reduce taxpayer risk and improved access to credit as just a few of the developments in the last year.

Wells Fargo received its Community Reinvestment Act Rating (CRA), in which it received high scores, despite an overall score of "needs improvement." On the same day, the ban announced an agreement in principal to settle a class action lawsuit regarding claims that Wells Fargo opened accounts without the consent of its customers.

With proposals to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac popping up as part of an overall housing makeover, government and industry officials weigh the risks and rewards of various plans carefully since few are calling for wholesale reform. This select print feature originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of MReport magazine.

What should be done in the case that a lender fails to name a spouse in its lawsuit, or fails to name a condominium and homeowners association fee? What parties should be names in a lawsuit? These questions and more were answered in the Legal League 100 webinar.

The GSE is expected to pay the Department of the Treasury a $5.5B dividend next month.

Fannie Mae’s continuing efforts to wind down its mortgage portfolio are certainly clear when viewed through their latest report.

A Freddie Mac report detailed the first upward movement of mortgage rates in 2017. What does this mean for the industry?

Home prices have been steadily rising since bottoming out in early 2012, posting 50-plus consecutive months of appreciation, according to multiple industry reports.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has taken over for Fannie Mae shareholders as the plaintiff in a lawsuit against accounting firm Deloitte & Touche accusing the company of negligent auditing practices that resulted in millions of dollars in losses to the shareholders.