Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

Though the Great Recession officially ended three years ago, weakened aggregate income is keeping Americans from climbing out of the income slump that resulted. So said Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research group in its latest edition of Housing Insights. In the report, the research group turned its eye to average and aggregate earnings in the last five business cycles to examine the impact of weakened income growth in the current economic recovery.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released new representations and warranty guidelines for lenders Tuesday to clarify lenders├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó risk regarding repurchase claims and define steps lenders can take to challenge repurchase claims they feel are without grounds. Under the new guidelines, if a loan is current for 36 consecutive months, lenders ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£will be relieved of certain repurchase obligations,├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Lawmakers introduced a new bill on Monday with plans to once more revamp the Home Affordable Refinance Program for current borrowers with eligible loans with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Robert Menendez, among others, drafted the Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act to increase lender competition, open up refinance opportunities to all current borrowers with government-backed mortgages, and strike through appraisal costs and upfront fees on home loans. If the bill passes the House, lenders will begin to compete more often with other lenders.

American consumers remain cautiously optimistic of housing as home prices rise, Fannie Mae reported Monday. According to the GSE's August 2012 National Housing Survey, consumers maintain a cautious but improving view of homeownership and the housing market. The average home price change expectation is 1.6 percent, mostly consistent with July's results and down from a June high of 2.0 percent. Meanwhile, 11 percent of those surveyed say home prices will go down in the next year.

Taking the stage on Thursday, speakers at the ninth annual Five Star Conference, currently underway at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, tackled the issue most politicians evade: When and where should government intervene in the housing market? Not often, according to speakers like Jack Konyk, executive director of government affairs with Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider, and Edward Kramer, EVP of regulatory affairs with Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. The Dodd-Frank Act took center-stage during the debate, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau along with it.

Homeowners and officials in held a town meeting Thursday in Akron, Ohio, to discuss the impact of the housing crisis on their communities. The event, called ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£#MyHomeMyVote,├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø was designed to put the housing crisis and voters├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó concerns at the forefront of the wave of issues surrounding this year├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós election season. Attendees used the hash tag to tweet their representatives and other officials with their concerns. Held at the Akron-Summit Public Library and co-hosted by Empowering and Strengthening Ohio├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós People (ESOP), among other organizations, #MyHomeMyVote featured speakers such as Senator Sherrod Brown and Rep. Betty Sutton.

Fifth Third Bank outshined all other servicers in Fannie Mae├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards Program in 2011. The bank came closer than any other bank to receiving four out of five available stars for performance in foreclosure prevention. A five-star rating ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£represents superior performance wherein the servicer is meeting or exceeding Fannie Mae├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós targets,├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø according to Fannie Mae. No Servicer came close to this rating in 2011.

Outpacing industry forecasts, mortgage originations ticked up 5.2 percent in the second quarter, totaling $405 billion during the three-month period, according to a report released this week from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. On an annual basis, originations are up 44.6 percent, according to the study. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods suggests much of the increase came from refinance activity driven by low interest rates. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods predicts strong origination volume next quarter.

While some signs suggest the housing recovery may finally be under way, others signal that banks will likely continue to see repurchase claims from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Analysts with Fitch Ratings found in a report on Monday that repurchase risk remains high for several financial institutions, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Ally Financial. According to Fitch, repurchase risk climbed to 41 percent for Bank of America. Roughly 60 percent of the claims stemmed from private-label requests.

July├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós positive economic news did little to change Fannie Mae├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós forecast for 2012, the GSE revealed Tuesday. Fannie Mae├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Economic & Strategic Research Group issued its latest economic outlook, maintaining its expectations for modest growth in 2012. This news comes in spite of reports of strengthening retail sales and job growth in July. Fannie Mae├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Economic & Strategic Research Group issued its latest economic outlook, maintaining its expectations for modest growth in 2012.