Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

The Federal Housing Finance Agency filed suit Friday against Illinois tax officials for imposing unlawful taxes on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Several Illinois counties have attempted to collect transfer taxes from the GSEs, and some have threatened to reject future property transfers from the enterprises if they do not pay the state and county transfer taxes. Illinois officials have demanded transfer fees from both enterprises. Similar claims and demands have been made from other Illinois counties.

The revised figures for economic growth in the year's first quarter were disappointing, but Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group is still forecasting moderate growth for the remainder of 2012. A report released by the group Tuesday projected 2.2 percent growth for all of 2012. Several factors presented risks to the economic outlook, including a slowing trend in job growth and potential contagion in the euro zone from Greece's financial issues. Consumer attitudes also influence the economic outlook.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has issued a proposed rule that would prohibit the GSEs from purchasing loans affected by the Property Assessed Clean Energy program. PACE is a local government initiative designed to help homeowners finance energy-efficient and renewable energy projects for their homes. FHFA's proposed rule is open for comment for 45 days from its date of publication, June 15. PACE financing for energy-efficient projects is available in 18 states and the District of Columbia.

The nation's housing developments need to grow up. There are many challenges to address: Support services to allow seniors to age in place, financing residential developments ranging from independent living facilities to nursing homes, creating affordable housing for low-income and low-net-worth seniors, and enabling older homeowners to tap accumulated equity. Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group recently published a Data Note detailing the characteristics and housing consumption of the nation's elderly to get a clearer picture of the needs that must be addressed soon.

In a letter filed Wednesday to FHFA, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association expressed its view that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should seek to align their operations as much as possible. The alignment would help set the stage and ease transition into the future for the GSEs, SIFMA suggests. Market performance shows a gap between the perceived and actual performance and liquidity of mortgage backed securities issued by the GSEs. The liquidity differential impacts the cost and efficiency of the GSE securitization process and the ability of the Enterprises to fund mortgage lending.

Lulls in employment and income growth led to a plateau in consumer sentiment in May, according to Fannie Mae├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós May 2012 National Housing Survey. The data released by Fannie Mae on Thursday showed that although many consumers (72 percent) believe that now is a good time to purchase a house, the percentage of respondents who said they would buy a house after moving actually dropped for the second consecutive month ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô 63 percent in May compared to 64 percent in April and 66 percent in March. Fifteen percent of respondents said now is a good time to sell a home.

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae announced Tuesday that old hand Timothy Mayopoulos will take over as president and CEO in mid-June. The new chief executive joined Fannie three years ago to serve as EVP, chief administrative officer, and general counsel. He assumes his new role as outgoing CEO Michael Williams takes leave. Before joining Fannie Mae, Mayopolous served as EVP and general counsel of Bank of America. He also functioned in senior management roles at Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston, and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc.

The number of loans refinanced through HARP in the first quarter of 2012 was nearly double the number of refinances in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's March 2012 Refinance Report released Friday. The report showed that 180,185 loans were refinanced through HARP during the year├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós first quarter, nearly twice the 93,190 refinances in the previous quarter. The month of March alone saw 79,470 loans refinanced with HARP, implicating nearly one in seven loan refinances in the quarter.

The Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act of 2012, introduced this month by Sens. Robert Menendez and Barbara Boxer, received backing from witnesses at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. The bill aims to address what the senators say are barriers impeding the success of the recently revised Home Affordable Refinance Program, commonly referred to as HARP 2.0. The bill aims to eliminate all upfront fees and appraisal costs for refinances, prohibit second-lien holders from unreasonably hindering refinances, and more.

Despite some slowdown in housing activity at the end of the first quarter, Fannie Mae projects that home sales will rise and the economy will continue to grow in 2012. Though the first quarter of the year saw substantial housing activity compared to last year, Fannie Mae's internal think tank noticed a drop in momentum late in the quarter. According to the group, this drop may be mirroring many economic indicators and may be a result of the year's unusually warm weather pulling activity slightly forward. Economic growth is at 2.2 percent.