Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

With all of its ups and downs in recent months, the housing market is looking "noisy" heading into spring, Freddie Mac says. "We're getting mixed signals as we start the spring home buying season. Tight inventory may pose a significant challenge for home buyers in many markets across the country, which may result in higher home prices and sales being lower than expected," said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist.

Average fixed mortgage rates declined for the second straight week, bringing them to a six-week low—and easing affordability conditions slightly as the homebuying season gets under way. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac, said the latest decline fits with a disappointing—though not dismal—construction report showing homebuilding rising at a rate of 2.8 percent in March.

Four California men have been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and more in a case relating to the collapse of the Sonoma Valley Bank in August 2010. According to a release from the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the accused allegedly "skirted the bank's internal controls and defrauded Sonoma Valley Bank by authorizing the bank to lend $9.5 million to a straw purchaser."

In its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging a rate of 4.34 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending April 10, a decline from 4.41 percent last week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year fixed was down nearly a full percentage point: 3.43 percent. Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey showed similar rate changes.

Freddie Mac released on Wednesday an announcement "urgently reminding" servicers about the full range of relief options available to borrowers affected by flooding and other natural disasters in Washington. The company also made special note to remind servicers to consider relief policies for borrowers who work in eligible disaster areas but live in unaffected areas.

Citigroup announced this week it has agreed to pay approximately $1.13 billion to settle repurchase claims on residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). According to the bank’s announcement, Citi has agreed to make a binding offer to the trustees of 68 Citi-sponsored mortgage trusts that issued a combined $59.4 billion in RMBS from 2005–2008.

Clear Capital’s quality control platform, ClearQC, has been selected as the technology of choice to validate appraisal data of submissions in Freddie Mac’s Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP), the California-based data and tech provider announced.

A new group has launched on the side of shareholders in the ongoing debate for the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Calling itself the “Coalition for Mortgage Security,” the group describes itself as a bipartisan, grassroots organization with the goal of reforming housing finance “in a way that benefits and fairly treats current and future homeowners, taxpayers, and investors across the country.”

Freddie Mac released Thursday the results of its latest weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, showing the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) coming up to 4.41 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending April 3—a minor increase from 4.40 percent last week. “Mortgage rates were little changed amid a week of light economic reports,” said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac.

MountainView Servicing Group announced it is advising the sale of another two mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolios, these ones possessing a combined unpaid principal balance of $1.1 billion. The first portfolio, which goes up for bid April 3, is $923 million of Freddie Mac servicing. The second offering unveiled this week is a $205 million Fannie Mae portfolio bidding on April 4.