Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) says it wants input on a plan to lower the ceiling for loans eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under FHFA's proposed plan, the $417,000 maximum limit for single-family homes in most areas around the country would be lowered to $400,000, a reduction of about 4 percent. Areas with higher limits would see a similar cut, with the $625,500 maximum dropping to $600,000.

According to a release, Freddie Mac issued a record $28 billion in multifamily securities in 2013 through 19 of its K-Deals. Those figures are up from $21.2 billion through 17 K-Deals in 2012.

As the newly confirmed Mel Watt prepares to take the reins at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), current Acting Director Edward DeMarco has announced changes to the agency's senior staff.

Fixed mortgage rates moved down slightly this week, reflecting a lack of much solid news for markets to latch on to. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.42 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending December 12, a decrease from 4.46 percent last week. The same time last year, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.32 percent. Bankrate.com reported even smaller changes in its weekly survey. According to the finance site, the 30-year fixed averaged 3.55 percent this week, unchanged from the last report.

As part of its "Strategic Plan for Enterprise Conservatorships," the Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to bring up their guarantee fees (g-fees). Based on the GSEs' loan purchases in Q3 2013, FHFA expects the announced changes to the g-fee structure to produce an overall average g-fee increase of approximately 11 basis points, which represents an average increase of 14 basis points on a typical 30-year mortgage.

PNC and Freddie Mac announced an agreement to resolve substantially all indemnification and repurchase obligations related to loans sold to Freddie Mac between 2000 and 2008.

Freddie Mac's mortgage book of business declined at an annualized rate of 6.4 percent in October, marking the fourth consecutive month of declines.

Long-term mortgage rates saw a jump this week following better-than-expected economic reports. Freddie Mac released Thursday the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, putting the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) at a rate of 4.46 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending December 5, up from 4.29 percent last week. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac, pinned the increases on encouraging growth in private jobs and new home sales.

A recent guidance from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reveals the agency's decision not to change the maximum loan limit for mortgages acquired by the GSEs in 2014.

Moving forward on another of its performance goals for 2013, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Monday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed a major overhaul of mortgage insurance master policy requirements. "Updating the mortgage insurance master policy requirements is a significant accomplishment for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," said FHFA acting director Ed DeMarco. "The new standards ... enhance the insurance protection provided to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which ultimately benefits taxpayers."