Tag Archives: Freddie Mac

Fueling fears about a federal default scenario, fragile debt-ceiling negotiations continued to splinter and stagnate this week, with Republicans refusing to budge on proposed tax increases and Democrats fighting to keep entitlements off the chopping block. If trends continue and the federal government defaults on its national debt, housing economists and mortgage rate analysts predict spikes in interest and mortgage rates, with steep and potentially catastrophic declines in homes sales.

In a statement released Thursday, Global DMS announced that the Uniform Collateral Data Portal would now offer its appraisal process management software to lenders and appraisal companies.

If two companies have their way, residential mortgage-backed securities may make a comeback. BlackRock Inc. and Two Harbors Investment Corporation said they may make a return to AA bond ratings.

Freddie Mac released a southerly primary mortgage market survey Thursday, revealing downward trends for mortgage rates across the board against a backdrop of anemic job growth and steadily increasing unemployment figures. According to the GSE, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 4.51 percent falling from 4.60 percent last week and staying just under the 4.57 percent average it struck last year. The data for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages yielded a fall from 3.75 percent last week to 3.65 percent this week.

On Friday lending giant Prudential Mortgage Capital Company announced a joint venture with Perella Weinberg Partners that will allow the two companies to store and originate future commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). Participation in the re-emerging CMBS market is critical to maintaining our leadership position in the commercial mortgage arena, David Twardock, president of Prudential Mortgage, said in a statement.

Wary of an uncertain economic climate, new regulatory legislation, and the potential for burdensome capital restrictions, the nation's top lenders financed fewer mortgage loans in 2010 than in 2009 to keep their ledgers in the black a cumulative pattern that analysts and news reports say hampers housing and, potentially, recovery in the broader economy. According to analysis conducted by The Wall Street Journal, the 10 largest mortgage lenders in the country denied 26.8 percent of loan applications last year, up from 23.5 percent in 2009.

The Senate Banking Committee convened a hearing Tuesday to address concerns that large mortgage lenders continue to edge out their smaller rivals. Lawmakers called the current mortgage system unsustainable.

Flagstar Bancorp found itself pitted against bond insurer Assured Guaranty on Monday as the latter sought $82.4 million in damages against it on charges that the Midwestern bank breached the warranties on its home equity loans, according to court documents.

Freddie Mac reported the decline of its overall mortgage portfolio by an annual rate of 3.5 percent over May, signaling losses for the government-sponsored enterprise in a mortgage market the federal officials want to hand back to private investors. Issuing its monthly volume update, the GSE's origination volume for single-family refinance-loan purchases dropped to $13.3 billion over May, reflecting 58 percent of total mortgage purchases and issuances.

On Tuesday the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported a slight 0.8 percent rise in home prices from March to April, representing a positive note in a brittle housing market.