CRS Report: FAQ's on GSE Financial Status

Thanks to heads up from old favorite, beSpacific.

PDF is HERE.

PS...No one ever won the ITunes gift card I offered up in this prior GSE related post. Just sayin'...

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Administration's GSE Reform Plans/Options Out.

WaPo story is HERE: 

Proposal discusses ...."three options for replacing them [GSE's], including a new government agency that would insure mortgages all the time, a new agency that would only step in during times of market crisis, and then a third option that does not provide any government backing for home loans beyond the FHA."

Treasury PR is HERE.

Actual report is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

FHFA New SF and MF Goals for Fannie, Freddie.

PR is HERE; Final Rule is HERE. 

SF goals summarized as:

• 27 percent for the low-income home purchase goal;
• 8 percent for the very low-income family home purchase goal;
• A percentage to be set annually by FHFA for the low-income/high minority/disaster areas home purchase goal (with a subgoal of 13 percent to measure acquisitions in low-income/high minority areas only); and
• 21 percent for the low-income family refinance goal.

MF goals summarized as:

• Fannie Mae’ s goal is to acquire mortgages that finance at least 177,750 low-income rental units and 42,750 very low-income rental units.
• Freddie Mac’s goal is to acquire mortgages that finance at least 161,250 low-income rental units and 21,000 very low-income rental units.
• The Enterprises must also report on their acquisition of mortgages involving low-income units in small (5- to 50-unit) multifamily properties.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Snap! Bloomberg Chart Says You Made More Today than Fannie Has Since 1970.

HERE. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Fannie Loss of $23.2 Billion in a Quarter Puts FHA Annual Request for $800 Million in Perspective.

My most recent post related that HUD was going to be asking for $800 Million to cover potential losses in the FHA Reverse Equity Mortgage Program.

As it turns out timing was great for the HUD story though, as the most recent Fannie Mae financial disclosure puts their losses in the first quarter alone at $23.2 BILLION. Those losses triggered a request for an additional $19 BILLION bail out from the Treasury.

Housing Wire news story is HERE.

The Good News?
Losses in First Quarter Went Down to ONLY $257 Million Per Day
In February I posted HERE that Fannie lost $25.2 BILLION in the 4th quarter 2008, a rate of $276 million per day (I should have said $274 Million per day as there were 92 days in that quarter).

The $2 Billion reduction in losses from prior quarter ($23.2 vs $25.2 Billion) meant that Fannie was now only losing $257 Million per day (90 days in that quarter), a reduction of 6.1%.

Feel better now?

P.S. The $800 Million annual request for FHA amounts to $2.2 Million a day:)

GSE's May Follow FHA Lead on Streamlined Refis.

FHA refinance activity has been high for several months. [See US Current FHA Refinance Report link in right pane of blog for state totals]

Recent government moves have reduced interest rates for other refinances.

According to Housing Wire story HERE, GSE's [Fannie/Freddie] are following FHA model to pump more refinance volume.

Generally, FHA streamlined refis do not require reappraisal [could be some limited circumstances where that is not true]..Logic for FHA has long been that streamlined refis were limited to already insured FHA loans. Any refi therefore that reduced payments for borrower actually reduced risk of default, so long as it did not increase insured amount.. Would assume similar constraints would be placed on refinances of existing GSE loans.

For FHA refinances of conventional loans [largest share of all FHA refis] there is no waiver of appraisal requirement.