Category Archives: Housing Finance

FHFA Releases 2023 Scorecard for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac On January 4, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its 2023 Scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This scorecard focuses on goals that will...

On December 7, Fannie Mae announced it will make enhancements to its automated underwriting system designed to expand mortgage loan eligibility and further simplify the loan process for prospective homebuyers without credit scores. According to Fannie Mae,...

A report released December 5 from analytics firm Black Knight, found that 5% of mortgages originated in 2022 are now marginally underwater and 20% are in low equity positions. However, the large equity cushions of mortgages originated prior...

The Wall Street Journal reports that two of the largest nontraded real-estate investment trusts (REITs) have restricted withdrawals after a sharp rise in redemption requests. Though the number of requests is still small, large investors and many...

In a report from Apartment List Research Team, the national average of rents fell for the third consecutive month, this time by 1% which represents the largest decrease in one month since 2017. Builders are adding supply...

The Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group at Fannie Mae released its report for 2023 and beyond, highlighting the Q3 2022 strength in net exports along with expected declines in residential fixed and business investment. The report...

On November 29, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced it will increase the conforming loan limit values for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2023 to reflect the rapid appreciation in home prices...

The Wall Street Journal reported that large banks, the Federal Reserve, foreign investors, and money managers have all cut purchases of mortgage bonds, contributing to the rise in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate (recently above 7%) for...

Fannie Mae interim CEO David Benson announced November 8 that Fannie Mae is anticipating declines in home values to reach 1.9% for the second half of 2022 and 1.5% in 2023. Additionally, in anticipation of the home...

On October 24, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) approved two credit score models, the FICO 10T, and the VantageScore 4.0, for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Additionally, the GSEs will require two,...

On October 24, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced it will make changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's guarantee fee pricing by eliminating upfront fees for certain borrowers and affordable mortgage products. FHFA...

Fannie Mae has once again reduced its mortgage origination forecast in its latest U.S. economic outlook report. The GSE now expects total single-family home sales to slow by 18.1% relative to 2021, a further downward revision...