Thomas J. Pinkowish On The State Of The Industry – BY PHIL HALL – lots of good thoughts – best quote: ” Fannie and Freddie are the federal government’s Vietnam. How can it exit those companies gracefully, without disruption, or without changing them completely? ” – MortgageOrb
————
Rep. Frank comments on FHA loan limits – … This is simply not true. In fact, there are only 77 counties where an FHA loan as large as $729,750 can be made, and less than 2% of FHA’s outstanding loan portfolio consists of loans which exceed $417,000, the previous GSE conforming loan limit. The average FHA loan made in Fiscal Year 2009 was only $185,278. … – National Mortgage Professional
————
FDIC’s Bair Weighs Mortgage Principal Cuts to Fight Foreclosure – By Alison Vekshin – Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said she may ask lenders to cut the principal on mortgages acquired from seized banks, expanding her bid to help people keep their homes as unemployment rises. The FDIC, which has taken over 124 failed banks this year, may seek to have lenders that sign loss-sharing agreements when acquiring the assets do more than cut interest rates or defer the loan’s principal, Bair said today in an interview at Bloomberg’s Washington office. – Bloomberg
————
U.S. mortgage rates fall to record low: Freddie Mac – Julie Haviv – … as rates fell for a fifth straight week, a closely watched mortgage survey showed Thursday. The lowest mortgage rates in decades and high affordability have helped … Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.71 percent for the week ending December 3, down from the previous week’s 4.78 percent – Reuters
————
Fed MBS Purchases Support Lender Selling. Bernanke Hints at Program’s Extension – by Adam Quinones – … Notice the majority of Fed purchases were in 4.5 MBS coupons last week…50%!!!! These are called “production” or “current” coupons and represent loan supply being sold in the secondary mortgage market by loan originators. … – Mortgage News Daily
————
Mark Hanson report on LA County – The following is an excerpt from The Mortgage Pages research series on 11-13-2009. – Los Angeles County – YEARS of Mid-to-High End Shadow Supply – … potential inventory and sales rate for houses valued at $500k and above there is:
115 months potential supply based upon the number of props at the 90+ delinquency stage
71 months potential supply based upon the number of props at the foreclosure stage
62 months potential supply based upon the number of prop at the REO stage – Mark Hanson Blog
————
Germany’s Plan to Spur Lending May Revive Securitization: Sources – By DIANA GOLOBAY – A meeting this week among German government officials and bankers resolved to get commercial banks lending again. One option involves reviving securitization into a more active market through guarantees on portfolio assets, according to one of HousingWire’s sources. – HousingWire
Loans Deteriorate 3 to 1 in October: LPS – By JON PRIOR – Housingwire
————
Liar loans part 2? – Why Many Home Loan Modifications Fail – By FLOYD NORRIS – Why are so few temporary mortgage modifications turning permanent? One reason may be the same one that a lot of bad loans were made in the first place. Borrowers can declare their income, and the banks are willing to grant temporary modifications based on those figures, without any evidence to confirm them. – NY Times
Reverse Mortgages – New Rules for Counselors – By BOB TEDESCHI – … The Federal Housing Administration, which insures reverse mortgages, last month instituted new standards … counselors are required to pass an exam … and they must take part in training every two years. Counselors will also have to follow a set of protocols to help determine whether a reverse mortgage will help a borrower … – NY Times
————
Is a Loan Modification Just Another Exotic Mortgage? – By Nick Timiraos – … But at ForeclosureRadar’s blog, Sean O’Toole raises a different, potentially more problematic issue: “Permanent” loan modifications last for only five years. He posits that reason for the low uptake of the loan modification program: Maybe borrowers have figured out that this program is really only another exotic mortgage like one they fell prey to when they bought or refinanced the house that resulted in their current predicament. HAMP and the administration’s newly announced campaign isn’t digging borrowers out of a hole. It’s only digging them a new one, and delaying the inevitable. – WSJ Blogs
————
MGIC shares climb after regulator waives capital requirement – By Paul Gores – … The waiver … enables MGIC to continue issuing new mortgage policies even if it breaches the risk-to-capital ratios that are set by regulators to make sure mortgage insurers will be able to pay claims. … But the company, in consultation with regulators, has come up with a plan under which a newly created subsidiary, MGIC Indemnity Corp., would issue polices in states that can’t or won’t grant MGIC Investment Corp. waivers to ease capital requirements. In addition to Wisconsin, there are 16 states that have minimum capital standards. — – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel