The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its first Conservator’s Report on the Enterprises’ Financial Condition. The Conservator’s Report provides an overview of key aspects of the financial condition of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the government-sponsored enterprises) during conservatorship. The report will be released on a quarterly basis following the filing of the Enterprises’ financial results with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).Read more

Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), and for yet another week, the fixed-rate mortgages reached another low, while the five-year adjustable rate remained tied at its low for this survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.36 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Aug. 26, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.42 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.14 percent.Read more

Freddie Mac has named Jerry Weiss to the newly created position of chief administrative officer (CAO). Weiss will continue to serve as the company's chief compliance officer and oversee the compliance, economics and strategy, regulatory affairs and mission divisions. As CAO, he will also manage two additional functions—external relations and human resources. Weiss will continue to report directly to Chief Executive Officer Charles E. "Ed" Haldeman Jr., as a member of Freddie Mac's management committee.Read more

An investigation led by Darrell E. Issa (R-CA), Ranking Minority Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has uncovered a link between high ranking officials of Fannie Mae and Countrywide. The investigation has revealed documents that Countrywide established a VIP section for the purpose of granting discounted mortgages to a select list of homebuyers, many of which included Fannie Mae's account manager, lobbyist, underwriters, lawyers, a home loan manager, a sales executive and a credit risk manager.Read more

House prices rose 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from March to April, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) monthly House Price Index. The previously reported 0.3 percent increase in March was revised to a 0.1 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in April, U.S. prices fell 1.5 percent. The U.S. index is 12.8 percent below its April 2007 peak. The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.Read more

Loan modifications and refinancings by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increased significantly in the first quarter as the volume of permanent modifications under the Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) tripled, and refinancings steadily grew under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). Loans 60-plus-days delinquent also declined for the first time in two years.Read more

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has directed the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to de-list their common and preferred stock from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and any other national securities exchange. Once the de-listing is completed, each enterprise’s common and preferred stock is expected to be quoted on the Over–the-Counter Bulletin Board.Read more

Fiserv Inc. has released an analysis of home price trends in more than 375 U.S. markets based on the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes. The indexes are owned and generated by Fiserv, a provider of financial services technology solutions, and data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). In the fourth quarter of 2009, U.S. home prices were trending up in 155 out of 384 metro areas, including markets in California, Ohio, Michigan and Washington, D.C. Despite the positive performance in these regional markets from recent lows, average U.S.Read more

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced a new initiative by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to improve the consistency and quality of data for appraisals and other loan information. This will enhance the depth of collateral, borrower and loan data submitted to the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). The Uniform Mortgage Data Program is a long-term, joint effort to create improved and uniform data standards and collection processes. The GSEs have worked with industry participants to develop the uniform standards.Read more

Many of you have asked if the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) has changed its position regarding the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). The answer is a resounding “No!” We still believe that the HVCC is harmful to the consumer, to the mortgage broker, to the independent appraiser and to the economy.Read more