|
My Dad called me yesterday,
wondering if they delivered e-mail on Sundays. After all, the post office is
delivering on Sundays for Amazon, right? The term I hear more and more these
days is "the new normal." I don't necessarily know what that means,
but I do know change is virtually guaranteed in most areas of life. So it
goes without saying that over the last decade, Americans and their living
arrangements have changed as well. The U.S. Census Bureau has us covered,
though, with their recently released "America's Families and Living
Arrangements. The latest "Annual Social and Economic
Supplement to the Current Population Survey" was conducted in February,
March and April of 2013 from a nationwide sample of about 100,000 addresses.
Some interesting statistics that could be dropped at your next Christmas
party: 66% percent of households in 2013 were family households, compared
with 81% in 1970. The median age at first marriage in 2013 was 29 for men and
27 for women, up from 23 for men and 21 for women in 1970. And the
proportion of one-person households increased by 10 percentage points between
1970 and 2013, from 17 percent to 27 percent.
360 Mortgage is immediately
hiring wholesale Account Executives in all 50 states. Since
2010, "360 is the only company in the industry that pays a 1 basis point
annual bonus to each AE based on the size of the year end principal balance
of the servicing portfolio they helped originate. 360 presently retains
100% of loans originated and is a direct FNMA, FHLMC and GNMA
seller/servicer/issuer. As the industry price, service and technology
leader, 360 continues to grow and has not down-sized a single operations
employee this year. The owners are directly involved in the day to
day management of the company and welcome direct communication from any staff
member." 360 is also hiring underwriters with a specialty in
203k, manufactured housing and reverse mortgage. Interested
individuals should send resumes to resumes@360mtg.com; its current job postings can be
seen here.
And a large,
well-capitalized Northern New Jersey national lender is looking for a
Consumer Direct/Retail Operations Manager. Candidates must have a
deep knowledge of the Encompass360 LOS. The company is looking to expand its
retail/consumer direct footprint and wants to find the right candidate to
help grow that division. Position would report to COO and be responsible
for managing the day to day operations activities (from disclosure through
closing). Candidates should email me at rchrisman@robchrisman.com.
Perhaps these companies can
pick up some of the recently laid-off personnel out there. After all, lay-offs have continued: last week 824 people lost their
jobs at Ocwen Financial, including 228 in Waterloo, Iowa. Another 12
were released by the Des Moines office of Mortgage Compliance Advisors
"as the industry trimmed staff in response to falling refinancing
activity and delinquency rates": HappyHolidays.
The long-awaited FHA loan
amount news broke late last week. The bad news is that loan amounts were
lowered; the "good" news is that it impacts less than 1% of current
FHA production. The FHA Loan Limits are set to lower as of January 1, 2014.
The change is for all case numbers assigned during the 2014 calendar year.
The MBA notes that, "The higher loan limits were on a temporary
extension authorized by congress and, without congress passing legislation,
expire at the end of the 2014 year." Here is the HUD announcement. The
key items of change are: 1. The high cost market maximum declines from
$729,750 to $625,500; 2. The floor loan limit remains unchanged at $271,050;
3. The formula for calculating area loan limits between the floor and the cap
will be reduced from 125% of area median value to 115%. Per Compass Point,
using HUD's recent production information, the most recent data shows that
only about 0.53% of FHA single family endorsements were on loan balances
above $625,500.
As Dave Stevens, president of
the MBA notes, "While this should not have been a surprise, I
wanted to make sure you all had this information. The FHA announced new loan
limits based on the roll back from the temporary extension of the $729,750 to
$625,500 and the 125% TO 115% of area median home price. The MBA expected
this. What was not expected and not shared with anyone was the total surprise
new calculation, we think, of area median price. We are hearing of six figure
loan limit declines for FHA drops in places like parts of California. We all
need to quickly assess the impact. I would suggest everyone study the new
tables against the previous and do an assessment of impact, but my email has
lit up over the past hours and the one thing I do know is that this was a
complete surprise as to the extent. The simple adjustment from 125% to 115%
would not have caused these massive drops. Let us be clear, there is no
alternative to borrowers hit by these declines. I am concerned about many
other markets that are above the floor but may have been hit by new HUD
calculations. I would suggest we all quickly triage the landscape of impact
and convene next week to determine how significant the impact will be beyond
what was expected. I do expect a strong outcry from many areas in
California."
The American Civil Liberties
Union is suing the Federal Housing Finance Agency (which oversees Freddie
& Fannie) over the FHFA's position on the use of eminent domain to reduce
the mortgage principal for underwater homeowners. The
FHFA said it would instruct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac not to guarantee loans
in municipalities that used the plan, citing concerns that "such
programs could negatively affect the extension of credit to borrowers seeking
to become homeowners and on investors that support the housing market."
But the ACLU's suit against the FHFA isn't necessarily to stop it. The
suit seeks information on how the agency decided to take that position and
the role big banks might have played in influencing the decision,
according to a report in the Credit Union Times. The ACLU attorney, Linda Lye
(tough name for an attorney) said, "The FHFA has taken an aggressive
stance on this issue in a way that has harmed minority communities. The
public deserves to know why." Here you go: ACLU.
What's LIRA? Well, it was the
currency of Italy, Malta, San Marino, and Vatican City at one point; today LIRA
stands for Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity, and is a number
produced by the Joint Center for Housing Studies. The
JCHS was originally formed in 1959 as the Joint Center for Urban Studies of
MIT and Harvard, and took up the challenge of addressing intellectual and
policy issues confronting a nation experiencing widespread demographic,
economic and social changes. With principal support from the Ford Foundation,
the research agenda was based on the premise that the resolution of these
issues called for imaginative interdisciplinary approaches to the study of
urban problems and issues and required cooperation among universities,
government and industry. Earlier this fall they released their forecast for
the remainder of the year, and into 1Q14. JCHS write, "The home
remodeling market continues to improve, with strong gains expected for the
remainder of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, according to the LIRA released by the
Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard
University. While the LIRA continues to project annual improvement spending
increasing at a double-digit pace in the near term, a slowdown of this growth
can be expected by the middle of 2014."
We only have 22 business days
until QM, and are you looking for an industry panel discussing its
ramifications? LoanSifter is hosting one with investors, Radian, and
a couple others on what to expect, how to prepare and tools you might
need. If you're interested, contact QM@LoanSifter.com for the webinar invite. There are
2 panels: tomorrow, Tuesday, 12/10 at 1PM CST for mortgage brokers, and
Wed, 12/11, at 1PM CST for mortgage bankers (correspondents), and banks &
credit unions.
Denver-based Universal
Lending Corporation announced it has partnered with ReverseVision as its
reverse mortgage origination software platform. "The company, which has
long offered reverse mortgages among its loan products, has 33 years in the
mortgage lending business and says the partnership with ReverseVision will
simplify its lending process." ReverseVision has recently formed new
partnerships with LiveWell Financial and Mason-McDuffie, and now counts
more than 5,000 firms among its client base. In addition to its loan
origination software platform, ReverseVision recently rolled out its ReverseVision University program for
reverse mortgage originators.
Mountain West Financial has
expanded its guidelines for FHA and VA loans with FICO scores between 620 and
639 to allow manual underwrites on AUS Refer/Eligible transactions provided
there is a minimum of three trade lines on the credit report. Housing
ratios that exceed the respective 31% and 41% maximum will be considered if
there are valid compensating factors, and gifts and DPAs are allowed for down
payments. These changes do not apply to high balance, Streamline refis,
IRRRLs, ARMs, and Manufactured Housing transactions.
MWF has implemented a new
Limited Review Process for Conventional loans on eligible condos that is
available for all relevant transactions that receive the applicable DU
finding. Lenders should ensure that the Condo Limited Review checklist
is fully completed and included with every loan that uses the Limited Review
Process.
Earlier in November, MWF
updated its underwriting guidelines on maximum acreage, several sources of
income, second home borrowers with five to ten financed properties, cash
value of life insurance, alimony/child support/separate maintenance payments
with less than ten months remaining, conversion of principal residences, the
maximum allowed financed properties under the DU High Balance product,
Manufactured Homes, condo eligibility, permanent and non-permanent resident
aliens, the maximum allowed loans made to one borrower in a contiguous area,
multiple FHA loans to the same borrower, employment history of less than two
years, grossing up non-taxable income, temporary leave and disability income,
installment loans with fewer than ten payments, loans secured by retirement
accounts, continuity of obligation requirements, FHA collections and disputed
accounts, FICO scores between 620 and 639, same sex marriages, occupancy
after retirement, and intermittent occupancy. Refer to the guide for
full details of the updates.
Nationstar is
now purchasing FHA HPML transactions so long as the term is 30 years and the
DTI is 45% or lower and has raised the maximum DTI for USDA transactions from
45% to 50%.
In order to align with Agency
guidelines, Fifth Third is no longer treating credit counseling as a
bankruptcy.
PennyMac is
now accepting mortgage insurance from Genworth on its Open Access and DU Refi
Plus products in addition to Radian, PMI, MGIC, RMIC, TRIAD, and CMG.
Lenders are reminded that the MI certificate or accompanying documentation
discloses the coverage amount, initial rate, MI type, payment type, and
premium amount.
Turning to the markets,
agency MBS prices had a wild ride Friday after the release of a
stronger-than-expected Employment report. From a high of +.250 prior to the
data, MBS dropped to a low of -.375, but then recovered and turned positive.
Separately, Core PCE inflation, the Fed's preferred inflation indicator,
matched the consensus for an increase of 0.1%, and it was just 1.1% higher
than one year ago. And Personal Income rose less than expected.
This week capital markets
crews will have a chance to do some Christmas shopping as it is a light week
for scheduled news. Tomorrow we'll have Retail Sales, Thursday Jobless
Claims, and Friday is the Producer Price Index. But keep in mind that the
market is becoming more comfortable with the idea of tapering as the
economy's numbers continue to come in with positive data. Looking at the
numbers, on Friday the 10-yr risk-free T-note closed at a yield of 2.88%;
here this morning we're down to 2.84% although agency MBS prices are
unchanged.
(Parental guidance
suggested.)
Two old guys, one 80 and one
87, were sitting on a park bench one morning.
The 87-year-old had just finished his morning jog and wasn't even short of breath. The 80-year-old was amazed at the guy's stamina and asked him what he did to have so much energy. The 87-year-old said, "Well, I eat rye bread every day. It keeps your energy level high and you'll have great stamina with the ladies." So, on the way home the 80-year-old stopped at the bakery. As he was looking around, the saleslady asked if he needed any help. He said, "Do you have any rye bread?"
She said, "Yes, there's
a whole shelf of it. Would you like some?"
He said, "I want five loaves."
She said, "My goodness,
five loaves! By the time you get to the 3rd loaf, it'll be hard."
He replied, "Geez! I can't believe everybody knows about this stuff except me!"
If you're interested, visit
my twice-a-month blog at the STRATMOR Group web site located at www.stratmorgroup.com. The current blog is, "A
Primer on Swaps, and the Implications of Change in the Secondary
Markets". If you have both the time and inclination, make a comment on
what I have written, or on other comments so that folks can learn what's
going on out there from the other readers.
Rob (Check out http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/channels/pipelinepress/default.aspx or www.TheBasisPoint.com/category/daily-basis. For archived commentaries or to subscribe, go to www.robchrisman.com. Copyright 2013 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. Occasional paid job listings do appear. This report or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold or redistributed without the written consent of Rob Chrisman.)
What is on the agenda for this week?
We have a much lighter week for economic data with our biggest reports (Retail Sales and Initial Jobless Claims) not hitting until Thursday. Treasury Auctions: 12/10 - 3 Year Note 12/11 - 10 Year Note 12/12 - 30 Year Bond Talking Feds: 12/09 - Lacker, Bullard, Fisher 12/11 - Treasury Sec. Lew. Across the Pond: Both Spanish and Italian Bond yields rose for the second straight trading session due to a report showing that investor confidence in the euro region held near an 18 month high. This is something that could pressure MBS pricing this week if that trend continues. Offsetting that is a report that German industrial output fell. Our Taper gauge moved to the left last week which is signaling that market expectation that the Fed will begin to taper has soon has increased.  There are no major economic reports today. We do have three "Talking Feds" but they are later in the afternoon. There comments wont impact today's trades but could impact tomorrow's. |
Global Home Finance Inc is saving Texas One Home Owner At a Time. We offer Conventional, FHA, VA, Jumbo, and USDA Rural Development products to help refinance or purchase a home. Visit us online: http://globalhomefinance.com
Monday, December 9, 2013
Weekly Mortgage Review
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment