Fannie, Freddie Fail to Relieve Jumbo Loan Pressure
Instead of using powers granted by Congress to buy jumbo loans for the first time, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are purchasing their own mortgage-backed securities, helping reduce losses, company filings show. The large loans, above $417,000, made up almost a third of the U.S. market last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Second-Largest New England City Seeks Foreclosure Moratorium
[Housing Wire]
City officials in Worcester, Massachusetts have asked state lawmakers to give them immediate local authority to halt subprime foreclosures for six months, limit evictions and force a judicial review of foreclosures.
The rate of option ARM delinquencies is already spiking
[BusinessWeek: Hot Property]
The next wave of foreclosures is expected to gather strength when the million or so option ARMs start resetting in large numbers next spring. But it seems that many of these loans, which allow borrowers to make minimum payments that don’t even cover the accrued interest, are already going delinquent.
Questions Over FHA Down Payment Assistance Programs Hit Mainstream
[Housing Wire]
Industry participants that have been around for some time are likely familiar with the ongoing debate over seller-funded down payment assistance programs, a Federal Housing Administration program that allows borrowers to get into a home for little — if any — money down. The program has become nearly the last bastion of zero-down, only-$500-puts-you-into-a-home! lending for borrowers with damaged credit in the wake of the subprime mortgage meltdown, and it’s one that has some government officials very worried.
[WSJ]
Mortgages that allow consumers to put little if any money down when buying a home have largely disappeared as a financing option available from private lenders. But they are still available -- and growing more popular -- through a government-backed program.
