FHA: U.S. House Prices Rise 1.1 Percent in First Quarter 2019
U.S. house prices rose 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2019 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI). House prices rose 5.1 percent from the first quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2019. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for March was up 0.1 percent from February. The HPI is calculated using home sales…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Decreased in March 2019
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from February to March, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts. The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 4.36 percent for loans closed in late March, down 10 basis points from 4.46 percent in February. The…
FHFA: New Report Details Progress on the 2018 Scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Scorecard Progress Report today summarizing the 2018 activities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) to further FHFA’s three strategic objectives as conservator: Maintain, Reduce, and Build. Interested parties are invited to provide input on this Report. Feedback can be submitted via FHFA.gov, or to the…
FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.3 Percent in February 2019, Up 4.9 Percent from Last Year
U.S. house prices rose in February, up 0.3 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.6 percent increase for January 2019 remained unchanged. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by,…
FHFA: Dr. Mark Calabria Sworn in as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency
In an Agency ceremony, Dr. Mark A. Calabria was sworn in today to a five-year term as the second Senate-confirmed Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Dr. Calabria was appointed to head the Agency by President Donald J. Trump. FHFA was created by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008 to…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Decreased in February 2019
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from January to February, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts. The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 4.46 percent for loans closed in late February, down 14 basis points from 4.60 percent in January. The average…
FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.6 Percent in January; Up 5.6 Percent from Last Year
U.S. house prices rose in January, up 0.6 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.3 percent increase for December 2018 remained unchanged. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or…
FHFA: Nearly 4.3 Million Homeowners Helped Via Foreclosure Prevention
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its fourth quarter 2018 Foreclosure Prevention Report, which shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 41,062 foreclosure prevention actions in the fourth quarter of 2018, bringing the total number of foreclosure prevention actions to 4,283,836 since September 2008. The report also shows that 35 percent…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Decreased in January 2019
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages decreased from December to January, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts. The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 4.60 percent for loans closed in late January, down 23 basis points from 4.83 percent in December. The average interest…
FHFA: Final Rule Issued on Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has issued a final rule that requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) to align programs, policies, and practices that affect the cash flows of “To-Be-Announced” (TBA)-eligible Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS). The issuance of the final rule is a major step forward, significantly improving the predictability of cash flows…