Financial officers from 27 states issued a letter to President Joe Biden protesting a new policy from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that increases mortgage fees for some higher-credit borrowers while lowering them for more risky borrowers. This policy, which critics say will penalize people with good credit and encourage risky borrowing, went into…

Commentary Financial fears have grown as interest rates have risen and the shadow of recession has lengthened. Most worrying are what might be termed undefined risks. Declines in stock and bond market values, though troubling, are nonetheless quantifiable and well-defined. In contrast are the kinds of vague risks introduced by Washington’s mortgage giants, the Federal…

Consumer confidence in the American housing market plunged to record low last month, according to a new survey. Growing mortgage rates, higher home prices, and economic instability have led to increased pessimism in the housing market nationwide. Only 16 percent of consumers surveyed said that they would consider buying a home in October, according to…

The Federal Reserve’s raising of interest rates will likely slow an economy already burdened by high inflation, a pandemic, and a crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to an April 19 press release by Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group. The aggressive new monetary policy by the central bank is already hindering…

The Federal Reserve’s raising of interest rates will likely slow an economy already burdened by high inflation, a pandemic, and a crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to an April 19 press release by Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group. The aggressive new monetary policy by the central bank is already hindering…

Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group (ESR Group) announced in a report on Dec. 20 that home sales across the United States are expected to rise to 7.1 percent at the end of 2021, but will decline over the next two years as limited stock, combined with higher mortgage rates and inflation, will cool…

WASHINGTON—The regulator overseeing housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac proposed on Wednesday changes to recently imposed capital and leverage requirements on the pair. The proposed rule from the Federal Housing Finance Agency would encourage the pair to shift more risk from taxpayers to private investors, while allowing them to support the housing market, the…

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday it had suspended changes to the government’s stake in housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac imposed in the final days of the Trump administration. Those changes are aimed at lifting curbs on the agencies’ ability to back certain types of mortgages, including on second homes, multifamily homes…