Riverview’s Demise Highlights Condo Hazards
As demolition wraps up at the Riverside condo tower in Cambridge, the land begins to head towards a sale – possibly to a new developer.
Fannie, Freddie Ordered to Consider Crypto as Asset When Underwriting Mortgages
The head of the federal government agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wants the mortgage giants to consider accepting a homebuyer’s cryptocurrency holdings in their criteria for buying mortgages from banks.
Northeast Region Remains Strong Sellers Market, Homebuyers Still Pessimistic
While the Northeast region remains a strong market for sellers, the overall sentiment of homebuyers remains skeptical even with the potential for lower interest rates.
Fannie Mae Adds Multifamily Tenant Protections
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have jointly announced plans to add tenant protections for multifamily properties they finance beginning in 2025.
Consumers Want More Digital Mortgage Options
With the ability to secure a mortgage without ever stepping in a physical location, digital verification plays an important role.
Fannie, Freddie Economists Predict Only Small Uptick in Home Sales
The big mortgage rate drops that are helping the real estate industry ring in the new year shouldn’t be taken as a sign that home sellers will come out of the woodwork in 2024, the top economists at two mortgage market heavyweights say.
FHFA’s Federal Rent Control Proposal Would Be a Disaster
In its attempt to address the dire housing crisis, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is considering a policy that would surely make it worse and reduce the use of federal housing dollars.
Fannie Mae Extends Pilot Program that Boosts Credit Scores
Fannie Mae is adding another year to a pilot program that can help landlords boost tenants’ credit scores by reporting on-time rental payments, and making it free for more landlords to join.
Glimmers of Hope? Or Grasping at Straws?
Two recently released reports raised hopes that the real estate market in Massachusetts might be reheating a bit after months of slower-than-normal activity.
Survey Hints Consumers ‘Coming to Terms’ with High Mortgage Rates
Fannie Mae’s monthly survey of consumer sentiment about the housing industry contains hints that consumers may finally be getting used to the seemingly-intractable combination of high interest rates and high home prices that’s choking residential real estate markets around the country.
Fannie Mae Expects Nation’s Home Prices Will Keep Falling
The national economy is running out of steam and further declines in home prices are expected, economists at Fannie Mae forecast, but interest rates could start falling by year’s end.
Fannie Mae ‘Moving Away’ from Appraisal Requirements
Saying it needs to modernize the way it values properties, Fannie Mae announced significant changes yesterday to the appraisal process for single-family mortgages it buys on the secondary market.
Fannie Mae Predicts Home Price Drops in ’23
Leading housing economists at Fannie Mae now predict that home prices will shrink next year, instead of growing 4.4 percent as they had previously forecast.
Housing Heading for a Tough 2023, Fannie Mae Says
Fannie Mae’s top economic minds issued a depressing prognosis for the nation’s housing sector as mortgage rates took another big jump and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said housing needs “a correction.”
Will FHFA Let Lenders Take Bite Out of Jumbo Market?
The mortgage market is in for another big shift in a few months. That’s when a sizable increase – roughly 12 percent or 13 percent – in the conforming loan limit appears likely to be announced.
Forecast: Big Drop in Home Sales, Big Jump in Multifamily Starts
Economists at Fannie Mae expect a significant drop in sales of existing single-family homes this year, along with a significant jump in the start of construction on multifamily buildings.
Homebuying, Selling Pessimism Ticks Up in Fannie Survey
The share of consumers who think it’s a less-than-optimal time to buy or sell a home keeps ticking upwards as interest rates rise and housing affordability drops.
Most Consumers Optimistic About Selling Homes
The latest Fannie Mae survey of consumer homebuying sentiment shows that Americans are of opposite minds when it comes to buying and selling homes.
Mortgage Market Opens for Gig Workers
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shut many self-employed buyers out during the pandemic. But now, those rules are gone and some lenders, perhaps sensing a grand opportunity to boost market share, are targeting gig workers directly.
Landlords Seen as Key to Credit-Building
An ambitious effort by one of the biggest players in the mortgage market, Freddie Mac, to open up renters’ access to credit is relying on landlords to help. But few landlords and property managers know the effort exists.
