FHFA enhanced payment deferral option

Happy Friday! Any big plans for the weekend? I recommend shoes if you're going out — but not everyone agrees.

P.S. Anytime I say “U.S. home prices”, I’m talking about a national aggregate. Regionally, the story can vary—a lot.

1. FHFA enhances payment deferral

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, under the FHFA, will allow borrowers facing financial hardship to defer up to six months of mortgage payments, an option that was previously available only for those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Enterprises completed more than one million COVID-19 payment deferrals during the pandemic, helping borrowers nationwide to stay in their homes,” said FHFA Director Sandra L. Thompson. “Based on the success of the COVID-19 payment deferral, we are making this solution a key part of our standard loss mitigation toolkit that is available to all borrowers with eligible hardships.”

This payment deferral option allows borrowers to keep the same monthly mortgage payment but move past-due amounts to the end of the loan as a non-interest-bearing balance, due and payable at maturity, sale, refinance, or payoff.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will work with servicers to implement the enhanced payment-deferral policies, with a voluntary adoption date of July 1, and mandatory adoption by Oct 1.

2. Homebridge to lay off 139

New Jersey-based Homebridge Financial Services will lay off 139 employees in June after selling its retail division to CMG Mortgage, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The job cuts will affect mortgage loan officers, final “docs” associates, desktop support professionals, and business solutions architects, among others. The company's retail operations will be terminated, but its wholesale divisions will be retained.

The company's CEO will also act as executive advisor to CMG's retail division to ensure a successful transition. The layoffs will happen on June 26, and employees will be paid their wages up to their termination date. Severance will also be provided.

3. More Nuggets

💬 It's hard enough to give candid feedback to a friend or subordinate. Giving it to your boss is so much harder — and can get you booted if you botch it. Here’s how to do it. (Axios)

💼 First Mortgage Co. and its founder Ronald J. McCord have been ordered by a US court to pay $31m plus interest to CapLOC LLC in restitution following a series of lawsuits; this is in addition to McCord's eight-year sentence and $51.86m in restitution for defrauding local banks, Fannie Mae, homeowners, and others. (NMP)

📈 Pending home sales rose 0.8% in February for a third consecutive month, according to data released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. (NAR)

4. Mortgage rates boost applications

The 30-year fixed rate dropped for the third straight week, boosting mortgage applications as homebuyers responded. Mortgage applications increased by 2.9%, with the refinance index up by 5% from the previous week, and purchase mortgage demand rising by 2%.

“Application activity increased as mortgage rates declined for the third straight week. Home-price growth has slowed markedly in many parts of the country, which has helped to improve buyers’ purchasing power,” Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president, said. “Purchase applications remain over 30% behind last year’s pace, but recent increases, along with data from other sources showing an uptick in home sales, is a welcome development.”

The drop in rates and bond yields was driven by investor uncertainty over the banking sector's health after recent bank failures.

☀️ See you on Monday! Something to watch; Succession Season 4.

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