Ginnie Mae’s Alanna McCargo is leaving the company and returning to private life, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced.
McCargo, who has served a president of the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) since January 2022, called the move a “deeply personal decision.”
“The past 3.5 years in public service with the Biden-Harris Administration has been the most important and fulfilling work of my 25-year career in housing finance and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve my country and advance a bold housing agenda across the globe as President of Ginnie Mae,” she said in a statement.
Her resignation will go into effect on May 1.
Principal Executive Vice President Sam Valverde will serve as…
Rates took a turn for the worse last week, rising back to nearly 7%, as economic data soured analysts’ moods on easing rates.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.87%, up from the week prior’s 6.74%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.42%.
This breaks a two-week streak of declines. Mortgage applications slipped this week as rate-sensitive Americans backed away from the market.
The 15-year fixed rate also rose from 6.16% to 6.21%. A year ago, it averaged 5.68%.
The Central Bank outlined cuts to come in 2024 but held the benchmark rate steady during their March meeting.
Inflation has eased over the past year but committee members do not…
First-time homebuyers accounted for a record number of GSE purchase loans in 2023, while originations sunk to new lows, according to ICE’s latest Mortgage Monitor.
They made up 55% of agency purchases last year, the highest share ever recorded by ICE in the ten years it has been tracking this metric.
“The market in which these folks purchased their first home was one of record house prices, ballooning down payments, rising rates, and elevated DTIs,” Andy Walden, ICE Vice President of Enterprise Research Strategy, said.
“Given record exposure to first-time homebuyer loans, it’ll be worth watching the performance of this cohort very closely moving forward, particularly for those invested in 2023 agency MBS.”
First-timers and repeat buyers differed greatly in…
Fannie Mae appointed a new EVP and Chief Operating Officer, Morgan Stanley exec Peter Akwaboah.
Akwaboah brings almost thirty years of experience in the financial services industry to the position. He will oversee Fannie Mae’s Chief Information Office, Enterprise Operations, Business Resiliency, and Enterprise Workplace and Security functions.
“Peter’s many years of experience and unique combination of technology and operations expertise will add to our deep leadership bench, and his wealth of experience and industry knowledge will bring great value to the company,” said Fannie Mae CEO Priscilla Almodovar.
“We look forward to the talent and experience he’ll bring to our technology and operations as we continue to respond to the needs of the market, carefully balancing innovation, risk management,…
The Fed’s preferred inflation measure soared to a four-month high in September, increasing the likelihood of future Fed rate hikes.
The personal consumption expenditures price index tracks what Americans buy and for how much, offering a view into their spending habits. The core index, which excludes food and energy components, increased by 0.3% in September.
When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending rose 0.4%.
The data comes on the heels of news that the economy grew by 4.9% in Q3 2023, the fastest pace in two years and more than expected. Consumers once again waved off recession fears, but the increase puts the Central Bank in a tough position as it battles inflation.
Analysts generally maintain that another increase won’t come…
Average mortgage rates jumped another 10 bps last week, edging closer to 8%.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.79%, up from 7.63%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 7.08%.
The 15-year fixed-rate rose to 7.03% from 6.92%. A year ago, it averaged 6.36%.
“For the seventh week in a row, mortgage rates continued to climb toward eight percent, resulting in the longest consecutive rise since the Spring of 2022,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
“Rates have risen two full percentage points in 2023 alone and as we head into Halloween, the impacts may scare potential homebuyers. Purchase activity has slowed to a virtual standstill, affordability remains a…
The Federal Housing Finance Agency has made significant changes meant to improve lending access to low-income and first-time homebuyers. At the Mortgage Bankers Association’s 2022 Annual Convention & Expo, FHFA Director Sandra L. Thompson announced that the agency had validated and approved the FICO 10T credit score model and the VantageScore 4.0 credit score model for use by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two models will replace the Classic FICO, which the GSEs have used for two decades. Thompson said the models will take multiple years and significant effort to introduce to the industry. But will the end result will be “improved accuracy and a more inclusive approach to evaluating borrowers.” The new models improve accuracy by accounting for…
Ian Ouwerkerk has been named Freddie Mac Multifamily’s SVP of Underwriting and Credit, the GSE announced in a press release. He has served as interim SVP since Q1 2022. Ouwerkerk joined Freddie Mac in 2008. He previously served as VP of Multifamily underwriting and senior director of underwriting for the Southeastern region. As VP of Underwriting and Credit, he focuses on ensuring the quality of Multifamily loans. He also oversees large regional pool transactions and balances credit risk management and solutions for sponsors and lenders. Prior to joining the GSE, Ouwerkerk worked as a commercial real estate broker. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Acadia University. “Ian is a strong leader with a proven track record implementing strategic,…
