Mortgage servicers have significantly stepped up efforts to convert trial modifications to permanent status under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), nearly doubling the number in just one month's time. The U.S. Treasury released its January report card Wednesday and it showed that 116,297 homeowners are now in permanent modifications. Another 76,482 have been extended offers for a permanent restructuring, needing only the borrower's signature to complete the conversion. The Treasury said the data "marked record progress."
The nation's two largest mortgage financiers have been stuck in the red for some time, and they regularly require cash draws from the Treasury to stay afloat. The GSEs' recent announcements to buy back some $200 billion in seriously delinquent loans from mortgage-backed securities holders over the next few months mean they'll have to come up with some extra cash fast. Analysts at Barclays Capital estimate that Freddie Mac will need to sell off $10 billion to $20 billion of its debt to fund the purchases, while Fannie Mae will need to raise about $60 billion.
The new Appraiser Independence requirements for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans officially took effect February 15, 2010. Originally planned for a January 1 implementation, the enactment was delayed to provide the FHA and lenders with additional time to adjust systems to accommodate the changes. The new rules are similar the the GSEs' HVCC, and market participants are expecting the same type of pushback to surface.
With more than 100,000 positions eliminated in the mortgage industry from 2006 through 2008, it is clear that employment within this sector was strongly impacted by the downturn in the economy. However, as the economy begins to show signs of stabilization, mortgage employment is following suit. In 2009, the industry netted 8,321 new jobs, with 2,800 coming in the fourth quarter alone.
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