The market for jumbo mortgage bonds not backed by Fannie/Freddie still slim. But here’s a new sign of life.

[Critical Loan Limit Update on 11/18/2011] The U.S. Senate voted 60-38 yesterday to restore higher loan limits. This would raise the cap on Fannie, Freddie, FHA loans from the existing $625,500 (or lower depending on region) back to $729,750. Limits were just reduced to $625,500 as of October 1. The vote was on an amendment [...]

Investors in mortgage-backed securities are keenly interested in the prepayment speeds of new and old securities – why would someone pay a 3 point premium for a loan that is going to pay off in 4 months? Analysts expect that prepayment speeds across the various non-agency (aka non-Fannie/Freddie) sectors should increase as mortgage rates continue [...]

For those out there rooting for the non-agency (jumbo) market to come roaring back, there is a step in the right direction. Pricing engine Optimal Blue has released Redwood Trust’s Jumbo Fixed and ARM products. Redwood has seen a solid increase in their number of clients, percentage-wise, in the last year, and with good reason. [...]

One of my colleagues Brandon Hoyles sent me this picture of a crowd outside his office last week…

Mortgage loans have three rate tiers: (1) lowest rates for conforming loans up to $417,000, (2) .125% to .25% higher than tier 1 for super-conforming loans from $417,000 to $729,750, (3) .125% to .375% higher than tier 2 for jumbo loans above $729,750. The first two rate tiers are lower because Fannie Mae and Freddie [...]

[Latest in our 'Future of Mortgages' series] A few years ago, REITs that bought and sold residential mortgage securities were very much off the radar screen. But times change and according to DealLogic, of the nine new REITs with IPOs planned this year, seven will invest in mortgage backed securities (often referred to on this [...]

Per the FDIC, commercial banks and savings institutions insured by them “reported an aggregate profit of $29 billion in the first quarter of 2011, an $11.6 billion improvement (66.5%) from the $17.4 billion in net income the industry reported in 1Q2010. This is the seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year earnings growth, although it is the [...]

Google has built built out its mortgage rate searches by launching a comparison tool for consumers. Lenders who want to be in searches must pay for the privilege. More Jumbo News Here is some company news of note. Springleaf, an offshoot of American General Finance, is planning to raise $500 million for nonconforming/non-agency loan financing. [...]

Rates remain near 2011 lows for the same reasons discussed last Thursday’s market recap: questionable economic recovery. Below is a summary and rate outlook for next week, plus I address panic about lower loan limits effective October 1. Since the New York Times published Fed Retreat on Bigger Loans Rattles Housing on May 10, I’ve [...]