The Lede

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said mortgage prepayment activity increased by 28% month-over-month in March, the largest single-month increase since 2016, in response to declining interest rates and the start of the spring home buying season.

Commercial property market supply and demand fundamentals remained stable in late 2018, Moody's Investors Service reported.

More signs point to a possible commercial real estate downturn in the next 12 months or so, said Situs RERC, Houston.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 22, 2019--Andrew Ackerman, Ben Eisen (subscription)Mark Calabria, in his first interview since taking the helm of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said he wants to put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--bailed out during the crisis, but now profitable--on the road toward returning to private hands, something Washington policy makers have tried and failed to do for the past decade.

Mortgage Media, April 22, 2019--David Stevens, CMBFormer MBA President & CEO says to protect generational impact of GSE reform process, policymakers must ensure the permanence of some of the most critical issues before any consideration to recapitalization and release.

Washington Post, Apr. 22, 2019--Renae MerleThe housing companies may have found a way around a congressionally mandated pay cap. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac created a new job--president--transferring some of the work traditionally done by the CEOs to the new positions, according to government investigators. The presidents will be paid more than $3 million each.

HousingWire, Apr. 22, 2019--Ben LaneAccording to the new analysis from the Urban Institute, the level of mortgage credit available for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Agriculture was higher during the fourth quarter than it was during any quarter since 2009.

Forbes, Apr. 19, 2019--Evan GentryThe author, CEO and Founder of M360 Advisors, says there are many reasons why creditworthy borrowers with strong track records and desirable assets turn to nonbank lenders, and collectively they create an attractive fixed-income investment opportunity. (MBA mention)

Syracuse.com (N.Y.), Apr. 19, 2019--Rick MoriartyDestiny USA's D-Day arrives June 6. On that day, its $430 million in mortgage loans come due in full, and the owner of the giant Syracuse mall is in danger of default.

Mortgage News Daily, Apr. 18, 2019--Jann SwansonThe Mortgage Bankers Association said banks responding to its survey made an average profit of $367 on each loan they originated last year, down from $711 per loan in 2017.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 18, 2019--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)360 Mortgage is bringing back the no-income, no-asset loan, but says its $1 billion pilot's guidelines differ from those of the NINA loans that contributed to the financial crisis.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 17, 2019--Neil Haggerty (subscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should be focused on preventing consumer harm rather than merely handing fines against companies, Director Kathy Kraninger said Wednesday.

Urban Institute, Apr. 17, 2019--Alanna McCargo, Sara StrochakThe authors found data show that small-dollar mortgage borrowers have comparable credit profiles to borrowers of midsize mortgages and that the loans perform similarly.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 16, 2019--Hannah Lang (subscription)Adolfo Marzol, a senior official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, has been named the principal deputy director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

MarketWatch, Apr. 16, 2019--Andrea RiquierIn the mortgage market of 2019, borrowers can do just about everything online, never meeting the lender behind the process. And as comments from executives of America's biggest banks made clear last week, that person--or institution--making the loan is increasingly less likely to be a banker. (MBA mention)

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 16, 2019--Esther Fung (subscription)Strong retail numbers last year from department stores Macy's Inc. and Nordstrom Inc. raised hopes that the beleaguered mall industry would finally rebound. But recent developments this year are pointing to more trouble ahead.