Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s biweekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon.
–Mortgage rates were up this week and home purchase applications were down, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. As mortgage rates have hovered in between 6% and 7% for several weeks now, experts who monitor mortgage activity say that buyers and sellers are becoming accustomed to the new normal in average rates and that the recent steadiness has been enough to move some off the fence.
But because they remain at an elevated state and because of continuing affordability issues, first-time buyers are still experiencing the most obstacles to homeownership. There are other economic factors also weighing on rate activity, namely uncertainty over the effects of tariffs and a dip in the 10-year Treasury, but experts believe there are economic forces at play in the housing industry that will yield better results once the spring market is in full swing in the coming weeks. Read our reports on this week’s rate and application data here and here.
-The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Wednesday it will no longer allow non-permanent residents or non-U.S. citizens to obtain FHA-insured mortgages. This significant policy shift aligns with the Trump administration’s tougher stance on illegal immigration.
The changes, published in Mortgagee Letter 2025-09 and Title I Letter 490, take effect May 25. The letters cite concerns about non-permanent residents’ ability to repay their loans over the long term due to the uncertainty of their residency status. Housing advocates have expressed concern about the change, arguing it could further restrict access to homeownership for immigrant communities already facing barriers in the housing market.
-On Tuesday, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte issued an order for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to terminate Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) that they support, according to reporting this week from National Mortgage Professional. SPCPs support buyers who need assistance with down payments and closing cost assistance.
According to the notice signed by Pulte, the FHFA “has determined that the current level of support for SPCPs is inappropriate for regulated entities in conservatorship.”
A Bloomberg report noted the real estate industry is carefully watching moves by Pulte who would play an important role in any effort to privatize Fannie and Freddie, which should be “carefully planned” to keep the housing market stable and not pressure mortgage rates, he said last month.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), which has previously supported SPCPs as a tool to increase mortgage-credit availability to underserved groups, has not yet released a comment on the directive at press time.
-Reuters reported that banking giant Wells Fargo has shed another consent order, the fifth closed this calendar year. After facing an avalanche of lawsuits and investigations related a variety of malpractice going back to 2016, the company claims that the lifting of these orders affirms that it is moving back into compliance, with CEO Charlie Scharf saying in a statement Wells Fargo is “confident” it will meet the requirements to emerge from remaining consent orders.
-On Wednesday, FHFA also rescinded an advisory that would have required Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks to monitor and enforce unfair or deceptive acts or practices (UDAP) by lenders, servicers and third parties, according to Mortgage Professional America.
The bulletin covered a wide range of activities related to compliance with the Federal Trade Commission, including loan origination, servicing to appraisals, advertising and credit decisions, and asserted that the GSEs could be held directly or vicariously liable for UDAP violations, including those committed by third parties, if they “knew or should have known” about the misconduct, MPA noted.
MBA’s President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB, released a statement in support of the move. “MBA supports the rescission of this advisory bulletin and thanks Director Pulte for prioritizing this issue in response to our members’ concerns, which we raised at the time of the policy’s release in November and reiterated to the Director immediately upon his confirmation.
“Common sense regulation and oversight is crucial to ensuring that the GSEs operate in a safe and sound manner that allows them to continue their pivotal role in providing affordable homeownership and rental housing opportunities for all Americans.”
