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Mortgage Market Note 08-4: U.S. Treasury Support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to support Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) by purchasing obligations and other securities from those government-sponsored enterprises (collectively, the housing GSEs). HERA...
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Recent Trends in Home Prices: Differences across Mortgage and Borrower Characteristics
Author: Andrew Leventis, Principal Economist This Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) research paper analyzes differences in recent price trends for homes with different types of financing and borrower characteristics. The work follows preliminary research published in January...
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Mortgage Markets and the Enterprises in 2007
Author: Andrew Leventis, Principal Economist Forrest Pafenberg, Senior Policy Analyst Valerie L. Smith, Senior Policy Analyst Jesse Weiher, Senior Economist This Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) research paper reviews developments in the housing sector and the primary and...
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Mortgage Market Note 08-3: A Primer on the Secondary Mortgage Market
A secondary mortgage market consists of financial institutions and individuals that buy and sell residential mortgages and mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which are financial assets whose cash flows are derived from groups of mortgages. The secondary market in the U.S. is highly developed. Today...
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Mortgage Market Note 08-2: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Capital
Discussions about the capital of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are sometimes confusing because of the various alternative types of capital and capital requirements. This note is intended to provide a quick reference for the different measures of capital, the capital requirements, the capital...
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Working Paper 08-2: Enterprise Credit Default Swaps and Market Discipline – Preliminary Analysis
The current paper explores the potential role of the rapidly expanding Credit Default Swaps (CDS) market as a potential source of information and discipline to enhance Enterprise safety and soundness.
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Reconciling Price Change Estimates for 2007Q1-2008Q1 for the OFHEO and S&P/Case-Shiller Price Indexes
Author: Andrew Leventis, Principal Economist This OFHEO research paper publishes data regarding the reconciling price change estimates for 2007Q1-2008Q1 for the OFHEO and S&P/Case-Shiller price indexes. This includes ten original S&P/Case-Shiller Metropolitan area indexes.
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Working Paper 08-1: Real Estate Futures Prices as Predictors of Price Trends
Regulators are seeking ways to reduce the procyclical effect of the current capital regulatory regime and the spillovers associated with financial firm distress. This paper examines one set of proposed solutions: ex post mechanisms that would automatically recapitalize systemically important...
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Revisiting the Differences between the OFHEO and S&P/Case-Shiller House Price Indexes: New Explanations
Author: Andrew Leventis, Principal Economist This Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) research paper analyzes the potential causes of the differences between the OFHEO House Price Indexes (the “HPI”) and home price indexes produced by S&P/Case-Shiller. The paper updates a...
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Mortgage Market Note 08-1: Potential Implications of Increasing the Conforming Loan Limit in High-Cost Areas
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are prohibited by charter from purchasing singlefamily conventional mortgages with unpaid principal balances above the conforming loan limit. For mortgages that finance one-unit properties, that limit is $417,000 in 2008, as it was in 2006 and 2007. Higher limits apply to...