Pulte says Fannie, Freddie to remain in conservatorship with IPO plans

🇺🇸 It's Wednesday. Thanks for joining us. Today’s newsletter is a 3.5-minute read.

1. Pulte says Fannie, Freddie to remain in conservatorship with IPO plans

FHFA Director Bill Pulte clarified that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will remain in federal conservatorship—the government control initiated after the 2008 financial crisis.

• The Plan: The administration intends to sell a minority stake, up to 5% of shares, via an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This is seen as a cautious, initial step toward partial privatization, rather than a full release from government control.

• The Timeline: A decision by President Trump on the IPO is anticipated by the end of this year (2025) or early next year (2026).

• The Guarantee: Crucially, the implicit government guarantee that backs the two entities and stabilizes the housing market will remain intact even with the public offering.

The move aims to raise capital (with estimates up to $30 billion) while preserving the government's backstop for the 70% of the U.S. mortgage market that Fannie and Freddie support.

2. Fannie Mae fired staff probing how Trump team got key democrats mortgage docs

Fannie Mae watchdogs who were removed from their jobs had been probing if Trump appointee Bill Pulte had improperly obtained mortgage records of key Democratic officials, including New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The Fannie Mae ethics and investigations group had received internal complaints alleging senior officials had improperly directed staff to access the mortgage documents of James and others.

The Fannie investigators were probing to find out who had made the orders, whether Pulte had the authority to seek the documents and whether or not they had followed proper procedure.

Why Top LOs Are Flocking to Canopy.

Tired of settling? Successful Loan Officers and Branch Managers are demanding more: superior pricing, next-gen technology, honest transparency, true leadership, and a path to a larger income.

Take control of your career and compensation. Hear from the top producers who switched to Canopy Mortgage and are now earning more, working smarter, and enjoying a better work-life balance.

Find out how much you can earn.

3. More Nuggets

💰 What to know about Trump’s $2K tariff check proposal. (The Hill)

🌊 Inside Zillow’s legal storm: From RESPA to job discrimination. (HousingWire)

🏘️ Housing affordability is so strained that the White House is looking at a 50-year mortgage option—11 things to know. (ResiClub)

💸 Affordability outlook brightens for Veteran homebuyers. (NMP)

4. FHFA nearing deal to use new FICO credit scoring model for mortgages

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is currently reviewing a possible deal with FICO to implement the FICO 10T credit scoring model for mortgages.

FHFA announced in July that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow lenders the option to use VantageScore 4.0 while still allowing use of the classic FICO score to assess the creditworthiness of mortgages.

The agency said at the time it was also exploring implementation of the newer FICO 10T, which uses trended data that captures consumer behavior dynamics and debt history for the previous 24 months.

5. Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 6%

As the housing market heads into its traditionally slowest season, homebuyers are making one last gasp, likely due to more supply on the market and softening prices.

• Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 6% last week to their strongest pace since September, according to the MBA’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was 31% higher than the same week one year ago.

• The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 6.34% from 6.31%. That rate is 52 basis points lower than it was one year ago.

• Demand for refinancing, which had been very strong last month, dropped 3% for the week but was still 147% higher than the same week one year ago.

☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Friday!

🚀 Wanna help our newsletter grow? Forward it to a friend or colleague.

Would you like to receive a ready-to-send weekly marketing email for your realtors and/or clients? Start your 30-day free trial here.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

Interested in advertising to 40k+ loan officers? Get in touch.