(RECAP: Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey®, showing average fixed mortgage rates dropping to new 2016 lows in the wake of the Brexit vote. At 3.48 percent, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is only 17 basis points from its November 2012 all-time record low of 3.31 percent. Attributed to Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac. “In the wake of the Brexit vote, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond plummeted 24 basis points. The 30-year mortgage rate declined as well, but not by as much, falling 8 basis points to 3.48 percent. This week’s survey rate is the lowest since May 2013 and only 17 basis points above the all-time low recorded in November 2012. This extremely low mortgage rate should support solid home sales and refinancing volume this summer.”)

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(RECAP: A federal program that sold more than 100,000 soured mortgages to private investors at discounted prices is getting a major overhaul. Changes announced by federal housing officials on Thursday follow months of criticism from legislators and housing advocates that the buyers of the loans have not done enough to keep struggling borrowers in their homes. The housing officials said that private investment firms buying delinquent mortgages would have to consider reducing the total amount of money owed on a mortgage as part of potential modification to make a loan more affordable. This represents a significant change in a government program that started in earnest four years ago in the wake of the housing crisis.)

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(RECAP: More than three-quarters of the delinquent mortgages Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have sold since 2014 are still delinquent today, according to a new report. Fannie and Freddie have sold delinquent mortgages in bulk since 2014. The mortgages are sold to investors at steep discounts to their face value in an attempt to help distressed homeowners find better outcomes than the government can provide and shield taxpayers from more losses caused by defaults. The government has drawn criticism for the mortgage sales. Many consumer advocates say the investors who buy them have no experience helping distressed homeowners and no sense of responsibility to the communities where the homes are located. But few nonprofits are able to handle the financing or servicing of so many mortgages.)

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