There are some “big-hitters” in the mortgage, finance, and housing world who will tell you that the Trump Administration’s plan to sell shares in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could drive up the mortgage rates that Americans pay. Shareholders want a return. Others will counter that the time has come to remove them from conservatorship, regardless. It’s time to “pull off the bandage” quickly. Either way, mortgage industry observers are wondering about the fate of Fannie and Freddie in the wake of statements from the President and FHFA Director Pulte about a GSE IPO and combining the two housing finance agencies into one “Great American Mortgage Company.” Mortgage Musings author and attorney Brian Levy weighs in with his unique perspective on this in his latest edition, Corruption and the Great American Mortgage Company. Sign up to receive the Mortgage Musings at www.blevy.substack.com or it can be found on the Chrisman Commentary Thought Leadership page.“ Speaking of the Agencies, if you are looking to obtain a FNMA seller/servicer approval or have an internal title insurer vetting process that requires you to maintain risk information on title insurers, Secure Insight offers risk profiles on national and regional insurers which include independent financial stability ratings. Contact Amanda Padd or visit Secure Insight. And for what should be a fantastic discussion on the future of mortgage workflows and how the industry could consolidate as it moves toward a marketplace (a la car insurance shopping or flight searches), tune into Mortgages With Millennials, today at 10a PT/1p ET, when Robbie sits down with Porchlight’s David Wells and Pylon Lending’s Trent Hedge for a discussion on bringing underwriting to the point of search. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Arrive Home. Arrive Home helps mortgage lenders connect creditworthy buyers with down payment assistance and affordable homeownership solutions, offering tools that empower lenders and uplift communities. Hear an interview with Arrive Home’s Shawn King on how downpayment assistance is helping millions of Americans build generational wealth.)

Products, Services, and Tools for Lenders and Brokers

2025 has brought major shifts to the real estate and mortgage industry. And, with new AVM quality control standards taking effect on October 1, lenders are under even more pressure to ensure their valuation tools support compliance by providing reliable, objective property values. ICE’s recent webinar explores how the Property Valuation Model, powered by eight advanced ICE AVMs, can help lenders address today’s challenges and prepare for tomorrow’s advancements. Seamlessly integrated into the Encompass^® loan origination system, this model selects the most appropriate AVM based on geography, property type and living area, delivering more consistent, objective property values. Whether you're evaluating your current tools or exploring new solutions, this on-demand webinar offers valuable insights to help you stay ahead of regulatory changes and make smarter, data-driven decisions. Watch now to learn how ICE is helping lenders lead with confidence.

AI has become one of the hottest topics in mortgage technology this year. The possibilities are exciting, but the question remains: how do lenders bring AI into their processes without losing the personal touch that borrowers expect? LenderLogix believes the right approach is balance. AI works best behind the scenes as a co-pilot: streamlining workflows, surfacing insights, and giving loan teams more time to focus on relationships. The borrower experience still depends on the expertise and empathy of the loan officer. In its latest blog, LenderLogix explores how lenders can embrace AI thoughtfully and gain efficiency while keeping trust at the center of the process. Worth a read for lenders exploring how AI fits into borrower experience.

“Cyber threats don’t wait, and vendor surprises happen: Don’t let your organization be caught off guard. At MQMR, we provide you with practical, independent solutions that safeguard data while keeping operations exam-ready. Our Internal Audit team delivers a clear, in-depth look at your cybersecurity program, ensuring controls not only satisfy regulators but also function seamlessly in your day-to-day environment. In tandem, MQMR’s Vendor Management services deliver proactive oversight and continuous third-party risk monitoring. We help you onboard and manage partners with confidence, reducing exposure and strengthening your operations from the start. The result is more than compliance… it’s resilience. With MQMR by your side, your leadership will gain the bandwidth to focus on growth initiatives knowing risks are addressed, documentation is exam-ready, and defenses are aligned with today’s evolving challenges. Don’t lose capacity to complexities: Let MQMR’S experts handle it so you can move forward with confidence.

MLOs: Be careful what you’re offering your borrowers right now. Jerome Powell just signaled a rate cut next month. That means any fixed-rate HELOC or CES locks your customers into today’s peak rates, right before they drop. NFTYDoor’s HELOC is pegged to Prime, so when Prime goes down, your customers’ payments go down with it. And they’ll keep benefiting as rates ease further. Do what’s right for your clients. Don’t trap them in a fixed rate at the top of the market. Give them flexibility. Give them NFTY. Email seth@nftydoor.com.

“You Built the Deal. We Get It Closed. Broker shops love the idea of freedom, until overlays, red tape, and back-end chaos cost you a deal. At Delmar Mortgage, we give brokers AUS findings direct with Fannie and Freddie, a direct line to underwriting, and a help desk that moves at your speed. This is what control should feel like. Let’s talk about a better way to broker. See how our underwriters support you.”

The Chrisman Marketplace is a centralized hub for vendors and service providers across the mortgage industry to be viewed by lenders in a very cost-effective manner. We’re adding new providers daily, so check back often to see what’s new. To reserve your place or learn more, contact us at info@chrismancommentary.com.

STRATMOR on CX Success

What do the best Customer Experience leaders do differently? According to STRATMOR Customer Experience Director Mike Seminari, it’s not about flashy mission statements or marketing slogans. It’s about consistent, everyday habits that turn borrowers into loyal advocates.

In his August CX Tip, “Guide to Greatness: What Top CX Leaders Do Differently,” Seminari uses a recent hotel stay to illustrate how small, thoughtful gestures, like a warm greeting or quick resolution to an issue, can leave a lasting impression. Translating that lesson to mortgage lending, he shows that borrowers respond in much the same way. When lenders deliver error-free processes and empathetic service, satisfaction scores soar and repeat, and referral business follows.

The takeaway: Great CX doesn’t come from big promises, but from building a culture where doing the little things right, every time, is the norm.

Agency Updates

Yes, other channels are stealing market share away from Freddie and Fannie, but that doesn’t mean the industry watches them any less.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the GSEs) announced the release of the Uniform Property Data Report (UPDR). Developed in response to industry feedback, this standardized report template is designed to improve the efficiency and consistency of property data report (PDR) review and underwriting.

Fannie Mae’s August Selling Guide Updates bring you more flexibility and clarity. Key changes include updated requirements pertaining to co-op project eligibility and the Project Eligibility Waiver process, reminder of disaster-related forbearance options Capital Markets Operations information.

Simplify your appraisal review process by joining the Limited Production Period for the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) 3.6 and Forms anytime between Sept. 8, 2025, and Jan. 25, 2026. Read Fannie Mae’s updated UAD 3.6 Overview to discover the benefits of joining this period and get ahead of broad industry availability.

With the Condo Project Eligibility Waivers process ending in September. 1, 2025, Fannie Mae incorporated many of the previously granted exceptions directly into the Selling Guide allowing greater flexibility to make co-op eligibility decisions without submitting an exception request.

With the aim to boost operational efficiency and improve the borrower experience, 62% of lenders intend to adopt eMortgage technology within two years, according to new Fannie Mae research.

Freddie Mac expanded its CHOICEHome^® conventional financing options to include modern single-section factory-built homes encouraging more buyers and builders to consider them as an attractive option. This financing option became available to lenders on August 6, 2025. CHOICEHome mortgages are appraised using similar methods as site-built homes. Freddie Mac’s existing financing options include financing for multi-section factory-built homes with a 3% down payment option. Now, Freddie Mac will include the same financing option for single-section, or single-wide, modern factory-built homes for the first time. To learn more about CHOICEHome eligibility, visit the Single-Family Seller Servicer Guide.

Pennymac Announcement 25-78: Fannie Mae High-Balance Credit Score Update.

Pennymac Announcement 25-79: Important Update on Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) Version 3.6 Limited Production Period.

Pennymac Announcement 25-82: Fannie Mae 7/6 and 10/6 Adjustable-Rate Mortgage update, effective immediately.

UWM announced the launch of R/T 90, a 90-basis points (bps) pricing incentive for conventional, jumbo, FHA and USDA rate and term refinances, along with FHA Streamlines, VA IRRRLs, and VA Type 1 Cash-Outs. This incentive is available on new locks through September 16, providing independent mortgage brokers with a competitive edge to help more borrowers refinance their home loans. R/T 90 offers borrowers improved pricing and the opportunity to lower their rate and monthly payment on eligible refinances.

July’s budget reconciliation package brings the mortgage insurance (MI) tax deduction back. National MI shared PRO-TIPS on new MI tax deduction rules and borrower benefits.

Effective for all Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Non-Agency (Conventional Loans) purchased by AmeriHome on and after October 1, 2025, AmeriHome is transitioning its sub-servicing provider from Shellpoint to ServiceMac, LLC. View AmeriHome Mortgage Servicing Announcement 20250802-CL for details.

Loans originated using the new Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) and Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) version 3.6 during the Limited Production Period (September 8, 2025, through January 25, 2026) are not eligible for delivery to AmeriHome. View Product Announcement 20250801-CL for information.

AmeriHome Mortgage 20250714-CL General Announcement – July 2025 summarizes previously published changes made during July, additional changes made with this announcement, and recent Agency and regulatory news.

Fed Drama

The Federal Reserve's annual meeting in Jackson Hole was a tense affair, with Chair Powell signaling an interest-rate cut as soon as September despite clear divisions among his fellow policymakers. Few events matter as much for markets as the words of the Fed chair, but President Trump yesterday took the extraordinary step of announcing the firing of Fed Governor Cook, effective immediately, citing allegations that Ms. Cook may have falsified records in order to obtain favorable terms on a mortgage, even though she has not been charged with wrongdoing or convicted of a crime.

To fire Ms. Cook, Mr. Trump invoked a power in the Fed’s founding statute that allows him to remove members of the board with cause. He justified the maneuver, a legally dubious one that could undermine the independence of the central bank, by claiming that the allegations of mortgage fraud compromised Ms. Cook’s ability to perform as an effective financial regulator. Ms. Cook said that she would not step down from the Fed: In a statement released through her lawyer on Monday evening, Ms. Cook said that “no cause exists under the law” for Mr. Trump to fire her. “I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022,” she said.

Forcing out Cook would create an opportunity for Trump-appointed governors to secure a majority on the Fed board. While it wouldn’t be enough votes to control policy rates, Trump-appointees would have power over the reappointment of regional Fed presidents, which could theoretically impact the makeup of the Committee in 2026.

Outside of President Trump finding creative ways to appoint more members, let’s take a quick look at the most likely scenarios that could compromise the central bank’s independence and affect the U.S. economy: A higher inflation target (replacing the 2 percent target with a 3 percent or 4 percent inflation target), an increased Fed sensitivity to its maximum employment mandate, and reduced responsiveness to inflation deviations, the Fed adopting a politically convenient view that the natural rates of interest and unemployment are lower than current estimates, or what some are calling the “Trump scenario,” where the Fed lowers the policy rate to 1 percent, regardless of economic conditions, to appease the president. Across these scenarios, all point to an economic boost in the short term, but a rise in inflation that ultimately leads to faster price gains and higher interest rates. Additionally, those short-term gains come at the expense of eroded credibility, higher inflation expectations, risks to financial market stability, and increased fiscal servicing costs later on.

The Fed meets September 16 and 17. Before then we will have Friday's PCE inflation report, the August jobs report, the 12-month payroll revision, and one more CPI report. Fed officials are divided over how and when to adjust policy in the coming months. Some have pointed to the labor market’s resilience. Others warn that nascent signs of weakness in employment could metastasize into a more significant downturn. The minutes from the FOMC’s July meeting noted the potential downside risks to the economy from a slowing housing market on retail sales, construction employment, and potential slowing of home appreciation gains. Fed Chair Powell’s speech on Friday indicated the Fed views the potential downside risks to the labor market as more significant than recent tariff driven inflation, which has led market participants to believe the Fed will reduce the fed funds rate at the conclusion of the September meeting.

Capital Markets

The yield curve is growing steeper, especially if the Federal Reserve cuts overnight rates but 30-year rates don’t move much. If I’m a bank, and I’m paying customers less than 1 percent on their deposits but loaning it out at 5 or 6 percent, that’s a sweet spread. So, into the portfolio it goes. Meanwhile, brokers and independent mortgage banks continue to search for buyers of adjustable-rate loans with little success. Banks and CUs have enough ARM volume coming from their branches: 70 percent of JPMChase’s pipeline last month was ARMs.

The market followed Friday's strong rally with an uneventful start to the week in both equities and Treasuries. New home sales slid 0.6 percent in July to a 625k annual sales pace. Upward revisions to prior data simultaneously revealed that transactions were on stronger ground than previously thought. Nevertheless, sales slipped 8.2 percent year-over-year, implying that high mortgage rates, economic uncertainty and a softening labor market are keeping buyers on the sidelines. Single-family home builders face added pressure from elevated inventories, which is likely to discourage a near-term rebound in single-family construction.

Today’s economic calendar kicked off with durable goods orders for July (falling 2.8 percent in July versus -4.0 percent expectations) and Philadelphia Fed nonmanufacturing for August (-17.5 versus -10.3 prior). Later today brings Redbook same store sales, June house price indices from Case-Shiller and FHFA, consumer confidence in August, Richmond Fed manufacturing and services, Dallas Fed Texas services, Treasury activity that will be headlined by $69 billion 2-year notes and a buyback (for liquidity purposes) in 5-year to 7-year coupons for up to $4 billion, and remarks from Richmond Fed President Barkin. We begin Tuesday with Agency MBS prices slightly worse versus the close yesterday, the 2-year yielding 3.70, and the 10-year yielding 4.28 percent after closing yesterday at 4.28 percent.