Transfers of agency mortgage servicing rights fell to more normal levels early this year from the amped-up activity in the closing months of 2018, a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis reveals.
An estimated $135.7 billion of MSR tied to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities changed hands in the first quarter of 2019. That was down $48.0 billion from the fourth quarter, but volume in early 2019 represented a solid 11.8% increase over the same period last year.
The biggest factor was a huge drop-off in bulk sales of Ginnie MSR, which tumbled 75.1% from an abnormally high level in the fourth quarter. There were two dozen issuers that sold Ginnie rights in the fourth quarter that didn’t come back to market in early 2019, including Homebridge Financial Services, Franklin American Mortgage and AmeriHome Mortgage.
At just $18.2 billion, Ginnie bulk sales in the first three months of the year were at their lowest volume since the final lap of 2017. For full details and exclusive tables on buyers and sellers of servicing rights, see the new edition of Inside Mortgage Trends, now available online.