Fannie Mae Refinancing Volume Jumps to $77 Billion in March

/PRNewswire / -- Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) announced today that the company's refinancing volume jumped to $77 billion in March, nearly twice the refinancing volume the company experienced during the month of February and the company's largest refinance month since 2003.

"The volumes we are seeing are very encouraging," said Tom Lund, Executive Vice President, Single-Family Mortgage Business. "A majority of our business volume in March was in refinanced loans, and we anticipate that volumes will increase even more as millions of additional homeowners become eligible to refinance under the President's Making Home Affordable plan. Providing broader access to affordable, sustainable mortgages through expanded refinancing opportunities is a critical part of preventing future foreclosures and hastening recovery."

The company also disclosed that more than 500,000 borrowers have accessed Fannie Mae's online assistance to inquire about the possibility of refinancing their loan under the Obama Administration's refinancing plan, and more than 80,000 callers have contacted Fannie Mae's national hotline since the plan was announced.

Home Affordable Refinance

Fannie Mae launched its Home Affordable Refinance initiative last month as part of the President's Making Home Affordable plan. Key features include:

Additional Flexibilities: Most borrowers refinancing an existing Fannie Mae loan will not be required to buy new or additional mortgage insurance if the loan at the time of the refinance is more than 80 percent of a home's value. Any existing mortgage insurance may be carried forward to the new loan. In addition, Fannie Mae can refinance loans up to 105 percent of a home's value with this new flexibility, so even borrowers who are "underwater" -- who owe more than their home is worth -- may be able to refinance. This will expand the number of borrowers able to take advantage of lower interest rates that reduce monthly payments, or refinance into a more sustainable mortgage.

Streamlined Processing: Beginning April 4, the 1,600 lenders and 29,000 mortgage brokers using Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter(R) platform will be able to process an application to refinance an existing Fannie Mae loan, allowing for greater lender origination capacity and easier refinancing for borrowers.

What Borrowers Need to Know:

-- To qualify, your mortgage loan must be owned by Fannie Mae.
-- You must have a solid payment history on your existing mortgage.

-- The expanded refinance flexibility ends in June 2010.

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