Amid historically low rates, refinancing is hot—though it got doused with some cold water on August 12, when the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced a significant new fee: All refinances backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which the FHFA oversees, would be subject to the Adverse Market Refinance Fee, equivalent to 0.5% of the total loan amount, starting Sept. 1. The fee is intended to help cover at least $6 billion of projected losses incurred by the Covid-19 crisis, the FHFA said in an August statement. Two weeks after the initial announcement, after an outcry from the mortgage industry, the FHFA revised its previous...

Source: Wall Street Journal September 23, 2020 12:33 UTC