The number of mortgage applications filed by Americans over the past week increased, prolonging a whipsaw back-and-forth trend that continues to seesaw amid a relatively steady yet still uncertain economic recovery. Mortgage applications “increased 2.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier,” the Mortgage Bankers Association said in its weekly report on the subject. The increase comes after a decrease the week prior, which itself followed an increase the week before that, in a cycle that has persisted for weeks. “Mortgage applications rebounded last week, including an increase in purchase applications for the first time in nearly a month,” MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan said. “The higher level of purchase activity…
Housing stock jumped notably throughout the country over the past month, signaling a possible turning point in the red-hot housing market that has kept prices elevated for well over a year. Realtor’s July 2021 housing data release “reveals signs of a positive change in the market for homebuyers,” the company said, with lower prices and higher stock offer potential signs of relief for buyers who have been frustrated by ever-rising prices. “Median listing prices are continuing to cool,” Realtor said, while “newly listed homes grew by 6.5% on a year-over-year basis, and remained stable on a month-over-month basis.” The total number of active listings is still significantly down year-over-year, but “new sellers are beginning to enter the market at close…
The share of U.S. mortgages in forbearance fell again this week, continuing a months-long trend of declining dire straits for American homeowners. The Mortgage Bankers Association said in a press release on Monday the number of mortgage forbearances—in which banks agree to put collection and enforcement of loans temporarily on hold—decreased by seven basis points, from 3.47 percent to 3.40 percent. The decrease comes after several months of similar decline in forbearance rates, an indication of the U.S.’s steady albeit at-times limping economic recovery over the first half of 2021. “Forbearance exits increased as August began, and new forbearance requests declined, resulting in the largest decrease in the share of loans in forbearance in three weeks,” MBA Senior Vice President…
Financial and mortgage powerhouse Freddie Mac has launched a streamlined renovation mortgage tool it says will help homebuyers more easily fold home projects into existing mortgages. The corporation’s CHOICEReno eXPress presents “an additional financing option for borrowers who are looking to finance smaller-scale home renovations,” Freddie Mac said in announcing the program. The loan program “allows homebuyers to include renovation costs in the mortgage financing to assist in addressing the aging housing supply, the need for affordable housing and the increasing demand for aging-in-place housing solutions,” the corporation said in a FAQ. Loans for renovations must generally be kept to 10 percent of the home’s value. The program offers “more affordable loan terms than using credit cards or unsecured financing…
The number of mortgages underwater across the U.S. has dropped markedly, while the amount of “equity-rich” properties has jumped, according to recent housing data. Real estate data firm ATTOM said in a Thursday report that “just 4.1 percent of mortgaged homes, or one in 24, were considered seriously underwater in the second quarter of 2021.” An “underwater” mortgage is one in which the mortgage itself is worth more than the property it was taken out on. The current underwater rate “was down from 5.2 percent of all U.S. properties with a mortgage in the prior quarter and 6.2 percent, or one 16 properties, a year ago,” ATTOM said. The company also noted that “equity rich” homes—those in which “the combined…
Mortgage rates took a tumble again this week, continuing a relatively steady trend that has held since late June. Thirty-year fixed rates averaged 2.77 percent, down from 2.80 percent the week before, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly interest survey. Fifteen-year rates held steady at a low 2.10 percent, while 5/1 ARMs dropped to 2.40 percent. Both 30-year and 15-year rates have been on a mostly unbroken downward trend since mid-June, while 5/1 ARMs have been largely declining for even longer, since early April. “With global market uncertainty surrounding the Delta variant of COVID-19, we saw 10-year Treasury yields drift lower and consequently mortgage rates followed suit,” Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said in the release. “The 30-year fixed-rate…
The number of homeowners missing housing payments dropped in the second quarter of this year, an improvement that comes as the U.S. economy progresses through a limping but steady recovery. “Slightly fewer renters and homeowners missed payments in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter,” the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a press release this week. MBA’s Research Institute for Housing America said in a report released this week that the aggregate of missed rental payments in the second quarter was $7.10 billion, down from $7.48 billion in the first quarter. The “aggregate number of rental households with missed payments” was down overall, though it was higher in June than in March. “Homeowners’ employment situation and ability…
Mortgage applications throughout the country decreased over the past week, continuing an up-and-down trend that has persisted over roughly the past month. The Mortgage Bankers Association said in a press release on Wednesday that applications “decreased 1.7 percent from one week earlier,” a change from last week when they were up, which itself was a change from the week before when they had declined. MBA Senior Vice President Mike Fratatoni said in the press release: “Interest rates drifted lower globally last week, as markets assessed the latest concerns regarding the delta variant. 30-year mortgage rates dropped below 3 percent in our survey for the first time since this February, presenting an opportunity for many homeowners who have not yet refinanced…
The total number of household debt held by Americans has spiked in 2021, rising to nearly $15 trillion in the largest second quarter increase in about 14 years. The total amount of housing debt held by Americans bounced by more than $300 billion last quarter. Household debt forms the vasty majority of total debt held by Americans, significantly outpacing auto loans, credit cards and other debt vehicles. New York Fed analyst Joelle Scally told CNBC that the U.S. has “seen a very robust pace of originations over the last four quarters with new extensions of credit for mortgages and auto loans combined with rebounding demand for credit card borrowing,” though she noted that mortgage forbearance numbers remain high. All forms…
A longtime community and housing nonprofit has invested nearly $1 billion in a major initiative to create more affordable housing in New York State. The Community Preservation Corporation said in a press release that it had deployed nearly $940 million over the past fiscal year “to support impactful housing and community development projects” in New York, including New York City. “CPC’s work across its construction, permanent, and Agency lending and investing platforms financed 8,400 units, nearly 80 percent of which were affordable to households earning at or below 80 percent Area Media Income,” the corporation said in the release. The company said its “construction lending platform” has provided “more than $464 million in loan funding to developers of both affordable…
