House prices continued their climb in February across the nation and in every region, according to the latest House Price Index released Tuesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The Index found: House prices rose 0.9 percent for the month.From February 2020 to February 2021, prices skyrocketed 12.2 percent.For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly house price changes for the month ranged from a 0.3 percent increase in the Middle Atlantic division to a 1.6 percent increase in the Mountain division. The 12-month changes ranged from 10.5 percent increase in the West North Central division to 15.4 percent increase in the Mountain division. “Annual house price growth acheived a new record high in February,” said Dr. Lynn Fisher, FHFA’s Deputy…
The share of US mortgages in forbearance edged down ever so slightly last week, with 2.25 million American homeowners still in forbearance plans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest report. The weekly report found: Total loans in forbearance decreased from 4.50 percent to 4.49 percent.The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased from 6.16 percent to 6.09 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance remained the same at 2.44 percent. “After two weeks of large declines, the share of loans in forbearance decreased for the eighth straight week, but by only 1 basis point. New forbearance requests increased, and the rate of exits declined,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist.…
Mortgage rates fell below 3 percent again this week for the first time since April, Freddie Mac reported Thursday in its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The survey found: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.97 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week, down from last week’s 3.04 percent and last year’s 3.33 percent.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.29 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week’s 2.35 percent and last year’s 2.86 percent.The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.83 percent with an average 0.3 point, up from last week’s 2.80 percent and down from last year’s 3.28 percent. “The drop in mortgage rates is good news for homeowners who are still looking to take advantage…
Mortgage applications climbed 8.6 percent for the week ending April 16, according to the latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. MBA said the Refinance Index increased 10 percent from the previous week and was 23 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 7 percent compared with the previous week and was 57 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 60 percent of total applications from 59.2 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity remained unchanged at 3.6 percent of total applications. “Mortgage rates dropped to their lowest levels in around two months,…
Housing starts increased 19.4 percent in March amid strong buyer demand, according to a new report released by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau. Overall housing starts totaled 1.74 million units – the fastest pace for combined single-family and multifamily construction since June 2006. “Builder confidence remains strong, pointing to gains for single-family construction in 2021,” said Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “However, rising costs for most kinds of building materials continue to impede positive additional momentum in the market.” On a regional basis compared to the previous month, combined single-family and multifamily starts are 64 percent higher in the Northeast, 122.8 percent higher in the Midwest, 13.5…
An estimated 2.3 million homeowners remain in forbearance plans in the United States, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association report released Monday. MBA’s weekly survey found: Total loans in forbearance decreased from 4.66 percent to 4.50 percent as of April 11.The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased from 6.33 percent to 6.16 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 2.52 percent to 2.44 percent. “The share of loans in forbearance decreased for the seventh straight week and has now dropped 40 basis points in the last two weeks,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist.…
Mortgage rates fell for the second week in a row, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average 3.04 percent, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released Thursday. The survey found: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.04 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week, down from last week’s 3.13 percent and last year’s 3.31 percent.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.35 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week’s 2.42 percent and last year’s 2.80 percent.The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.80 percent with an average 0.4 point, down from last week’s 2.92 percent and last year’s 3.34 percent. “The economy is improving on the demand side and on the supply side, a variety of goods…
Mortgage applications dropped 3.7 percent for the week ending April 9, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey released Wednesday. The Refinance Index decreased 5 percent for the week and was 31 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent for the week but was 51 percent higher than the same week in 2020. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 59.2 percent of total applications from 60.3 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 3.6 percent of total applications. “The third straight week of declining purchase activity is a sign that rising home prices and tight supply are constraining home sales –…
It was a record year for independent mortgage banks. IMBs and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks made an average of $4,202 on each loan they originated in 2020 – up from $1,470 per loan the year before, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The Annual Mortgage Bankers Performance report found: 99 percent of the firms posted overall pre-tax net financial profits in 2020, compared to 92 percent of firms in 2019 and 69 percent of firms in 2018.Average production volume was $4.5 billion (16,198 loans) per company in 2020, up from $2.7 billion (10,411 loans) per company in 2019. The average production profit (net production income) was 157 basis points in 2020, compared to 58…
The number of mortgages in forbearance in the United States dropped to 2.3 million in the latest weekly survey released Monday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The survey found: Total loans in forbearance decreased from 4.90 percent to 4.66 percent as of April 4.The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased from 6.78 percent to 6.33 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 2.72 percent to 2.52 percent. It is the sixth straight week that the share of loans in forbearance has decreased, according to MBA. “The accelerating economic recovery in March helped more homeowners recover and become current on their mortgages, in addition to helping other homeowners with more stable financial situations…
