Here is a look at some of the personnel moves made in the mortgage and housing industry in the last week: Michael T. Hutchins was named interim president of Freddie Mac after David Brickman announces his resignation as CEO. Seth Appleton is leaving the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Ginnie Mae to serve as the new president of MISMO. Jeff McGuiness is heading up Waterstone Financial’s mortgage subsidiary as president and CEO. Jonathan Mariner, former CFO of Major League Baseball, joins the Rocket Companies board of directors. Natalie Cariola to chief sales officer at Zumper. Robert Keator was named senior vice president of business services at Pegasus Residential. David Connelly, formerly of Citigroup, and Ben Aronovitch, formerly of Taylor Morrison Home Corporation, have joined Offerpad as the company’s chief growth officer and…
Renters are more likely to have lost their job or wages during the Covid-19 pandemic than homeowners, according to a new report released this week by Redin. “The pandemic is exacerbating inequality and widening the wealth gap between those who own homes and those who don’t,” Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said. Renters who have lost jobs or wages are likely dipping into savings for daily living expenses, pushing homeownership further out of reach. More homeowners have been able to keep their jobs, and many who can work remotely are cashing in their home equity to purchase a bigger, better home in a more desirable area.” The report, based on a survey of more than 3,000 U.S. residents in October, found:…
Positive Covid-19 vaccine news drove mortgage rates up ever so slightly this week, but they remained near historically low levels, Freddie Mac announced Thursday in its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The survey found: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.84 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from last week’s 2.78 percent and last year’s 3.75 percent.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.34 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week’s 2.32 percent and last year’s 3.20 percent.The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.11 percent with an average 0.4 point, up from last week’s 2.89 percent and last year’s 3.44 percent. “Mortgage rates jumped this week as a result of positive news about a Covid-19 vaccine,” said Sam…
Homeowners are still refinancing their mortgages to take advantage of historically low interest rates. Overall, mortgage applications decreased 0.5 percent for the week ending November 6, with the Purchase Index down 3 percent and the Refinance Index up 1 percent, according to a report released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Year over year, however, refinances were up 67 percent – and purchase applications were up 16 percent. “The refinance index climbed to its highest level since August, led by a 1.5 percent increase in conventional refinances,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “The purchase market continued its recent slump, with the index decreasing for the sixth time in seven weeks to its lowest…
Vacation homes are becoming just … homes. A new report released by Redfin on Wednesday found that popular second home destinations are becoming full-time residences for homebuyers – including the Jersey Shore, Cape Cod and Lake Tahoe. The top 10 counties where the housing market is heating up the post are overwhelmingly dominated by vacation resorts, while a majority of the bottom 10 counties are home to dense, relatively expensive cities, including New York, San Francisco and Boston. Here are the top 10 markets: U.S. CountyParent MetroAreaMedianSale Price,YoYChangeHomesSold, YoYChangeMedianDays on MarketMedian Dayson Market YoY ChangeShare Homes Sold Above List PriceEl DoradoCounty, CA(Lake Tahoe)Sacramento, CA16%80%16-3142%DeschutesCounty, ORBend, OR18%54%17-2234%Ocean County,NJ (JerseyShore)New Brunswick,NJ23%36%28-3135%BarnstableCounty, MA(Cape Cod)Barnstable Town,MA19%51%33-3326%FairfieldCounty, CTBridgeport, CT33%80%63-1530%Essex County,NJNewark, NJ23%37%35-2257%MonmouthCounty, NJ(Jersey Shore)New Brunswick,NJ23%52%25-1833%RiversideCounty, CA (Palm Springs)Riverside,…
Seth Appleton is leaving the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Ginnie Mae to serve as the new president of MISMO, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced Monday. MISMO is a non-profit subsidiary of MBA and is responsible for developing standards for exchanging information and conducting business in the mortgage finance industry in the United States. Appleton is the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research at HUD and the Principal Executive Vice President at Ginnie Mae. “Seth’s considerable experience in senior leadership roles at HUD will serve MISMO well as it enters an exciting new phase of its standards development work,” MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit said. “MISMO is helping lead our industry into the digital future,…
The share of mortgages in the United States under forbearance plans dropped again, with 2.8 million homeowners still having their payments paused, according to the latest report released Monday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The survey found that as of November 1: Total loans in forbearance decreased from 5.83 percent to 5.67 percent.The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance decreased from 8.13 percent to 7.95 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased from 3.66 percent to 3.49 percent.Independent mortgage bank-managed loans in forbearance dropped from 6.27 percent to 6.19 percent.Bank-managed mortgages dropped from 5.86 percent to 5.60 percent. “A recovering job market, coupled with a strong housing market, is providing the support needed for…
Longer loan processing times, infrequent communication and challenges using digital tools adversely impact customer experiences with mortgage originators, but overall customer satisfaction with their lenders increased this year, according to a survey released by J.D. Power on Monday. The J.D. Power 2020 US Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study found that customer satisfaction increased by six points this year, largely driven by low interest rates amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, the study found: Average refinancing time took 42 days from application to closing, up from 39 days in 2019 – with customer satisfaction about wait time declining accordingly.Satisfaction with the application and approval process declined 10 points this year.Customers using self-service channels for applications and approvals climbed five percentage points, while…
The calendar has turned to fall, but the housing market still seems to think it’s summer. The U.S. housing market chugged along at near record levels in October – with houses selling faster in October than September for the first time since 2011, according to a new report released by realtor.com. “In the fall, we normally see homes sell more slowly and prices pull back from peak levels. But this October, we saw a drop in the time it takes to sell a home even while home prices remain at their summer peak,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com. The report found: Homes sold in 53 days in October, 13 days faster than last year and one day faster than…
It’s getting harder and harder to afford a home. Housing affordability continued to decline in the third quarter, as inventory shortages and rising home prices offset record-low mortgage rates, according to a new report released Friday by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index found that 58.3 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of July and end of September were affordable to families earning an adjusted U.S. median income of $72,900 – down from 59.6 percent in the second quarter. “A six-month supply of homes is considered a normal supply and demand balance, and this figure has been running below a four-month rate since July, putting upward pressure on home…
