More than 6 million households in the United States missed rent or mortgage payments and 26 million missed student loan payments in September as the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic stretched into their seventh month. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America report released Friday found that 8.5 percent of renters – or 2.82 million households – missed, delayed or made a reduced payment. Another 7.1 percent of homeowners – or 3.37 million – missed mortgage payments. Overall, the missed payments accounted for than $58 billion in revenue during the third quarter, the report found. “Rent and mortgage payment collections improved over the summer as more people went back to work, but high unemployment continues to place…
Mortgage rates dropped to 2.81 percent this week, another new record and the 12th straight week rates have stayed under 3 percent, Freddie Mac reported Thursday in its weekly mortgage market survey. The survey found: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.81 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending October 15, 2020, down from last week’s 2.87 percent and last year’s 3.69 percent.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.35 percent with an average 0.5 point, down from last week’s 2.37 percent and last year’s 3.15 percent.The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.90 percent with an average 0.2 point, down from last week’s when it averaged 2.89 percent and last year’s 3.35 percent. “Low mortgage rates have become a regular…
Mortgage rates are expected to remain near record lows through next year and home prices are expected to climb, though not as quickly as this year, according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly housing forecast. The forecast predicts: The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is expected to be 3.2 percent in 2020 and 3.0 percent in 2021. Currently, rates sit at 2.87 percent.House price growth is expected to increase to an annual rate of 5.5 percent in 2020 before slowing to 2.6 percent next year.Home sales are expected to increase in 2020 to 6.2 million homes and decrease in 2021 to 6.1 million homes.Purchase originations are expected to increase to $1.414 trillion in 2020 and $1.445 trillion in 2021.Refinance originations are expected to…
While mortgage applications overall were relatively flat, significantly more American homeowners continue to work to take advantage of low interest rates by refinancing their mortgages. The Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey Wednesday found that mortgage applications decreased 0.7 percent from a week earlier – with the number of refinance applications slipping 0.3 percent while remaining 44 percent higher than a year ago. Purchase applications dropped 1 percent and were 24 percent higher than a year ago. “Refinance and purchase activity continue to run well ahead of last year’s pace, fueled by record-low rates and strong homebuyer demand,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Housing supply is a challenge for many aspiring buyers, but activity…
Americans are moving on up. Redfin reports that luxury home sales in the United states increased 41.5 percent in the third quarter over a year ago – the largest jump since at least 2013. Comparatively, sales of medium-priced homes increased 3 percent and affordable home sales dropped 4.2 percent, Redfin found. “The luxury housing market normally takes a hit during recessions as wealthy Americans tighten their purse strings, but this isn’t a normal recession,” Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said. “Remote work, record-low mortgage rates and strong stock prices during the pandemic are allowing America’s wealthy families to gobble up expensive houses with home offices and big backyards in the suburbs. Meanwhile, scores of lower- and middle-class Americans have lost…
There was a pretty big drop in the percentage of US mortgages in forbearance this week, with 3.2 million homeowners still in plans to pause their loans, according to the weekly report released Monday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. MBA’s survey found that 6.32 percent of mortgages were in forbearance as of October 4, down from 6.81 percent the week before. “With the forbearance program for federally backed loans under the CARES Act reaching the six-month mark, many borrowers saw their forbearance plans expire because they did not contact their servicer. Another reason for expirations was that borrower information needed to determine an appropriate loss mitigation option was not yet in place,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and…
Mortgage rates remain at record lows, but mortgage credit keeps getting harder and harder to obtain. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that mortgage credit availability decreased in yet again in September, reaching the lowest level since February 2014 and down roughly 50 percent this year. The Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) fell 1.9 percent 118.6 in September, with the conventional loan MCAI decreasing 6.1 percent and the government MCA increased by 1.4 percent. The jumbo MCAI decreased by 2.1 percent and conforming MCAI fell by 9.5 percent. “Across all loan types, there continues to be fewer low credit score and high-LTV loan programs,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “The housing market overall is on…
No news is good news for borrowers. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.87 percent for the week, virtually unchanged from the week before and barely above the record low of 2.86 percent in mid-September, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey released Thursday. The survey found: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.87 percent with an average 0.8 point, slightly down from last week when it averaged 2.88 percent and well below last year’s 3.57 percent.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.37 percent with an average 0.7 point, slightly up from last week’s 2.36 percent and last year’s 3.05 percent.The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 2.89 percent with an average 0.2 point, down from last week’s 2.90 percent and last year’s…
Mortgage applications increased for the week ending October 2, driven by a surge in refinance requests, according to a report released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Overall, mortgage applications increased 4.6 percent from a week earlier – as refinance applications increased 8 percent and 50 percent from a year ago. Purchase applications slid 1 percent but were 21 percent higher than a year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 65.4 percent of total applications from 63.3 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share remained unchanged at 2.2 percent of total applications. “There are signs that demand is waning at the entry-level portion of the market because of supply and affordability hurdles, as well as the…
The number of mortgages in forbearance inched down once again this week – with 3.4 million homeowners in the United States still pausing their mortgage payments amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced Monday. The weekly survey found: Total loans in forbearance decreased by from 6.87 percent to 6.81 percent for the week ending September 27.The share of Ginnie Mae loans in forbearance increased from 9.15 percent to 9.16 percent.The share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans decreased from 4.46 percent to 4.39 percent.The share of independent mortgage bank-managed loans dropped from 7.23 percent to 7.19 percent.Bank-managed mortgages dropped from 7.11 percent to 7.03 percent. “As of the end of September, there continues to be a slow…
