Industry News

Low mortgage rates and hot start to the month were enough to push new mortgage applications in March up 21.2 percent over a year ago, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association survey released Tuesday. The MBA’s Builder Application Survey also showed that new mortgage applications increased 14 percent over February, despite the coronavirus pandemic taking hold across the country. “The strong increase in new home purchase applications was likely because of falling mortgage rates and stronger economic conditions at the start of the month. This boosted activity and offset the coinciding decline once COVID-19-related disruption sapped demand in the following weeks,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting.  The survey also found: MBA estimates new single-family…

The number of loans in forbearance jumped significantly as the number of Americans struggling financially continues to climb during the coronavirus pandemic. The total number of loans in forbearance climbed from 2.73 percent to 3.74 percent during the week ending April 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Forbearance and Call Volume Survey. “With mitigation efforts seemingly in place for at least several more weeks, job losses will continue and the number of borrowers asking for forbearance will likely continue to rise at a rapid pace,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. The survey found: Mortgages backed by Ginnie Mae had the largest overall share in forbearance requests by investor type at 5.89 percent, up from…

Amid tightening mortgage credit across the country, the nation’s largest lender is narrowing the pool of people they will help buy a home. Reuters reports on JPMorgan & Chase Co.: From Tuesday, customers applying for a new mortgage will need a credit score of at least 700, and will be required to make a down payment equal to 20% of the home’s value. Last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that credit availability decreased in March in the face of economic turmoil brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The tightening credit market comes at the same time people across the country are losing jobs, real estate activities are being severely curtailed and fewer people are applying for mortgages. The Mortgage Credit…

The coronavirus is hammering the nation’s homebuilders, with 96 percent saying the pandemic is having at least some effect on the number of prospective buyers. Eighty-seven percent of builders say clients are cancelling or delaying existing remodeling projects, and 80 percent say it is taking longer to get a plan review for a single family home, according to the National Association of Homebuilders survey. The survey found a greater percentage of workers in the Northeast have been reluctant to report to a construction site. Eighty-seven percent of respondents in the Northeast said they’ve seen reluctance from workers, compared to 85 percent in the Midwest, 74 percent in the West and 70 percent in the South. This result is based on…

It’s a tough time to be a social media manager for a mortgage lender. Stymied by long wait times or seeking details on loan forbearance or deferrals, customers take to Twitter and Facebook to vent their frustrations and seek a way to get somebody – anybody – to call them back during the coronavirus pandemic. “With all that’s going on, many customers are calling us and our hold times are extremely long. We’re sorry – we’re doing all we can to help as many people as possible,” Chase tweeted, attaching some tips to find online help. It did little to soothe the masses. I’ve been on hold for over 8 hours. The branch can’t and or won’t help me. I can’t access my money…

The number of new home listings dropped significantly the last several weeks as the coronavirus pandemic chilled the housing market, according to an analysis released Thursday by Zillow. The number of new home listings typically grows by about 50 percent in March and early April to kick off spring buying season. This year, however, listings fell 19 percent in that period – and 27.1 percent from a year ago in the first week of April. Counterintuitively, the total inventory of houses on the market is actually up – as the number of homebuyers has shriveled amid stay-at-home orders across the country, Zillow found. “It is clear that many would-be home sellers are adopting a wait-and-see approach as uncertainty continues to…

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.33 percent this week – precisely the same as last week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. The Primary Mortgage Market Survey also found: 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.77 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.82 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.60 percent. 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.40 percent with an average 0.3 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.80 percent.A year ago, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.12 percent. “While mortgage rates remained flat over the last week, there is room for rates to move down,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s…

In the latest sign of a slumping housing market, 90 percent of realtors say buyer interest is declining during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors. The survey also found 59 percent of realtors say buyers are delaying home purchases for a couple of months and 57 percent said sellers are delaying home sales for a couple of months. Eighty percent of members said they have seen a corresponding decline in the number of homes on the market. “Home sales will decline this spring season because of unique economic and social consequences resulting from the coronavirus outbreak, but much of the activity looks to reappear later in the year,” said NAR Chief…

Mortgage credit availability decreased in March in the face of economic turmoil brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday. The tightening credit market comes at the same time people across the country are losing jobs, real estate activities are being severely curtailed and fewer people are applying for mortgages. The Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) fell by 16.1 percent to 152.1 in March. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of loosening credit. Conventional MCAI decreased 24.2 percent, while the Government MCAI decreased by 6.6 percent. Of the component indices of the Conventional MCAI, the Jumbo MCAI decreased by 36.9 percent, and the Conforming MCAI…