First-time homebuyers accounted for a record number of GSE purchase loans in 2023, while originations sunk to new lows, according to ICE’s latest Mortgage Monitor.
They made up 55% of agency purchases last year, the highest share ever recorded by ICE in the ten years it has been tracking this metric.
“The market in which these folks purchased their first home was one of record house prices, ballooning down payments, rising rates, and elevated DTIs,” Andy Walden, ICE Vice President of Enterprise Research Strategy, said.
“Given record exposure to first-time homebuyer loans, it’ll be worth watching the performance of this cohort very closely moving forward, particularly for those invested in 2023 agency MBS.”
First-timers and repeat buyers differed greatly in…
By JARED WHITLEY
Did Mat Ishbia win another battle in the “Broker War?”
That appears to be the underlying message from Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, where leaders announced last month they would be shutting down their wholesale platform. Although CEO and Founder Steve Jacobson described the move as a “business shift, nothing more, nothing less,” about 100 people are expected to lose their jobs as a result.
“The people who have run Fairway’s Wholesale Department are some of the most talented, humble people in the business and will be a huge value add at their next mortgage home,” Jacobson said in a statement. “We want to thank our entire amazing wholesale team for its dedication and professionalism over the years.”…
Mortgage brokers felt the burn in the last three months of 2023, with residential lending across the board stalling.
A new report from ATTOM found that 1.35 million residential mortgages were originated in Q4 2023. That’s a 13.8% drop from Q3, and the tenth decline in the last eleven quarters.
Residential lending activity overall was down 16.5% YOY, with purchases, refinances, and home equity loans all taking a hit.
Compared to the boom of Q1 2021, activity is down more than 67%.
“Multiple powerful forces continued to conspire against the mortgage industry during the fourth quarter, slicing back huge portions of their business,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM.
“There were signs during the peak buying season of 2022 that…
Mortgage rates inched up to a two-month high last week, putting pressure on hopeful spring homebuyers.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.94%, up from the week prior’s 6.90%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.65%. This is the fourth consecutive week of increases.
The 15-year fixed fell, however, to 6.26% from 6.29%. A year ago, it averaged 5.89%.
“The recent boomerang in rates has dampened already tentative homebuyer momentum as we approach the spring, a historically busy season for homebuying,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
“While sales of newly built homes are trending in a positive direction, higher rates and elevated prices continue to pose affordability challenges…
Pending home sales contracted in January as rate-sensitive buyers skipped out despite increasing inventory.
NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index fell by 4.9% month-over-month to a reading of 74.3 in January. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
Year-over-year, they were down 8.8%.
“The job market is solid, and the country’s total wealth reached a record high due to stock market and home price gains,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “This combination of economic conditions is favorable for home buying. However, consumers are showing extra sensitivity to changes in mortgage rates in the current cycle, and that’s impacting home sales.”
All four U.S. regions saw declines in year-over-year sales, while month-over-month sales actually…
Mortgage applications fell for another week as rates remained above 7% and high home prices kept buyers on the bench.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows the adjusted Market Composite Index – a measure of mortgage loan application volume – decreased by 5.6%, piling onto the week prior’s 10.6% dip.
Adjusted purchase applications slipped by 5%, while the unadjusted index was down by 1% and was 12% lower YOY.
Rates shot moved down slightly but not by much, coming in at 7.04%. MBA’s SVP and Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni noted that this is about a quarter percentage point above the beginning of the year.
“Higher rates in recent weeks have stalled activity, and last week it dropped more for…
Home prices rose month-over-month and YOY after seasonal adjustment in December, sending the cost of homebuying soaring.
Prices were up 5.5% YOY, an increase from November’s 5% gain, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price NSA Index.
San Diego reported the highest annual gains at 8.8%, followed by Los Angeles and Detroit, each seeing an 8.3% increase. Portland showed a 0.3% increase this month, the smallest YOY growth.
This data places U.S. home prices at a new all-time high, the seventh straight record high of 2023.
“2023 U.S. housing gains haven’t followed such a synchronous pattern since the COVID housing boom. The term ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’ seems appropriate given broad-based performance in the U.S. housing…
New home sales improved YOY in January despite elevated rates and higher prices, though didn’t hit the mark on analysts’ expectations.
That’s according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which reported sales up by 1.5% from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 661,000, a jump from the month priors’ revised rate of 651,000.
New home sales were up 1.8% from the same time last year.
While the report is good news, the numbers fell short of experts’ predictions. A survey of economists by Bloomberg predicted a rate of 684,000.
There were 456,000 new homes for sale at the end of the month. This represents an 8.3-month supply at the…
Location influenced interstate migration after the pandemic, but price moved people the most.
According to a new report from LendingTree, the states that netted the most new residents from 2021 to 2022 were cheaper Southern states.
Florida and Texas led the pack, netting 249,000 and 174,000 new residents, respectively.
“Florida is an often affordable state where there’s typically a lot to do, plenty of places to eat, and year-round warm weather,” LendingTree senior economist Jacob Channel noted.
He also noted that popular Southern states aren’t migration hotspots because they’re perfect.
“Florida isn’t some sort of perfect utopia where everyone should live. The state has plenty of problems, and if it doesn’t start putting more effort toward supporting lower-wage workers and…
Mortgage rates aren’t going down as the spring homebuying season rapidly approaches.
Officials at Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.90%, up from the week prior’s 6.77%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.50%.
The 15-year fixed jumped to 6.29% from 6.12%. A year ago, it averaged 5.76%.
“Strong incoming economic and inflation data has caused the market to re-evaluate the path of monetary policy, leading to higher mortgage rates,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist.
“Historically, the combination of a vibrant economy and modestly higher rates did not meaningfully impact the housing market. The current cycle is different than historical norms, as housing affordability is so low that good economic…
