Mortgage loan application volume fell another 1.3% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped by 1.3%. The adjusted purchase index rose by 1%, while the unadjusted purchase index rose by 2% and was 6% lower YOY. The refinance index fell 5% and was down 62% YOY. Refinances made up 37.1% of total applications, down from 38.8%. The 30-year fixed-rate hit 5.13%, the highest since November 2018, resulting in refis falling to their slowest weekly pace since 2019. “Higher rates are increasing borrower interest in ARMs. Their share of applications last week was at 7.4%, which was the highest share since June 2019,” said Joel…
Delinquencies dropped again in January to their lowest rate since at least January 1999 thanks to home price appreciation and the strong jobs market, according to CoreLogic’s monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for January 2022. Only 3.3% of all U.S. mortgages were in some stage of delinquency, a 2.3% drop YOY. January marked the tenth straight month of annual declines. Early-stage delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due) accounted for 1.2% of mortgages, down from 1.3% the year prior. Adverse delinquencies (60 to 89 days) were down from 0.5% in January 2021 to 0.3%. Serious delinquencies (90 days, including loans in foreclosure) were down from 3.8% to 1.8%. Serious delinquencies hit a record high of 4.3% in August 2020. CoreLogic…
Rate lock activity rose in March as homeowners move before rates rise further, according to Black Knight’s latest Originations Market Monitor report. Mortgage rates exceeded 4.9% in March but dropped at the end of the month to 4.79%. The spread between mortgage rates and 10-year Treasuries climbed 20 basis points. “Mortgage interest rates spiked in March, with 30-year offerings climbing 70 basis points over the course of the month,” said Scott Happ, president, Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight. “And yet, despite seeing the fastest one-month rise in rates in nearly 13 years, we saw purchase lock volumes increase by 31% from February – likely as prospective buyers moved to lock in their loans before rates climbed any higher.”…
After a record-breaking year for independent mortgage banks, profits declined by 75 basis points in 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Annual Mortgage Bankers Performance Report. Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks made an average profit of $2,339 on each loan they originated in 2021, down from the record $4,202 per loan in 2020. Average production volume totaled $4.9 billion per company, up from $4.5 billion in 2020. But production expenses took a toll on profits, reaching their highest level since 2008, the first year of MBA’s report. Personnel expenses for sales, fulfillment, and production support all rose while revenues fell. “2021 was another stellar year for independent mortgage bankers, with production profits well above…
By CHUCK GREEN Office vacancy rates are being monitored closely as the commercial space industry continues to grapple with COVID’s effects on the workplace. In Los Angeles, office activity stagnated in the first quarter of 2022. One-fifth of total inventory remained vacant and rents remained unchanged, according to Greg Cornfield at Commercial Observer. Other major metro areas, including New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Chicago, also continue to experience double-digit vacancy rates. Stemming from remote work due to the variant, San Francisco and DC reportedly kicked off the year with vacancies approaching 20%. In major U.S. markets vacancies of around 60% were recently shown by Kastle Systems, which measures occupancy by looking at foot traffic into offices.…
Better.com is losing another C-suite executive in the wake of its controversial layoffs. Chief Technology Officer Diane Yu is stepping back into an advisory role, TechCrunch reported after obtaining an internal memo circulated at the company. The memo states that the move gives Yu “more flexibility to spend more time with her family and additional time in Hong Kong.” It is signed by Better’s infamous CEO Vishal Garg. Better.com has seen rapid turnover of execs after firing 900 employees on a Zoom call last December. Garg told the employees that they were “part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,” and that their employment was “terminated effective immediately.” The employees were then locked out of their work computers.…
Second-home demand fell for a second straight month as rising rates and increased fees deter buyers, Redfin reported. Mortgage-rate locks for second homes dropped to their lowest level since May 2020 in March, though still remained 13% above pre-pandemic levels. “The pandemic-driven surge in sales of vacation homes is coming to an end as mortgage rates rise at their fastest pace in history, causing some second-home buyers to back off,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr. “When rates and prices shoot up so much that a vacation home starts to look more like a burden than a good investment and a fun place to bring your family on the weekends, a lot of prospective buyers have second thoughts.” A…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS New data shows that 79% of Americans would rather renovate their current home than move to a different one and with $420 billion spent on remodeling projects in 2020 those in the mortgage, real estate, and building industries are taking notice. Discover Home Loans commissioned a national survey of 1,531 homeowners. The independent survey research firm Dynata fielded the first of the online surveys in January and found that nearly four in five people would rather make improvements on their homes than move in the current housing market. The maximum margin of sampling error was +/-3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. The top five reasons given for why homeowners would rather renovate are:…
Early April exits offset two weeks of rising forbearance starts and re-starts, resulting in plan volumes dropping below 700,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, according to Black Knight’s blog, Vision. Overall, forbearances fell by 63,200 plans last week. GSE plans fell by 24,500 (-11%), followed by FHA/VA (-21,800, -8.1%) and loans held by portfolios and PSLs (-17,000, -16.7%). New plan starts still rose slightly, up to 10,300 (+200). However, last week they dropped to their lowest level in four months, so the uptick may not be cause for concern. Restarts also rose by 1,400 to 21,600. Plan volume is down 66,200 (-8.8%) month-over-month. Forbearance volumes have ticked up some after long periods of decline, but are generally…
Mortgage rates rose to an average of 4.72%, up from last week’s 4.67%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.72%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.13%. “Mortgage rates have increased 1.5 percentage points over the last three months alone, the fastest three-month rise since May of 1994,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “The increase in mortgage rates has softened purchase activity such that the monthly payment for those looking to buy a home has risen by at least 20 percent from a year ago.” The daily fixed rate crossed 5% this week for the first time since 2011, save two days…
