The total number of loans in forbearance fell from 1.67% of servicers’ portfolio volume to 1.41% in December 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Loan Monitoring Survey. The pace of monthly forbearance exits is at its lowest point since MBA began tracking exits in June 2020. MBA estimates 705,000 homeowners are currently in forbearance plans. Independent mortgage banks saw a 0.28% decline from 1.94% to 1.66%, while depositories saw a 0.28% drop from 1.52% to 1.24%. The share of forborne Fannie and Freddie loans fell to 0.68%, down by 8 basis points, while Ginnie Mae loans fell from 2.10% to 1.63%, down 47 basis points. PLS and portfolio loans in forbearance dropped by 51 basis points to 3.43%.…
December was a hot month for homebuyers, but supply couldn’t keep up with demand. Monthly home sales saw their largest decline since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Redfin. Month-over-month sales fell 3.6%, the largest drop since May 2020, and were down 11% year-over-year (YOY), the largest annual decline since June 2020. The drop was the result of continuing stock shortages. Active listings declined 19% YOY, reaching a record low. New listings dropped 13%, down annually in 82 of the 88 metro areas Redfin tracks. In addition, home prices were up 15% YOY, marking the 17th straight month of double-digit price increases. “Home sales are slumping, but not for lack of demand,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “There…
Delinquencies on commercial and multifamily mortgages fell in Q4 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report. Outstanding loan balances that were current on their payments rose from 96.7% to 97%, with only 1.9% 90 or more days delinquent or in REO, down from 2.2%. Loans 60-90 and 30-60 days delinquent saw no change, at 0.2% and 0.3% respectively. Loans that were less than 30 days delinquent fell 0.1% to 0.7%. Lodging and retail properties continued to be the most delinquent but saw improvement in Q4. For lodging loans, delinquencies fell 3.5% to 10.5%, while delinquent retail loans fell from 8.2% to 7.6%. CMBS loans also saw improvement, with 5.7% of balances non-current, down from 7.2% in…
Of single-family homeowners who entered Covid-19 related forbearance, 89% have now exited their plans. Active forbearance plans dropped by 43,000 (-8%) in the first week of January, according to Black Knight’s blog, Vision. The number of loans in forbearance fell across all categories, led by a 22,000 (-8%) drop in forborne loans held by portfolios and PSLs. Forbearances on FHA/VA loans fell by 17,000 (-16%) and GSE loans fell by 4,000 (-1.6%). The number of active plans is down 100,000 (-12%) from last month. An additional 155,000 plans are up for extension or removal in January. However, less than a third are expected to expire, meaning exit volumes will lessen moving forward. New plan starts rose again, reaching their highest…
Mortgage rates jumped significantly this week, up to an average of 3.45% from 3.22%, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.45%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.79%. “Mortgage rates rose across all mortgage loan types, with the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage increasing by almost a quarter of a percent from last week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “This was driven by the prospect of a faster than expected tightening of monetary policy in response to continued inflation exacerbated by uncertainty in labor and supply chains. The rise in mortgage rates so far this year has not yet affected purchase demand, but given…
ATTOM Data Solution’s Year-End 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report found foreclosure filings dropped 29% from 2020 and were down 95% from a peak of nearly 2.9 million in 2010. It is the lowest level since ATTOM began tracking filings in 2005. Properties with foreclosure filings–default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions– made up 0.11% of all U.S. housing units, down from 0.16% in 2020. “The COVID-19 foreclosure tsunami that some people had anticipated is clearly not happening,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president at RealtyTrac, an ATTOM company. The report is heartening from a broad view of foreclosure filings in the US. However, it found that filings increased as protections expired, pushing rates closer to pre-pandemic levels. A total of…
Mortgage loan application volume rose 1.4% from last week, though refinances once again fell, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey reported. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 1.4%. The seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 2%, while the unadjusted purchase index rose 51% and was 17% lower YOY. The refinance index fell 0,1% and was down 50% YOY. Refinances made up 64.1% of total applications, their lowest level in more than a month. Conventional refi applications are at their lowest level since January 2020. The survey attributed the drop in refinances to increasing interest rates. The 30-year fixed rate reached 3.52%, its highest level since March 2020, and the Fed signaled this week that…
Mortgage credit availability grew slightly in December 2021, increasing by 0.8% to 125.9, according to the Mortgage Banker Association’s (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI). The Conventional MCAI rose by 0.8%% while the Government MCAI rose by 0.7%. Within the Conventional MCAI, the Jumbo MCAI rose by 0.6% and the Conforming MCAI rose by 1.1%. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while an increase indicates loosening credit. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012. The overall credit index rose to its highest point since May 2021. However, it remains 30% below its pre-pandemic level. The increase puts mortgage credit availability back on a positive trajectory after a November decline that interrupted a four-month…
Origination activity fell for the fourth consecutive month in December as higher rates and seasonal slowdown pushed rate locks down, according to Black Knight’s December 2021 Origination Market Monitor. Rate locks fell 18.3% from November to December and 35% year-over-year (YOY), fueled by a 22.5% drop in locks on purchase loans and a 17.1% drop in rate/term refinances. Rate/terms refis hit their lowest point in two years at the end of 2021. Locks on cash-out refis also dropped by 10% from November, though they are up 18% YOY thanks to incredible gains in home equity. The share of refinances rose to 48% due to the decline in purchase locks, though average refi credit scores were down 20 points YOY as…
Freddie Mac’s annual multifamily outlook projects another strong year, with rents continuing to increase despite an overall moderating market. The report projects that the Sun Belt will outperform slow-growing smaller markets in the Northeast and Midwest. “We believe the market will continue to grow in 2022, reflecting the strong multifamily fundamentals that drove the market to a record-breaking year in 2021,” said Steve Guggenmos, vice president of Multifamily Research & Modeling at Freddie Mac. “We anticipate rent growth in all markets in 2022 due to strong demand driven by improving economic conditions.” Growth broke records in 2021 thanks to changing migration patterns and strong economic conditions. Multifamily demand reached its highest ever levels during Q2 and Q3 of 2021, and…
