Mortgage credit availability rose by 1.5%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI). This is its highest level since May 2021. The index analyzes data from Ellie Mae’s AllRegs Market Clarity business information tool. The MCAI rose to 125.6, with the Conventional MCAI increasing 4.5% while the Government MCAI fell by 0.7%. The Jumbo MCAI rose by 5.8% and the Confirming MCAI rose by 2.6%. “Last month’s expansion was driven by a 4.5 percent increase in the conventional index, while the government index slightly decreased. Even with increases in seven out of nine months thus far in 2021, total credit availability is still around 30 percent less than it was in February 2020 before the…
Housing affordability improved in August for the second straight month, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) housing affordability index report. Month-over-month, mortgage payments fell by only 1.1%, while median family income fell by 0.7%. The index hit a low of 146.5 in June but rose to 151.3 in August. But affordability declined year-over-year (YOY), with monthly mortgage payments rising 13.9% to $1,210 from August 2020. Median family income rose only 3.9%. The effective 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 2.89% in August compared to 3% a year ago. The median existing-home sales price rose 15.6% YOY. Home prices are in a seasonal cool-down, which could account for the numbers. But consumer sentiment on home buying continues to trend downward,…
Forbearances plummetted to 2.62% of servicers’ portfolio volume last week, down from 2.89% the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest survey. The estimated number of homeowners in forbearance plans is around 1.3 million. The decline is part of a trend that’s continued even as government-funded forbearance relief plans have expired. For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, forbearances were down seventeen basis points to 1.21%. Ginnie Mae loans fell forty-one basis points to 2.94%. Portfolio loans and private-label securities shares fell thirty-five basis points, from 6.77% to 6.91%. Independent mortgage bank servicers saw a drop of thirty-seven basis points to 2.82%, and the share for depository servicers declined twenty-four points to 2.69%. “Many borrowers reached the expiration…
National brokerage HouseCanary’s new Market Pulse report shows troubling trends in housing affordability. The report underscored the shortage of homes with selling prices under $200 thousand. While net new listing activity is up in other pricing categories, it’s down 30% for these homes from the same time last year. List-to-sale price ratios show a seller-friendly environment staying put, hovering slightly above 100. “The record growth in home prices over the past year driven by short supply has made homeownership less affordable for many Americans, especially for would-be first-time homebuyers and those searching for homes under $200K. It’s also worth noting that mortgage rates have increased recently, topping 3% for the first time since early July,” said Jeremy Sicklick, Co-Founder and…
The number of loans in active forbearance fell by 11% since last Tuesday, the largest weekly decline in twelve months, according to Black Knight’s blog, Vision. That leaves 1.39 million homeowners in forbearances due to Covid-19. The total number of mortgages in forbearances is down 177,000 this week. The largest drop was in FHA/VA loans, which fell by 84,000 plans. GSE loans in forbearance dropped by 11% and bank portfolios/PLS dropped by 8%. Black Knight has been expecting a huge decline in forbearance plans, and predicted last week that this week would be a killer, saying “the largest declines in forbearance volumes typically come during the first week of the month, as plans which expired in the prior month are…
Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) fell 1.2 points to 74.5 in September. Three of the index’s six components dropped month-over-month. The full index is down 6.5 points year-over-year. More consumers, 66%, reported that it’s a bad time to buy a home in September than in August, when 63% of respondents said the same. Only 28% said they believe it’s a good time to buy. The home-selling conditions component stayed flat, as a majority of consumers reported they believe it’s a good time to sell. “The HPSI declined slightly this month but remains within the general bounds we’ve seen since the end of last year,” said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “The survey’s story…
Mortgage rates fell slightly to 2.99% over the past week, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 2.99%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.90 percent. “Mortgage rates continue to hover at around three percent again this week due to rising economic and financial market uncertainties,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Unfortunately, with the expectation that both mortgage rates and home prices will continue to rise, competition remains high and housing affordability is declining.” Additional findings from Thursday’s report: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.99 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending October 7, 2021, down slightly from last week when it averaged 3.01…
Monthly mortgage payments for the average homebuyer rose $50 over the last six weeks. Redfin’s Housing Market Update reported that, despite concerns about affordability and price, homes are still selling fast, with about half being sold within two weeks. The $50 increase is a result of prices increasing 12% year-over-year. Homes are on average selling about 1% above asking price, though listings with price drops are increasing slightly. The number of homes sold above list price was up 13% year-over-year to 47%, but the smallest share since April. “Mortgage rates and asking prices are both on the rise, which translates to higher housing costs,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “For now, mortgage rates are still hovering near 3%, and…
Annual price gains reached an all-time high in August at 18.1%, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index (HPI) and HPI Forecast. It’s the highest twelve-month increase in the history of the index. Month-over-month, prices rose 1.3% compared to July. The HPI Forecast suggests that home price growth will slow to 0.3% from August to September and YOY 2.2% as continuing supply chain problems and competition from cash-rich investors deter potential buyers in the coming year. “Home prices continue to escalate at a torrid pace as a broad spectrum of buyers drive demand for a limited supply of homes,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “We expect to see the trend of strong price gains continue indefinitely with large…
Huge equity increases for homeowners might not be enough to prevent foreclosures, according to Black Knight’s latest Mortgage Monitor Report. “An analysis of our McDash loan-level mortgage performance dataset back to 2007 shows that holding equity in one’s home might not be a blanket backstop to foreclosure activity,” said Black Knight Data & Analytics President Ben Graboske. He explained that for homeowners who were 120 or more days late, having high equity did not significantly change the likelihood of being recommended for foreclosure. While borrowers are considerably less likely to have their homes involuntarily liquidated if they have high equity, it does happen. Thirty percent of borrowers recommended for foreclosure with 40% equity stakes lost their homes. “What the data…
