The total number of loans in forbearance took a nosedive this week, with numbers down in every category, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest survey. Forbearances made up 3.08% of servicers’ portfolio volume, down from 3.23%. That puts the estimated number of homeowners in forbearance plans at 1.5 million. For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, the number fell 11 basis points to 1.52%. Ginnie Mae loans fell from 3.63% to 3.39%. Portfolio loans and private-label securities shares fell 25 basis points, from 7.52% to 7.27%. Independent mortgage bank servicers saw a drop of 16 basis points to 3.33%, and depository servicers saw a drop of 18 basis points to 3.15%. “The share of loans in forbearance decreased…
In another sign that the red-hot housing market may be returning to earth, the number of houses caught up in buyers’ bidding wars has fallen to a 2021 low. According to a Redfin analysis, 58.8% of home offers generated a competition among buyers. That’s down from April’s peak of 74.3 percent. Redfin found that more than half of its agents still face challenges from other bidders on home offers, but that number is inching down. In July, 62.1% of offers written had competition for the home. Though it’s down, the number remains high, rivaling August 2020’s 59.4% bidding-war rate. Home prices are cooling as potential buyers back away from soaring prices and more inventory arrives on the market. Forbearance expirations…
More than two million forbearance plans were set to expire this month, but Black Knight reports after the first week that number has dropped to 1.7 million. The total number of mortgages in forbearance fell 66,000 this week, on top of a 150,000 drop last week. The change is the result of forbearances being assessed for extension or removal. Taken together, that means the total number of homes in forbearance has dropped 6% in the last 30 days. And the number continues to trend down: 3.7 million homeowners are in Covid-19 related forbearance plans as of September 8, compared to 4.7 million in May, a 22% difference. Most of the decline came from GSE loans, which fell 36,000 in the…
The national median for monthly mortgage payments increased faster than rents in 25 out of 50 major U.S. metro areas, but rents are speeding up as mortgage hikes begin to slow, a Redfin report found. Average monthly rents increased 9% over the past year, reaching $1,836 in August, but median mortgage payments rose 67% faster. August’s numbers represent the seventh month in a row mortgages outpaced rents. But August also saw a dip in mortgage payment growth, dropping to $1,494, while rents continued to climb. Rent prices have exploded as would-be homeowners struggled to find affordable houses and battled cash-rich investors in bidding wars. “Record high home price growth has priced many renters out of buying, leaving many facing higher…
American homeowners gained a record $1 trillion in tappable equity in the second quarter of 2021, a single-quarter record according to mortgage data company Black Knight, Inc. That brings the total equity available to $9.15 trillion, up 37 percent in a single year. “Such strong equity positions should help limit the volume of distressed inflow into the real estate market as well as provide strong incentive for homeowners to return to making mortgage payments – even if needing to be reduced through modification,” said Ben Graboske, Black Knight president of data and analytics. According to their latest Mortgage Monitor report, this available equity comes even as loans against home equity surged. “The 1.1M cash-outs originated in Q2 were the largest quarterly volume…
Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS®) found that mortgage rates held steady another week, up just .01% from last week to 2.88%. Rates haven’t moved much in several weeks. The rate on a 30-day fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.88%, inching up compared to last week. It was 2.86% a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages followed the same trend, averaging 2.19%, nearly identical to the 2.18% rate in the previous week. Fifteen-year rates averaged 2.37% a year earlier. Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 2.42%, shaking things up with slight decrease from last week’s 2.43%. Last year it was 3.11%. “While the economy continues to grow, it has lost momentum over the last two months due to…
A new study by LendingTree found that the average down payment on homes across 50 major U.S. metros has reached $46,283. As interest rates fell to historic lows and the housing market sizzled, high home prices led to larger down payments. Analysts at LendingTree calculated median down payments in the largest 50 U.S. metros and compared how expensive they were relative to their median annual household incomes. “An average down payment on a home costs at least $28,000 in each of the nation’s 50 largest metros,” they reported. In some markets it was almost four times that number. The most expensive cities peaked at over $100,000. San Jose had an average of $115,138 down, which amounts to 88% of the…
Americans made a dent in their debts during the pandemic, according to a new study from QuoteWizard. Analysts for QuoteWizard, an online lead generation marketplace for insurance, monitored thirty-three debt metrics between February 2020 and October 2020. They found that credit scores improved, people made more payments on their student loans, and the number in debt collection dropped. Nationally there was a 10% decrease in subprime credit scores and a 2% decrease in debt collection. Student loan delinquency and credit card delinquency both fell, by 32% and 31% respectively. “Americans having less debt has broader implications across the whole economy. The better your credit score, the less you are going to pay on everything from auto loans and home mortgages…
The number of loans in forbearance as of August 29 fell from 3.25% of portfolio volume to 3.23%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest survey. That puts the estimated number of homeowners in forbearance at 1.6 million. For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, the number fell 3 basis points to 1.63%. Ginnie Mae loans fell from 3.92% to 3.62%. But portfolio loans and private-label securities increased the number of homes in forbearance 34 basis points, from 7.18% to 7.52%. Independent mortgage bank servicers saw a drop of 1 basis point to 3.49%, and depository servicers saw a drop of 2 basis points to 3.33%. “The share of loans in forbearance decreased by two basis points last week, with…
Mortgage application volume fell again in the past week, dropping to its lowest point since Mid-July, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey found. Mortgage application volume fell by 1.9%. On an unadjusted basis, the index dropped 3% from last week. The data is driven largely by a 3% decline in refinancing. The refinance index was 4% lower year-over-year for the same week. The survey also showed a small 0.2% decline in the seasonally adjusted purchase index. “Mortgage application volume fell last week to its lowest level since mid-July, as mortgage rates have stayed just above 3% for several weeks. Refinance volume has been moderating, while purchase volume continues to be lower than expected given the lack of homes on…
