Good Morning! Today is Thursday, October 14. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced plans to line U.S. coastlines with wind farms. The Energy Information Administration predicts that home heating costs will go up because fuel prices are rising and fuel demand has increased over the previous winter. Democrats are still butting heads over what to cut from President Biden’s $3.5 trillion legislation, with Bernie Sanders saying Medicare benefits are non-negotiable. And in mortgage and housing news… Interest Rates Top 3%: Mortgage rates rose their highest point since April, hitting 3.05% over the past week, Freddie Mac reported.“Forbearance Cliff?”: Housing advocates have warned of a flood of forbearance filings. So far there’s no sign of it, and analysts don’t see it coming.Homeownership…
With COVID-era forbearance programs coming to an end, some housing activists warned of an approaching flood in forbearance filings. But so far, that hasn’t happened, and the signs are good that forbearance rates will remain low. The end of government forbearance protections is indeed causing an increase in the number of foreclosure filings. ATTOM’s latest Foreclosure Market Report, for Q3 2021, finds scheduled auctions or bank repossessions are up 34% from the previous quarter and 68% from a year ago. However, those increases are from historic lows, as forbearance relief artificially lowered the numbers. In fact, there were just 45,517 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in the quarter. “Despite the increased level of foreclosure activity in September, we’re still far…
Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, October 13. IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook report listed Covid-19 vaccination as a top priority. Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott banned vaccine requirements for employees, including in hospitals. President Biden hasn’t nominated anyone to replace Randal Quarles as The Fed’s vice chairman. And in mortgage and housing news… Refis Down, Loans Up: Mortgage loan application volume ticked up 0.2% last week, as refinance applications fell 16% year-over-year, according to the MBA. MCAI Rises: Mortgage credit availability rose by 1.5% in September, according to MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index. Delinquencies Leveling Out: Delinquencies are closing in on pre-pandemic levels, with serious delinquencies at their lowest level since May 2020, CoreLogic reported. Closing Costs: The average closing cost…
Good Morning! Today is Tuesday, October 12. Workers are heading back to the office at the highest rate since the pandemic began. Southwest Airlines canceled more than 28% of its weekend flights, including hundreds on Monday. Matt Amodio’s historic run on “Jeopardy!” came to an end Monday night, leaving the Yale doctoral student with 38 wins and more than $1.5 million in prize money. And in mortgage and housing news… Forbearances Fall: Forbearances plummeted to 2.62% of servicers’ portfolio volume last week, down from 2.89% the week before, according to the MBA. Analysis: Do low-income buyer programs help or hurt? Economists are raising questions about the real-world impact of some government programs designed to help low-income buyers enter the market.NAR:…
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…
Good Morning! Today is Friday, October 8. Senate Republicans and Democrats reached a deal to temporarily extend the debt ceiling through December. Tokyo was hit by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake. Ireland signed onto a global agreement to set a minimum 15% corporate tax rate. And in mortgage and housing news… Black Knight: The number of plans in active forbearance fell by 11% since last Tuesday, the largest weekly decline in twelve months. HPSI Drops: Fannie Mae’s HPSI fell 1.2 points to 74.5 in September, as consumers continued to report that housing prices make it a bad time to buy a home. Housing Affordability Concerns Nationwide…: The latest Market Pulse report shows troubling trends in housing affordability. …And in California: A …
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…
Good Morning! Today is Tuesday, October 5. Prices for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil shot to their highest levels since 2014. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is testifying today before a Senate consumer protection panel. An international group of journalists released the “Pandora Papers,” more than 11.9 million documents showing celebrities and world leaders have used offshore tax havens to conceal their financial activities. And in mortgage and housing news… Forbearances Keeping Falling: Forbearances fell to 2.89%, continuing to trend down as relief plans expire, according to MBA’s latest survey. Debt Ceiling: President Joe Biden warned of ominous outcomes if efforts to raise the debt ceiling didn’t pass. Is that true? New Treasury Guidelines: Grantees that haven’t utilized at least…
Forbearances fell to just 2.89% of servicers’ portfolio volume last week, down from 2.96% the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest survey. It’s just the second time they’ve fallen below 3% since March 2020. The estimated number of homeowners in forbearance plans is around 1.4 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 six basis points to 1.38%. Ginnie Mae loans fell seven basis points to 3.35%. Portfolio loans and private-label securities shares fell fourteen basis points, from 6.91% to 6.77%. Independent mortgage bank servicers saw a drop of five basis points to 3.19%, and the…
Good Morning! Today is Friday, October 1. Lawmakers avoided a partial shutdown last night by signing a bill to fund the government. House Democrats delayed a vote on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh tested positive for COVID-19. U.S. jobless claims remained near pandemic lows during September. And in mortgage and housing news… Teachers, Nurses Struggle With Housing: The lack of affordable housing is forcing in-person workers like teachers and nurses into smaller, older homes, according to a Zillow report. Forbearances Fall: Forbearances are down 11% month-over-month, the fastest rate of decline since July, Black Knight reported. Seniors At Home: An AAG survey found that over 80% of seniors do not want to sell their homes.…
