Over the summer, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) created a “bang” in the marketplace with the news it would begin accepting cryptocurrency for mortgage payments. But now it appears the initiative may be reduced to a whimper. “We’ve evaluated the feasibility, and we’re looking forward to being the first mortgage company in America to accept cryptocurrency to satisfy mortgage payments,” CEO Mat Ishbia told investors in August. Among the currencies on the list: Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum. But just two months later, Ishbia announced that UWM has processed just six such mortgage payments thus far, and it will not be widely accepting the experimental currencies after all. “Due to the current combination of incremental costs and regulatory uncertainty in the Crypto…
The number of loans in active forbearance have fallen another 10% since last Tuesday, adding to last week’s 11% drop, according to Black Knight’s blog, Vision. More than 450,000 homeowners have exited forbearance plans just in the last two weeks. Forbearances have fallen 22% over the last month, the fastest decline since the beginning of the pandemic. All investor classes have seen forbearances drop at least 20%. The total number of mortgages in forbearances is down 143,000 this week. The largest drop was in loans held by PSLs and bank portfolios, which fell by 88,000, or 19%. GSEs and FHA/VA loans in forbearance both dropped by 6%. Black Knight noted that this wave of exits was expected, as many plans…
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…
Mortgage rates rose to their highest point since April, hitting 3.05% 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 3.05%, up from last week’s 2.99%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 2.81% “As inflationary pressure builds due to the ongoing pandemic and tightening monetary policy, we expect rates to continue a modest upswing,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Historically speaking, rates are still low, but many potential homebuyers are staying on the sidelines due to high home price growth. Rising mortgage rates combined with growing home prices make affordability more challenging for potential homebuyers.” Mortgage applications have trended down with increasing interest rates…
Women have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, but none more so than single women. After Covid-19 ravaged their work and home lives, almost 60% of single female heads of household (SFHOH) now say they don’t see homeownership in their futures, a Freddie Mac survey found. “The COVID-19 pandemic has had disparate economic impacts nationwide, particularly on women who are heads of their households, such as single moms and caretakers,” said Pam Perry, Single-Family Vice President of Equitable Housing. “In this survey, we discovered this population’s housing and financial challenges have been further complicated by pandemic-related workplace disruptions and current economic conditions. While the survey showed some feel confident in their knowledge of finances and building credit, many lack confidence…
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…
Mortgage loan application volume ticked up 0.2% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey reported. The Market Composite Index, which measures application volume, rose 0.2% on an adjusted basis. On an unadjusted basis, they rose 0.4% from the week before. The Refinance Index fell 1% and was 16% lower than a year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index rose 2%, while the unadjusted Purchase Index rose 2% compared to the week before, down 10% from the previous year. “Mortgage rates reached their highest level since June 2021, but application activity changed little this week. An increase in home purchase applications offset a slight decline in refinances,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “The increase…
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:…
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,…
