Homeownership for low-income Americans is a major policy plank for countless political leaders, as well as an intensively studied issue among nonprofit and research organizations. The interest is unsurprising: Getting more people at all income levels into homeownership is broadly seen as a net positive for a nation’s economic and social health. In recent years, programs hoping to help low-income buyers enter the market have proliferated throughout the lending industry. Targeted loans, favorable rates, and other measures are designed to boost homebuying among those not in the top echelon of earners. But do those programs work? Many industry leaders seem to believe so. Last week Freddie Mac announced a “multi-billion affordable housing bond program,” one that “provides a 3% down…
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 …
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…
Good Morning! Today is Thursday, October 7. Facebook has slowed the release of new products for “reputational reviews.” GM wants to double its revenue by 2030 with battery-electric models and auto services. WHO approved the first Malaria vaccine. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Texas abortion ban. And in mortgage and housing news… Freddie: Mortgage rates fell slightly to 2.99% over the past week, Freddie Mac reported. Non-QM Tech: Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions is focusing on streamlining the process of closing non-QM loans so that it more closely resembles closing an agency loan. Averages Rise: The average homebuyer’s monthly mortgage payment rose $50 over the last six weeks. Hispanic Homeowners: Hispanic homeowners are driving the U.S. market.…
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…
Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions is focusing on streamlining the process of closing non-qualifying mortgage (non-QM) loans so that it more closely resembles closing an agency loan. “It’s a priority for us,” Angel Oak executive vice president of production Tom Hutchens told the MPA. Angel Oak is reportedly investing in technologies to automate more of the non-QM underwriting process. Non-QM loans are still mostly manually underwritten, while agency lending is almost fully automated. “You think of Rocket Mortgage, where you ‘click a button, get a mortgage,’ and it has almost become the industry norm. It’s not quite that easy. It’s nice to at least make it look like it is,” he said. Non-QMs are sometimes associated with the financial crash of 2008,…
Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, October 6. Some Democrats propose changing the filibuster to bypass fighting about the debt limit. Johnson & Johnson asked the FDA to approve its Covid-19 booster shot. The Justice Department is reviewing its decision not to prosecute the FBI agents who disregarded allegations about Larry Nassar and later lied about their actions.And in mortgage and housing news… Loan Applications Plummet: Mortgage loan application volume fell 6.9% last week to a three-month low, according to the MBA’s most recent survey. Black Knight: Huge equity increases for homeowners might not be enough to prevent foreclosures, according to Black Knight’s latest Mortgage Monitor Report. Price Growth Breaks Record: Annual home price growth hit its highest point in the…
