Purchase, Home Equity Lending Weakness Hurt Q3 Originations

Mortgage originations fell by 3% in Q3 2023, reversing a spike in Q2 and marking the ninth decline in ten quarters, according to new data from ATTOM. Purchase and home equity lending (both -7%) induced the drop as interest rates stuck above 7% over the summer.  These declines wiped out gains in refinances, which were up 5%, the second straight quarterly increase. ATTOM attributes the refi boost to homeowners taking advantage of cash from their sky-high equity. Though some homeowners lost equity in Q3, it remained strong overall as home prices soared earlier this year, leaving Americans with plenty to borrow against. The downturn pushed residential lending activity down 26% YOY and 63% from a high point in 2021 during…

Originations Up In Q2, Sending Lenders Back To Black

Mortgage lenders were back in business last quarter. Lenders issued $494 billion worth of residential mortgages in the second quarter of 2023, up by 23% from Q1 though still down 41% YOY, according to new data from ATTOM. Residential loans drove the increases, up 21% and breaking a streak of eight consecutive quarterly declines. Purchase loans in particular jumped 29%. Refinance and home equity activity also spiked, up 13.8% and 12.9% QoQ, respectively. “Home buyers and owners alike lined back up again at the doors of mortgage lenders this Spring seeking loans of all kinds. It looks like owners took advantage of the small rate drop to refinance existing loans, while a jump in mortgages for purchasers was likely fueled…

Rate Lock Volumes Slipped In July As Rates Surged

Rate lock volumes sank in July as mortgage rates exceeded 7% for the first time since November 2022. Black Knight’s Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices for July found that 30-year conforming rates cross 7% early in the month before bouncing down and up again, ultimately ending the month at 6.88%. In line with rising rates, lock volumes dipped 7% from June. “While they moved around a bit in July, there was no escaping the fact that conforming 30-year rates topped 7% in July for the first time since they spiked last fall,” said Andy Walden, vice president of enterprise research and strategy at Black Knight. “On both a practical and psychological level, that put further downward pressure on mortgage demand.…

June Lock Volumes Saw Boost

Mortgage originations saw a boost in June as summer turned the corner, according to new data from Mortgage Capital Trading. MCT’s Indices Report found that lock volumes increased by 31% last month, making up for a 15% decrease in May. “We saw originations towards the end of May slow down, so this is likely a summertime pickup in originations,” said Andrew Rhodes, Senior Director and Head of Trading at MCT. “Rates, housing supply, and affordability will continue to be the forces behind the lack of new originations.” Year-over-year locks were down nearly 8%, however. Rhodes noted that the Federal Reserve’s decisions will impact lock volumes going forward. If the Fed follows through on two additional rate hikes this year, mortgage…

MC Mortgage Group Joins UMortgage

Wilmington, NC-based MC Mortgage Group is joining mortgage platform UMortgage, the company announced. MC Mortgage serves homebuyers in North and South Carolina. The company was named MPA Top Employer and Lender and Wilmington Cape Fear Home Builder’s Association’s Lender of the Year in 2021. The company was founded in 2005 by President Patrick Stoy, a seasoned mortgage veteran with nearly 25 years of experience as a broker. He was named a UWM Top 1% Broker and a Top-100 Purchase LO with UWM in 2022. In 2021 he was named Mortgage Professional of the Year by the North Carolina Home Builders Association. “Being that I’ve been a true independent mortgage broker since 2005, this platform will allow me the opportunity to…

Purchase Locks Jumped In March As Rates Fell

Lock volumes increased across the board last month, with purchase locks seeing the greatest gains of any March in the past five years. Rate locks dollar volumes rose by 43% thanks to retreating rates and greater demand, according to Black Knight’s latest Originations Market Report. Rates fell by 24 bps by the end of the month, impacted by banking sector uncertainty. They are continuing to shrink moving into April, hitting 6.28% last week. “It is not unusual for rate locks to surge in March ahead of the spring homebuying season, although this year’s rise outpaced what we typically see on a seasonal basis,” said Andy Walden, vice president of enterprise research at Black Knight. Purchase locks were up 44% month-over-month…

IMBs Lost Money On Every Origination In 2022

For the first time since at least 2008, independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks lost money every time they originated a loan. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Annual Mortgage Bankers Performance Report found that IMBs lost an average of $301 on each loan in 2022. This puts production profits down 15% YOY, a series low. The decrease was driven by low loan origination volume coupled with skyrocketing expenses. Volume was down 20% YOY. At the same time, loan balances increased by 5%, the largest single-year increase in the data’s history, resulting in higher production costs. “The stellar profits of the previous two years dissipated because of the confluence of declining volume, lower revenues, and higher costs per loan,”…

Homes Bought In 2022 Face Rising Underwater Risk As Prices Cool

Americans who bought a home this year are facing rising underwater risk as home prices cool. Black Knight’s October Mortgage Monitor found that 8% of homes bought in 2022 are now at least marginally underwater, while almost 40% have less than a 10% equity stake in their homes. “Make no mistake: negative equity rates continue to run far below historical averages, but a clear bifurcation of risk has emerged between mortgaged homes purchased relatively recently versus those bought early in or before the pandemic,” said Black Knight President Ben Graboske. “Risk among earlier purchases is essentially nonexistent given the large equity cushions these mortgage holders are sitting on. More recent homebuyers don’t fare as well.” This is a particular issue…

Originations See Largest YOY Decline In Two Decades

Mortgage originations saw their largest annual decline in 21 years, further evidence that the housing boom is coming to an end. Originations fell 47% YOY in Q3, according to ATTOM Data’s Q3 2022 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. Quarter-over-quarter they were down 19%, the sixth consecutive drop. Lenders issued a total of $636.5 billion worth of mortgages in Q3. By dollar count, that’s down 22% from Q2 and 46% YOY. It’s the largest dip in loan dollar volume since at least 2001. HELOC lending increased for the fifth time in six quarters, but the boost was overwhelmed by the slump in purchase and refinance origination. “There are no surprises in this quarter’s loan origination numbers, as the unprecedented jump…

Rate Locks Dip To New Low, Refis Hit Hard

Origination activity continues to sink as the market corrects, with refinances seeing major drops. Black Knight’s October 2022 Originations Market Monitor report found that rate lock dollar volume dropped 14.3% month-over-month to its lowest level since February 2019. Refinances have been hit especially hard, making up just 14% of all origination activity in October. Cash-out refis, which had previously seemed resilient due to widespread equity gains, fell 25.1% from September and are down 83.6% YOY. Rate/term refis sank an additional 15.7% and are now down 92.6% YOY. “With interest rates now at their highest level in 20 years, the refi market is rapidly approaching a bottom,” said Scott Happ, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight.  “Indeed, our…