Mortgage activity dipped in August as rates reached new highs and inventory remained low, according to Black Knight’s latest Mortgage Monitor report.
The 30-year conforming soared above 7.25% last month, its highest level in more than 20 years, before cooling down to 7.07%.
As a result, overall rate lock volumes sank for a third straight month, down 1.5% from July.
“August was another rough month for mortgage borrowers from an interest rate perspective,” said Andy Walden, VP of enterprise research and strategy at Black Knight. “Rates did edge down toward the end of August, but prospective homebuyers still face the least affordable housing market in nearly 40 years.”
The biggest driver was purchase volume, which fell almost a full 2%…
High rates are making top originators nervous about the next six months.
Scotsman Guide asked mortgage pros who qualified for their Top Originator rankings how they expect their businesses to fare in the next six months. Their answers were tepid, with an eye on uncertainty.
The biggest change came from the percentage of originators who see their businesses staying exactly the same in the next six months, up from 29% in H1 2023 to 45% in H2.
A small percentage of originators think their businesses are likely to perform worse in the next six months (9% in H2 vs. 6% in H1) but less than half expect originations to pick up (down to 45% from 64%.)
Another point of note…
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…
While May saw a more robust mortgage market, demand is still nowhere near normal.
Black Knight’s latest Originations Market report found that though mortgage originations fared better in May than in April, they remain constrained.
Overall rate lock volumes were up 14% month-over-month in May due to April having two fewer business days. Production was up 4%.
“Indeed, while rate locks on purchase loans rose from April, they also dipped to their lowest level yet relative to 2018/2019 averages as rates rose late in the month,” said Andy Walden, vice president of enterprise research and strategy at Black Knight.
“Mind you, purchase loans have been making up the lion’s share of origination activity for much of the last year, making…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Mortgage originations are expected to decline in 2023 as market factors continue to present challenges for those in the industry.
Michael Fratantoni, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s chief economist and senior vice president of research and industry technology, said during a session at the National Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC, this week that after the whirlwind of 2020 and 2021, the residential slowdown which started in 2022 will continue through this year.
“This has been an extraordinarily tough couple of years for mortgage lenders. Origination volume dropped 50% from ’21 to ’22,” Fratantoni said. “We’re forecasting another 20% decline in 2023 to a level of about $1.8 trillion.”
Although the recent banking market uncertainty has not helped, Fratantoni…
Rate lock volumes took a beating in December as buyers and sellers remained on the sidelines. Black Knight’s December Originations Monitor Report found that typical seasonal patterns, together with continuing inflationary pressures and elevated rates, resulted in record lows for locks of all kinds. “Using Black Knight’s McDash mortgage performance data to provide comparative history, December saw the fewest purchase locks in a single month since early 2014, and the fewest overall rate locks on record dating back to January 2000 when Black Knight began reporting origination metrics,” said Kevin McMahon, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight. Rate lock dollar volumes fell by 19.4% in December, their lowest level in the five years Optimal Blue has tracked…
Jim Janczy joined NewFed Mortgage as EVP-Chief Production Officer, the company announced in a press release. In his new role, Janczy will be responsible for NewFed’s sales and marketing. He is known for success in startups and building territories, as well as client service that leads to long-term, trust-based relationships. Janczy has received several “Top Producer” awards, and “has earned an impressive loyal following of clients along with a vast network of professional relationships,” the release noted. Janczy brings more than two decades of experience to the position. His most recent role was at Home Point Financial, and his previous experience includes Wells Fargo and Envoy Mortgage. “We are extremely excited to have Jim as part of our company growth…
Lock volumes dipped almost 10% from August, bringing them down 30% in the last three months and 60% YOY, according to Black Knight’s latest Originations Market Monitor. Purchase locks are 10.2% below pre-pandemic levels. This is the third straight month of lock activity below pandemic norms. The decline in locks coincides with interest rates rising 91 basis points in September to 6.72%, their highest point in 15 years. Refinances made up only 16% of September’s lock activity, a new low. Of that, most were cash-out refis, though they are also down 26.2% from August and 78% YOY. Rate/term locks remained basically unchanged. They are down 93.3% YOY, suggesting they’ve hit a floor now. Purchase lending accounted for most of September’s…
Mortgage Lenders lost money on every loan originated for the first time since 2018 in Q2, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report. Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks lost an average of $82 on each loan they originated in the second quarter of 2022, down from gains of $223 per loan in Q1. The average pre-tax production loss was 5 bps, a complete turnaround from Q1’s average net production profit of 5 bps. Average production volume totaled $705 million per company, down from $808 million in Q1. Only three other quarters in the survey’s history saw net production losses: Q1 2014, Q1 2018, and Q4 2018. “The second quarter of 2022…
Overall residential lending activity dropped 32% YOY, the fastest decline in eight years, according to ATTOM’s Q1 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. The report found that 2.71 million mortgages secured by residential property were originated in Q1 2022. This is a drop from Q4 and the fourth consecutive quarter of declines. Refinances were down 22% and purchase mortgages fell 18% quarter-over-quarter. Lenders originated $892.4 billion in loans in Q1, down 17% from Q4 and 27% YOY. The quarterly dip in dollar volume was the largest in five years, and the annual dip was the largest in eight years. Declining refis drove the declines, with only 1.45 million residential loans refinanced during Q1 2022, down 22% from Q4 and a…
