Purchase Apps, Refis See Boost As Rates Retreat

Both purchase applications and refis saw increases as rates fell for a fifth consecutive week. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows the adjusted Market Composite Index – a measure of mortgage loan application volume – rose by 7.4%. Adjusted purchase applications increased by 3%, while the unadjusted index was up 4% from the week before and was 37% lower YOY. Refinances saw a big upswing, rising 18% from the week prior. But they remain 75% lower than the same time last year, comprising only 33.9% of total applications. In the past decade, refis averaged 58% of total activity. “Both purchase and refinance applications increased last week and have shown gains in three of the past four weeks because of…

Q&A With SingleSource COO: Ed Austin Speaks About Services, Protecting Neighborhoods

The Chief Operating Officer at SingleSource Property Solutions said in a recent interview with The Mortgage Note that their mission is to protect neighborhoods. Ed Austin has been working in the mortgage industry for 25 years on the vendor management side. He has been COO of SingleSource in Pennsylvania for seven years. In August, the company celebrated its 20-year anniversary of the launch of home equity service offerings. The company’s second mortgage services are available in economical bundles and include valuations, title products, and online closings, according to a press release. Austin said in a statement that with their specialized home equity bundles, lenders are significantly reducing the amount of time and expenses associated with closing a second lien transaction.…

Loan Applications Fall Again, Rates Keep Going Up

Mortgage loan application volume fell 3.7% last week, continuing a downward spiral as mortgage rates hit their highest point since mid-July, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 3.7%. The adjusted purchase index fell 2%, while the unadjusted purchase index dropped 4% and was 23% lower YOY. The refinance index dropped by 8% and made up 30.3% of total applications, down 83% from the same time last year.  “Mortgage rates and Treasury yields rose last week as Federal Reserve officials indicated that short-term rates would stay higher for longer. Mortgage rates have been volatile over the past month, bouncing between 5.4% and 5.8%,” said Joel Kan,…

Applications Reverse Downward Spiral, Up 6.6%

Mortgage loan application volume reversed course after five straight weeks of decreases, rising 6.6% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased by 6.6%. The adjusted purchase index rose 8%, while the unadjusted purchase index was up by 18% and was 16% lower YOY. The refinance index rose 4% and was down 76% YOY and made up 31.7% of total applications. ARM activity fell to 8.1% of total applications.  Joel Kan, MBA Association Vice President of Economic and Industry, noted that applications rose despite an interest rate explosion last week. The 30-year fixed-rate hit 5.65% last week, up 25 basis points and the highest level…

Morning Roundup (5/9/2022)– Consumer Sentiment Down, Refi Closing Costs

Good Morning! Today is Monday, May 9. Today is Victory Day, a holiday in Russia that has become a celebration of military might. Jill Biden made an unannounced visit to western Ukraine and met with the nation’s First Lady. A shortage of baby formula in the U.S. is causing some retailers to limit how much customers can buy. The Mortgage Note Reports Sentiment Down: Consumers across the country continue to report difficult homebuying conditions, Editor Kimberley Haas writes. OriginPoint Hire: John Stewart is joining OriginPoint as its new EVP of National Sales. Refi Closing Costs: The national average closing costs for a refinance in 2021 were up $88 from 2020 but were still less than 1% of the average refinance loan amount. And in other mortgage and housing news… NAR…

Millennials, Gen Z To Play Major Role In 2022 Housing Market

As homebuyer demographics change, Millennials and Gen Z are set to play a major role in the housing market this year, according to a new report from ServiceLink. ServiceLink’s 2022 State of Homebuying Report uses information from 1,000 homeowners who purchased a home in the last five years to analyze generational trends in homebuying. The report found that Millennials and Gen Z are making big moves in the housing market and are open to non-traditional routes to homeownership. “As bidding wars, low inventory and rising interest rates continue to intensify the competition, buyers have had to get creative in order to come out ahead in this challenging real estate market,” said Dave Steinmetz, president of origination services, ServiceLink.  “Our study…

Applications Continue Dropping

Mortgage loan application volume plummeted by 8.1% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey shows. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped by 8.1%%. The adjusted purchase index fell 2%, while the unadjusted purchase index fell 1% and was 12% lower YOY. The refinance index fell a whopping 14% and was down 54% YOY. Refinances made up 44.8% of total applications. Mortgage interest rates jumped by 23 basis points last week, their largest weekly increase since March 2020, due to the Fed’s interest rate hike and the expectation of fewer MBS purchases, Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, noted. “With mortgage rates now at 4.5%, compared to rates at…

MBA: Average Loan Size Reaches Its Second-Highest Amount Ever

Mortgage loan application volume dropped 0.6% last week, though the average purchase loan reached its second-highest amount ever, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly survey reported. The seasonally adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 0.6%. The seasonally adjusted purchase index fell 3%, while the unadjusted purchase index fell 6% and was 9% lower YOY. The refinance index rose 2% and was down 42% YOY. Refinances made up 65.2% of total applications, driven by a rate decrease to 3.27%, its lowest in four weeks. Though applications fell, purchase loan size increased to an average of $416,200, the second-highest average amount on record. “The elevated loan size is an indication that activity is more on the…

Rate/Term Refinances Reach Lowest Point Since February 2020

Rate lock volume fell 4.7% month-over-month in November, Black Knight’s latest Originations Market Monitor report found. It is the third straight month of overall declines. The drop was driven by rate/term refinance originations, which fell 9.4% from October and almost 65% year-over-year (YOY), its lowest level since February 2020. Rate/term refinance dropped in eight out of eleven months in 2021. Locks on purchase and cash-out refinance fell 3.9% and 2.5% from October, respectively. However, they are still higher than 2020, with purchase locks up 13% YOY and cash-outs up 36% YOY. “While 30-year rates ended November relatively flat from where they were at the start of the month, there was some volatility in rate offerings throughout the month,” said Black…

Lending Fell In Q2, Q3 For The First Time Since 2000

Mortgage lending declined in both Q2 and Q3 2021, the first consecutive decline in two years and the first time since 2000 that lending fell in Q2 and Q3, according to ATTOM’s Q3 2021 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. The report showed that 3.59 million mortgages secured by residential property originated in Q3, up 3% YOY but down 8% from Q2. It is the largest quarterly drop in more than a year, and a surprise considering the second and third quarters are usually peak buying season. Lenders overall issued $1.15 trillion in mortgages in Q3, up 11% YOY but down 6% from Q2, the first quarterly drop since early 2020. Both refinance and purchase lending fell, with refinancing taking…