Mortgage News
The latest industry news, digested.California Pending Home Sales Rise for First Time Since 2009
California pending home sales saw their first year-over-year increase in 18 months, according to a release from the California Association of Realtors. The group’s pending home sales index was up 1.6 percent in May compared to a month earlier, and ... Read More »
First and Second Mortgage Defaults Continue to Fall
More good news on the mortgage default rate front. Both first and second mortgage defaults fell in May, according to the latest S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices released today. The first mortgage default rate (I’m assuming 30 days late) was ... Read More »
Mortgage Rates Expected to Stay Below Five Percent Through Early 2012
Here’s some good news if you’re looking to buy or refinance in the near future. Mortgage rates, specifically 30-year fixed mortgage rates, are expected to stay below five percent through to next year, according to mortgage financier Fannie Mae. The ... Read More »
Wells Fargo Exits Reverse Mortgage Business
Wells Fargo is exiting the reverse mortgage business, according to a company press release. The San Francisco-based bank and mortgage lender said it will discontinue the loan origination of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) on June 30, 2011. After that ... Read More »
Nearly a Third of Refinancers Choose 15-Year Fixed
Shorter term mortgages continue to gain in popularity. In January, 29 percent of refinancing borrowers went with the 15-year fixed, up from just 11 percent two years ago, according to the most recent data available from CoreLogic, as cited by ... Read More »
Home Affordable Refinance Program Extended
Despite ongoing criticism and a number of recent bills aimed at ending several government mortgage assistance programs, the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) has been extended by one year, per the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The FHFA announced Friday that ... Read More »
FHA Refinance Applications Plummet in November
FHA refinance loan volume fell 29.9 percent from October to November, according to a FHA Single-Family Outlook released recently by HUD. A total of 69,062 FHA loan applications were received for refinance purposes, down from 98,544 a month prior, and ... Read More »
Is the Refinance Boom Finally Over?
Refinance demand fell for the sixth straight week, indicating an end to the boom that began in early 2009, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Overall, mortgage application volume was off 18.6 percent on a seasonally ... Read More »
Mortgage Profits Rise as Refinance Activity Swells
Independent mortgage banks and subsidiaries made an average profit of $1,423 on each loan they originated during the third quarter, according to a study from the Mortgage Bankers Association. That’s up from $917 per loan in the second quarter thanks ... Read More »
Mortgage Purchase Volume Expected to Outpace Refinance Activity in 2011
Home purchase loan origination volume is expected to outpace refinance volume in 2011, according to a forecast released today by iEmergent. Next year, 2.62 million home purchase mortgages for $490.9 billion and 2.18 million refinance loans for $412.9 billion (low ... Read More »
