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Tag Archives: Mortgage Applications

Report Examines States Feeling Greatest Fallout from Crash

While Florida, Nevada, and California are some of the most commonly cited examples of states hit hard by the housing implosion, an analysis of fraud data submitted to LexisNexis' Mortgage Industry Data Exchange (MIDEX) shows New Jersey might have taken the worst impact. The Garden State ranked in the top 10 lists for reported mortgage fraud, potential collusion activity, and percentage of properties in default in 2012, giving it a number of problems to tackle as it heads into an era of heightened regulation.

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Mortgage Apps Drop Again

Mortgage application volume declined last week at a more sudden rate than in previous weeks, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

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Commentary: Housing Recovery? Hold the Champagne

Recent reports from the National Association of Realtors and the Census Bureau/HUD showed sharp increases in unit sales and prices, as well as increases in the inventory of homes for sale for April. Has housing turned the corner? Look again. Sales up, prices up, what's wrong with this picture? The last time both prices and sales of new homes increased in the same month was last September. In all of 2012, sales and prices moved in opposite directions in seven of the 12 months. What of course is missing from the two data sets is any indication of demand.

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Refinance Demand Up to 3-Month High

The Market Composite Index in the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) weekly applications survey rose a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent for the week ending April 26, the group reported. Unadjusted, the index was up 2 percent week-over-week. The Refinance Index increased 3 percent from the previous week, rising to its highest level since the week ending January 18. The share of refinance applications done under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) increased to 34 percent, its highest recorded level.

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New England Mortgage Activity Improves to 5-Year High

Mortgage originations in the New England region hit a five-year high in 2012, The Warren Group reported. According to the company's Mortgage MarketShare Module, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island all recorded strong activity last year, with the Bay State showing the most strength.

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Demand, Credit Terms for Loans Both Ease

The percentage of banks reporting stronger demand for mortgage loans dropped in the first quarter from the fourth quarter last year, the Federal Reserve reported Monday and a slightly greater percentage are lending standards. The results in the quarterly Senior Loan Officers Opinion Survey are consistent with anecdotal reports that mortgage loans are becoming easier to obtain. In the case of ""traditional"" mortgage loans, 1.5 percent of respondents reported ""somewhat"" tighter standings, 4.6 percent reported standards easing somewhat, and 1.5 percent reported standards easing considerably.

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Economists at NAHB’s Builders’ Showcase Discuss Industry Trends

Speaking at the NAHB's International Builders' Show in Las Vegas, chief economists David Crowe (for the NAHB), David Berson (Nationwide), and Frank Nothaft (Freddie Mac) talked about the trends the housing industry can expect to see and the potential threats that may impede the recovery. In total, NAHB forecasts 949,000 total housing starts in 2013, up 21.5 percent from 781,000 in 2012. Single-family starts are expected to rise 22 percent to 650,000 in 2013 and an additional 30 percent to 844,000 in 2014.

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CFPB Finds U.S. Consumers Overlook Credit Reports

Even though credit scores play a key role in whether or not a person can be approved for a mortgage loan, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report revealing only one in five people actually obtain a copy of their credit report each year. In addition, these overlooked reports that are important in the lending process could also contain errors that go unchallenged. When consumers did dispute information on their credit report, the CFPB found that nearly 40 percent of the disputes dealt with debt in collections.

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Senior Loan Officer Survey Reveals Increase in Demand for Loans

A survey of senior loan officers released by the Federal Reserve shows lending standards were mostly unchanged, but demand for residential real estate loans was strengthened. The October survey asked 68 domestic banks and 23 U.S. branches of foreign institutions about the lending standards and loan demand they've dealt with over the past three months. When asked about credit standards for prime mortgages, 59 out of 64 respondents said standards were largely the same. While 34 banks said demand for prime purchase mortgages was about the same, 21 reported ""moderately stronger"" demand, and four said demand was ""substantially stronger"" since July.

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