Tag Archives: Refinance

Mortgage applications saw increased activity in the last week of September, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported. Mortgage application volume increased 16.6 percent in the week ending September 28, according to MBA's Mortgage Composite Index. Meanwhile, the Refinance Index increased 20 percent from a week before to its highest recorded level since April 2009.

Foreclosure inventory continues to decline but remains more than eight times what it was in the decade prior to the housing crisis, according to the latest report from Lender Processing Services (LPS). Noncurrent loans make up 10.9 percent of all loans as of August, demonstrating a year-over-year change of -7.6 percent, according to LPS. As of August, the delinquency rate stands at 6.9 percent, and the foreclosure rate is 4.0 percent. LPS also noted prepayment activity was up ""significantly"" in August, nearing levels last reported in 2005.

Closing rates, the time it takes to close on a residential mortgage, and FICO scores for approved loans all increased in August, according to the most recent report from Ellie Mae.

The data showed that the total number of originated loans of all types and purposes fell by about 780,000 - 10 percent - from 2010 to 2011, partly because of a 13 percent decline in refinancings. The overall drop in refinancings was the result of declines in conventional and FHA activity, as data revealed that VA-related refinancing activity actually rose 41 percent.

As an effort to reach more eligible borrowers, Fannie Mae and Fannie Mae announced updates to their refinance policies, one of which includes less documentation for income and assets.

Lawmakers introduced a bill on Monday with plans to once more revamp the Home Affordable Refinance Program for current borrowers with eligible loans with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Robert Menendez, among others, drafted the Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act to increase lender competition, open up refinance opportunities to all current borrowers with government-backed mortgages, and strike through appraisal costs and upfront fees on home loans.

From January 2012 to July, 519,339 loans were refinanced under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), FHFA announced Friday. Two factors were named as the main drivers behind the high volume of refinancings: record-low mortgage rates and HARP changes such as the removal of the loan-to-value (LTV) ceiling.

Despite recent gains, homeowners still feel antsy about the housing market, with 4 out of 5 home-owning Americans unlikely to buy or refinance their homes, according to a recent poll. Union Plus, an arm of the AFL-CIO, conducted the survey with Harris Interactive. The findings? Only employees between ages 18 and 34 felt interested in making a housing investment over the next 12 months.

Churchill Mortgage announced that the company has seen a massive increase in FHA refinance business since the FHA Streamline Refinance incentive took effect in June 2011.

Five months after the nation's top five servicers settled with the states attorneys general and several federal agencies to address iniquities in foreclosure processes, Joseph A. Smith, Jr., the settlement monitor, released a preliminary report to inform the public of the servicers' progress so far. Thus far, the five servicers - Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial - offered $10.56 billion in relief to borrowers and have implemented between 35 and 72 percent of the 304 servicing standards detailed in the national settlement.