Tag Archives: Refinance

Residential mortgage lending volume will fall below the $1 trillion mark in 2011, becoming the fifth year of what is emerging as a ""lost decade"" for the housing and home financing industries, according to new projections from the market research firm iEmergent. The company expects growth in home lending to remain ""slow"" through 2015, and warns that because of the economic collapse, the pool of potential mortgage applicants - homebuyers and homeowners looking to refinance - has been reduced to levels seen in 1995.

The number of applications submitted by consumers for mortgage loans rose last week, as interest rates held low. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that applications for home purchases were up 5.5 percent from one week earlier, marking their third consecutive weekly increase. MBA's index for refinance applications also rose, jumping 6.0 percent from the previous week.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured 1.74 million single-family mortgages during fiscal year 2010, which for the agency ended in September. The collective value of the loans endorsed was $318.8 billion. FHA's loan volume for the year was down 10.3 percent from 2009, and came in below the 1.87 million mortgages it had previously projected would be endorsed in the 2010 fiscal year. The agency's serious delinquency rate stood at 8.4 percent at year-end. At the same time in 2009, the rate was 8.3 percent.

Overall mortgage application volume decreased 5 percent for the week ending October 29, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. The decline was led by a falloff in refinances, however, applications for home purchases increased during the week. The trade group reported that mortgage rates were mixed, with 30-year contract rates heading up, but 15-year rates declining.

HUD has issued new guidelines which ease the requirements for loan amounts the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) can insure. The federal agency's previous policy was that the total of all liens against a subject property, including the FHA-insured first mortgage and any subordinate liens, could not exceed the maximum amount insurable based on geographic location. But HUD's latest Mortgagee Letter eliminates that requirement for both purchase and refinance transactions.

Home loan production is expected to come in below $1 trillion for the 2011 calendar year, according to figures released this week by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). If the trade group's projections pan out, it will be the industry's lowest level of home lending volume in 14 years. MBA's economists say next year's drop will be driven by a decline in refinance originations as mortgage rates head higher, but the industry will see an increase in purchase originations.

Industry data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Wednesday shows that consumer demand for home loans intensified last week as mortgage interest rates dropped to their second-lowest level on record. MBA says its measurement of total mortgage loan application volume rose 3.2 percent for the week ending October 22, after dipping more than 10 percent the week before.

The freefall for mortgage interest rates hit a pause this week. Rates on 30-year mortgages rose for the first time in five weeks, edging up to 4.21 percent, according to data released by Freddie Mac Thursday. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also inched up to 3.64 percent. Adjustable-rate mortgages, on the other hand, slipped to new record lows. Bankrate says the ongoing foreclosure controversy surrounding court documents and paperwork errors could ultimately be passed along to future borrowers through higher mortgage rates.

Consumer demand for mortgages waned last week, as interest rates edged up for the first time in six weeks. The Mortgage Bankers Association says its index of total mortgage loan application volume dropped 10.5 percent for the week ending October 15. It's the steepest plunge seen in mortgage activity in the past four months, and some market observers are attributing the falloff to the recent turmoil surrounding foreclosure paperwork errors by servicers and the uncertainty it's brought for buyers of distressed properties.

The last time rates for 30-year mortgages were as low as they are now was in April 1951. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages have been under 5 percent for 23 weeks in a row, according to data gathered by Freddie Mac. This week, the GSE reports that the average 30-year rate fell again to break the survey's all-time low, hitting 4.19 percent. The 15-year fixed rate also averaged a record low of 3.62 percent.