Mortgage applications

Purchase activity was buoyed last week by conventional and Department of Veterans Affairs-backed loan activity.

The sales pace of new constructions in November was the third highest this year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Department of Veterans Affairs-backed refinances were up 85% weekly, contributing to a busy week for the loan type.

Pressing items in the mortgage industry include a behind-the-scenes look at the issues plaguing USAA, a recent lawsuit at Movement Mortgage and more.

Fading rates pushed home loan activity to its fourth consecutive week of gains.

Despite the latest pick-up in volume, stubbornly elevated interest rates led both the Mortgage Bankers Association and Fannie Mae to recently adjust 2024 and 2025 forecasts lower.

The median monthly payment amount for new purchases moved higher for the first time in six months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Rejections for mortgage credit outpaced almost every other borrowing category, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said the FICO credit-scoring model has drawbacks in price, predictiveness and market competition, and stakeholders should develop a more open-sourced model that uses artificial intelligence.

Both purchases and refinances came in higher, with government-backed lending providing momentum, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Applications broke a seven-week losing streak, but uneven rates muted any significant gains.

Refinance applications fell by almost 50% in the past four weeks, part of a greater slide since the last Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

Eighty percent of respondents say their current mortgage payment is putting a strain on their personal finances, per a Transunion survey.

The refinance boomlet is over, but purchase activity is straggling along.

The lawmaker said leadership on the House Financial Services Committee is supportive of the legislation, which would limit the ability of credit-reporting agencies to sell homebuyer information to financial service providers.

U.S. mortgage applications for both home purchases and refinancing dropped last week to the lowest levels since August, hobbled by a recent surge in mortgage rates.

Rising rates have apparently erased the optimism stemming from last month's Federal Reserve interest rate cut.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Department of Justice issued a consent order against Wisconsin-based nonbank mortgage originator Fairway Independent Mortgage over redlining allegations. Fairway is the country's fifth-largest mortgage originator by volume.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose over 20 basis points last week, putting downward pressure on home loan activity.

Last week's lukewarm results come after a two-year high in application activity.