Mortgage rates

The decline in average mortgage rates since the start of the year is driving higher purchase demand, especially at the higher end of the market, according to Freddie Mac.

With mortgage rates falling to their lowest level in over a year, refinance volume drove this week's increase in application activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly cooled in April, the fifth drop in six months, signaling a rocky start for the housing market this quarter amid a still-tight supply of available properties.

The era of plentiful refinance volume is over for the foreseeable future, because mortgage rates remained in a very narrow band for the past decade, said Mortgage Bankers Association Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni.

Single-family home prices in Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties changed course, climbing up in April after falling year-over-year in March.

Mortgage activity plunged before the start of the year, but subprime originations dropped the least, according to TransUnion. Despite dwindling volume, borrower delinquency rates hit historic lows in the first quarter.

Mortgage rates descended through the onset of spring's home buying season, pushing up the share of refinance loans and volume of new-home purchase applications, according to Ellie Mae and the MBA.

Even if the U.S. economy slows during the rest of 2019, the outlook for the housing and mortgage market remains strong, said economists at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

New-home construction rose for a second month and topped estimates in April in a sign of positive momentum for the housing sector at the start of the second quarter.

Market reaction to the trade dispute with China led to a modest decline in mortgage rates this week, but that shouldn't affect home sales in the coming months, Freddie Mac said.

Sentiment among homebuilders increased in May by more than expected, sustaining this year's upward swing on stronger sales and lower mortgage rates.

The gap in home price perception between appraisers and property owners widened in April, reaching its greatest spike in four years, according to Quicken Loans. At the same time, home values continued climbing.

Some good news emerged in the housing market recently, but there's one factor that means homebuyers aren't likely to see any relief soon: low supply.

While prepayment speeds on agency mortgage-backed securities rose in April, that increase should be short-lived as further significant interest drops are not expected, said a report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Affordability got better for mortgage borrowers at the start of 2019, but housing inventory constraints limited the degree of improvement, according to the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo.

Lower rates hurt the value of Impac Mortgage Holdings' servicing rights and overall earnings in the first quarter, but they could help improve the company's second-quarter results.

Single-family home sales across the Houston area were up 7.8% in April, the third straight monthly increase and the biggest gain so far this year, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.

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Mortgage rates continued to decline during May, as fears over a possible trade war with China drove investors into safer instruments, according to Freddie Mac.

Nonbank mortgage companies have traditionally been monoline or focused businesses, but in the current market they must create multiple revenue lines and strike a healthy balance between them to survive.