MBA: Fixed-Rate Market Share Jumps

The market share of fixed-rate mortgages among all mortgage originations jumped in the first half of 2007, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association originations surveys.Fixed-rate loans (including interest-only loans) accounted for 53.4% of first mortgages (or 67.4% based on the number of loans) in the first half compared with 46.2% (or 60.5%) in the second half of 2006, the MBA reported in its Mortgage Originations Survey. Meanwhile, the MBA's Subprime Mortgage Originations Survey found that the FRM share of subprime mortgage originations grew from 25% in the second half of 2006 to 31% in the first half of 2007. Other first-half results from the overall survey included findings that IOs accounted for 31.1% of all originations, compared with 28.5% in the second half of 2006, and that first-time homebuyer purchases represented 26.9% of home purchases, unchanged from that of the second half of 2006. Among first-half originations, 37.1% were for single-family attached homes, 58.5% for single-family detached homes, 0.7% for manufactured and mobile homes, and 3.8% for two- to four-unit structures, according to the trade group. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.