There was a slight decline in new private mortgage insurance written between September and October, even as the Federal Housing Administration's new pricing took affect at the start of the month.
According to data from the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America, primary new insurance written through the traditional channel was $6.91 billion in October, down from $6.93 billion in September. Still, October was the second best month of the year for new insurance written.
It was the second best month of the year for NIW in the bulk channel as well, at $46.3 million, down from September's $73.7 million.
Application volume fell from 39,846 for September to 38,705 in October.
Primary insurance in force continued its decline, from $886.1 billion in October 2009 to $765.9 billion for the most recent period.
There was a very slight improvement in the cure/default ratio between September and October, from 88.1% up to 88.3%. There were 56,887 cures and 64,450 defaults during the month.
For October 2009, the ratio was 57.0%, with defaults totaling 91,135.
New pool risk written in October was $4.4 million.
