The VA

With mortgage rates reaching all-time lows in the opening quarter, refinance originations were up in 97% of housing markets during 1Q, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Mortgage applications decreased 2.6% from one week earlier, as tighter underwriting drove the refinance index to its lowest level since March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Pent-up demand is already pushing buyers to a gradual return to the market, the report asserts.

But in the worst-case scenario, the number of forbearances could grow by 3 percentage points through the end of June.

While overall mortgage application volume remained flat, purchase activity continued to rebound — and that should be the case through the remainder of the spring, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

By the end of the first quarter, the number of borrowers 30 days late on their mortgage increased by 59 basis points.

Specialized Loan Servicing will pay more than $1 million to settle Consumer Financial Protection Bureau allegations that it foreclosed on protected consumers and failed to send required evaluation notices in 2014.

With mortgage rates plummeting, the refinance share of closed loans from millennial borrowers rose for the third straight month, to the highest level since Ellie Mae began tracking the data in 2016.

Purchase mortgage activity rose for the third consecutive week, although the total volume was flat compared with the previous seven-day period, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

With unemployment mounting, new mortgage forbearance requests could sharply increase in early May when payments are due.