Origination

Mortgage applications slipped 0.3% from one week earlier, as refinance volume, particularly for Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs loans, shrank significantly, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility was brought back to inject $100 billion into the pandemic-battered economy, but only a fraction has been disbursed. Yet experts, pointing to its calming effects on markets, recommend that it be extended into next year.

The remarks from the National Association of Realtors’ incoming president followed a vote by its board to ban “harassing or hate speech” within its code of conduct.

The Mortgage Bankers Association sees rates rising over the next two years, while Fannie Mae expects the average to remain under 3%.

The median credit score for new mortgages and refinancings climbed to 786 during the third quarter, its highest level in more than two decades, according to a report from the New York Fed.

The homeownership rate in Texas just hit an all-time high of 70%, according to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

Homes in some parts of the country spent as little as 20 days on the market, while the U.S. housing supply hit just 1.7 months in October, according to Remax.

Homebuilder confidence jumped in November, hitting another record high as buyers swarmed sales offices to take advantage of the lowest mortgage rates in history.

Rates could be 50 basis points steeper than the MBA’s current projections, which anticipate the 30-year mortgage will average 3.3% next year, up from nearly 3% this year.

The coronavirus pandemic has made for a rough year for a number of industries in Central Texas, but the home construction sector hasn't been one of them.