Refinance

Trade associations representing mortgage lenders and securities market participants are asking the Federal Housing Finance Agency to rethink a plan to restrict pooling options for loans sold into uniform mortgage-backed securities.

Mortgage application activity slowed down this past week from its fast start to 2020, with a decrease of 1.2% from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

With interest rates expected to stay low while wages and the overall economy grow in conjunction, Fannie Mae again boosted its single-family mortgage origination outlook for 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Mortgage loan officer compensation remained level year-over-year as an unexpected surge in originations surprised employers expecting it to be a down year, an LBA Ware report said.

Mortgage application activity increased 30.2% from one week earlier as purchases were at their highest level in over a decade along with substantial growth in refinancings, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

There was less credit available for the first time in four months in December, when lenders offered fewer conventional and government products, particularly Veterans Affairs-guaranteed loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

While the refinancing boom took a step back, millennials purchasing power grows in the low mortgage rate environment, according to Ellie Mae.

Mortgage applications decreased 1.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from two weeks earlier amid the annual end-of-year slowdown despite lower rates from global tensions, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The nomination deadline for the 2020 Top Producers program is coming up soon.

November's foreclosure starts hit their lowest level since Black Knight started tracking this data in 2000, while the foreclosure rate reached a 14-year low.

The drop in home buying power heightened the risk of misrepresentations on purchase mortgage loan applications during November, as consumers are more willing to fudge information in an uncertain market, First American Financial said.

Mortgage applications decreased 5.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier led by a decline in conventional refinance loan demand, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Freddie Mac reduced its origination forecast for 2020 to under $2 trillion, now projecting $184 billion less in refinance volume compared with its November outlook.

First mortgage volumes continue to rise at credit unions, but home equity lines of credit have fallen dramatically in recent years.

The critical defect rate for closed mortgage loans continued its decline in the second quarter, as lenders benefited from increased loan volume and profitability, an Aces Risk Management study found.

With housing projected to grow hand-in-hand with the economy, Fannie Mae boosted its single-family mortgage origination outlook for 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Mortgage applications decreased 5% from one week earlier as, absent any rate incentive, activity slowed because of the holiday season, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage lenders became slightly bearish on their profitability outlook in the fourth quarter, with the competitive landscape and shift to a purchase market cited as the main concerns, according to Fannie Mae.

Mortgage application activity increased 3.8% from one week earlier, with refinance volume for Federal Housing Administration-insured loans taking the spotlight, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Florida-based depository Capital City Bank has struck a deal to purchase a 51% share in regional lender BrandMortgage.