Refinance

While the critical defect rate for closed mortgage loans fell on a quarter-to-quarter basis, there were increases in income and packaging-related deficiencies, an Aces Risk Management study found.

A mere 7-basis-point increase in interest rates reduced what was a record-high number of borrowers with refinancing incentive by 2 million in a matter of days, according to Black Knight.

Mortgage credit availability tightened in August by the most since the end of last year, even though falling interest rates sparked a strong uptick in refinancings, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Digital mortgage strategies do more to support loan officers than some people think, according to Tom Wind, executive vice president of consumer lending at U.S. Bank.

A swell of refinance demand amid a low mortgage rate environment pushed lender profit margin outlooks to the highest level since the first quarter of 2015, according to Fannie Mae.

Mortgage application fraud risk plummeted in the second quarter as refinance loans poured into the market, according to CoreLogic.

Mortgage applications increased 2% on an adjusted basis from one week earlier driven by gains in the purchase market while refinance activity was flat, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

While many lenders lately managed their business expecting reduced volume, now they get to capitalize on extremely low mortgage rates. But today's benevolent conditions will not always be with the industry.

Expectations of lower mortgage rates are the only thing keeping up consumer confidence in the housing market, according to Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index.

With more rate-and-term refinancing in the mix, home lenders did a better job of retaining borrowers in the second quarter, but there's still room for improvement.