Refinance

First American Financial, Old Republic, Stewart reveal how the third-quarter results point their way forward.

But an expected drop in refinancings as mortgage rates rise should more than cancel that out, resulting in declining overall volume through 2023.

Mortgage volume continues to surge, driven by borrowers refinancing behind record-low interest rates, according to Ellie Mae.

The pandemic has turned stress-testing around liquidity from theory into an actual case study. And while lenders shore up their cash reserves, they explain why many have been hesitant to take advantage of Ginnie Mae's Pass-Through Assistance Program.

Leadership from those entities confirmed this week that they will move forward with a plan to add a controversial 50-basis-point charge for refinancing.

Mortgage applications decreased 0.6% from one week earlier, although a slight drop in purchase volume belied the fact that consumers are taking advantage of the current rate environment, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

This year will top the total volume generated in the housing boom year of 2003. Meanwhile, next year's 30-year FRM is predicted to stay at 2.8%.

Mortgage companies contended with an average of 1,316 fraud attempts per month in 2020, up from 1,280 in the previous year, according to the latest study by LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

Just a week after commenting that the bottom on mortgage rates was possibly reached, Freddie Mac reported that they fell 6 basis points to another record low.

Lower-than-expected rates will drive mortgage production this year, but they’ll have less of an impact in 2021.