Refinance

The potential for negative long-term mortgage rates is surfacing around the world, and with global tensions building in the U.S. market, there's a small but growing chance it could happen here, too.

The economic tensions between the U.S. and China drove interest rates down last week, leading to a surge in refinance applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

In the world’s biggest covered-bond market, a Danish bank says it’s now ready to sell 10-year mortgage-backed notes at a negative coupon for the first time.

Bank of America is tapping the commercial mortgage-backed securities market to refinance the debt on its namesake Manhattan office building, providing BofA and building co-owner The Durst Company with a hefty cash-equity payout.

The Federal Housing Administration is aiming to limit the share of borrowers who have been withdrawing money from the value of their homes.

Purchase mortgage applications continue to decline, falling to their lowest level since the start of the spring, as supply constraints limit homebuyer activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Any growth in housing starts and home sales in the second half of 2019 will be muted by continuing inventory constraints and rising home prices, according to Freddie Mac.

President Trump has signed the Protecting Affordable Mortgages for Veterans Act, which aims to address concerns that rules around certain VA refinances were impeding those loans' inclusion in secondary market pools.

Mortgage fraud risk took a serious dive in the second quarter amid lower interest rates, which brought more refinance transactions into the market, according to CoreLogic.

Title insurers benefited from the increase in origination volume — especially refinancings — during the second quarter, as open order counts increased compared with one year prior.