Refinance

Agency mortgage-backed security prepayment speeds increased in February with much of the refinance activity coming from newer loans and those with high coupons, a report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said.

Despite the pool of refinance candidates shrinking 30% from late 2017, the incentive for mortgage borrowers to refi shot up at the start of the year on interest rate declines, according to Black Knight.

Hines Interests used the $755 million loan from Goldman and JPMorgan to take out a $505 million mortgage from two insurance companies, MetLife and New York LIfe.

Millennial homebuyers took advantage of a winter lull in interest rates, using the opportunity to refinance their loans, according to Ellie Mae.

Mortgage applications decreased 2.5% from one week earlier, although conventional purchase loan volume and amount is on the rise, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Freddie Mac again increased its origination forecast for the next two years, as the rate drops of the past few months are expected to boost refinance volume.

A strong spring home purchase season is likely to further increase mortgage loan application defect risk, which already spiked in the past two months, according to First American.

Only a fraction of mortgage borrowers return to their servicers to originate or refinance a mortgage loan, and it may be the industry's fault for not exhausting enough effort to keep them around.

Mortgage applications increased 5.3% from one week earlier, as the stable rate environment enticed homebuyers into the market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage prepayment speeds fell to a 19-year trough despite recent interest rate declines, but could rise if those lower rates lead to an increase in home purchases, according to Black Knight.