Jumbo mortgages

Even though product availability is now at the same point where it was one year ago, it remains at 2014 levels.

In the aftermath of 2020’s historic year of mortgage originations, lenders are concerned with keeping employees and insulating themselves from the negative effects of the boom and bust cycle, according to a survey from The Mortgage Collaborative.

It’s getting easier to close bigger loans for higher-priced properties, but credit is expanding slower for first-time buyers.

More lenders are willing to take on borrowers who are lower on the qualification spectrum as the economy rebounds.

The company posted an $88 million loss for 2020 after shutting down for nearly the entire second quarter.

Finance of America Reverse's product combines features of a forward mortgage, like 10 years of payments, with parts of a non-recourse reverse loan.

The number of product offerings stayed at a level last seen in 2014 as slight gains in government and jumbo loans were offset by fewer conventional mortgages coming on the market.

But the average amount for a purchase loan increased to an all-time high, showing the upper end of the housing market remains strong.

Upcoming changes to underwriting regulations, as well as the end of the QM patch, in addition to growing home values, all add up for this market to have a good year.

Loan originations hit a record $16.7 billion in the fourth quarter, though executives caution that a recent rise in mortgage rates could slow refinancing activity.

The pool of 359 loans also on average carry higher balances (over $900,000) compared to the REIT's earlier pass-through deal this year.

But existing deals are likely to experience issues resulting from higher defaults, faster prepayment speeds.

In November, more loan products were being offered both at the upper and lower ends of the market.

Lenders also increased jumbo product availability as well as rolling out new SOFR-indexed ARMs.

The vibe is pre-COVID San Francisco: Airpods, electric scooters, coffee-shop coworking and cash offers for million-dollar homes.

Uncertainties in the job market drove mortgage credit availability down again, falling to the lowest point since March 2014, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Some of Miami Beach's priciest real estate is now a relative bargain, even in the billionaire enclave of Fisher Island.

The company reported nearly $23 million in losses for the second quarter, but that was an improvement on a quarter-to-quarter basis.

Conditions have improved for the first time since November.

Even with the second quarter's market disruption, Redwood Trust still regained profitability.