Mortgage defaults

The funds the bank promised to spend on consumer relief will instead be used to make new home loans, according to a report by the monitor of its 2017 settlement with the U.S. Justice Department.

Mortgage delinquencies in the fourth quarter were at their lowest level in nearly 19 years, helped by wage growth, low household debt and low unemployment, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Mortgage loan performance remained strong in November as serious delinquencies fell to their lowest reported level since before the housing bubble burst, according to CoreLogic.

As more homeowners decide to age in place, the amount of equity rich properties continues to rise, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Residential mortgage-backed securities servicers are better able to weather a downturn and the resulting loan defaults today versus before the crisis because of their investments in technology and regulatory compliance, Fitch Ratings said.

New York State is providing additional funding to municipalities that will boost efforts regarding mortgage servicer compliance with the state and local vacant property laws.

The distressed real estate market has bounced back from the housing bubble as most foreclosures are due to natural disasters, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Consecutive-month default rates for home loans are increasing, and they could remain higher the next few months, according to a recent report.

Loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities originated after 2009 by nonbank lenders have a significantly higher default rate than those originated by banks, a Fitch Ratings report said.

The strong economic headwinds from last fall facilitated a declining loan delinquency rate across the country, though areas hit by natural disasters had increased defaults, according to CoreLogic.

As the government shutdown enters its third week, mortgage servicers are activating the response plans they normally use during hurricanes and wildfires to assist federal workers who may have trouble paying their mortgages.

CoreLogic is exiting its loan origination software and default management operations over the next 24 months and instead accelerated plans to transform its appraisal management company unit.

Home retention actions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the first three quarters of 2018 already eclipsed 2016 and 2017 while forfeitures kept declining, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Many servicers expect their Federal Housing Administration mortgage portfolios to grow in the next year or two, and that increase could coincide with an uptick in delinquencies, warns Altisource Portfolio Solutions.

Mortgage prepayment speeds fell to their lowest level in 10 years in November as rising interest rates took a toll on origination activity, according to Black Knight.

An agency report said servicing portfolios have shrunk by nearly half in 10 years as much of the mortgage market has shifted to nonbanks.

Other than in areas hit by natural disasters, delinquency rates are falling with help from a healthier labor market, but a rise in riskier lending habits could signal trouble for borrowers should housing conditions change, according to CoreLogic.

Ditech Holding Corp. is proposing to pay $257,000 and improve governance to settle a stockholder lawsuit alleging that a lack of oversight allowed improprieties to occur in several mortgage-related business lines.

The government-sponsored enterprises are suspending eviction lockouts for the holiday season.

Weakening prices from the most expensive metro areas caused the first decline in available equity since the market started recovering from the housing crisis, according to Black Knight.