Originations

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell in December to the slowest pace in over a decade, capping one of the housing market's worst years on record amid a rapid jump in mortgage rates.

After volumes peaked at their highest in over a decade in March, the reverse mortgage market ended the year with a bankruptcy and merger involving its largest companies.

To monitor the health of lenders still operating, industry watchers should observe firms' abilities to meet covenant requirements, renew warehouse lines of credits and their activity in the mortgage servicing rights market, said Brian Brown, chief financial officer at Rocket Companies.

Updates will become effective on May 1 and a uniform mortgage-backed securities fee reduction will begin on April 1.

Generally positive news about the U.S. economy helped push rates lower, but worries about Congressional infighting over the debt ceiling could reverse the trend, Freddie Mac and Zillow said.

But lower mortgage rates and better traffic have made homebuilders a bit more optimistic, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

New U.S. home construction declined for a fourth-straight month in December, wrapping up a disappointing year for an industry that saw annual housing starts fall for the first time since 2009.

First tip: Don't rely too heavily on mobile to reach them.

Both government and conventional activity have picked up to start the year, as higher conforming amounts came into effect.

For those willing to experiment with the strategy, it could be a long-term differentiator.

Single-family property values during the year's final three months rose 9.2% year-over-year, but that bump fell below the 13.1% annual rise in the prior quarter.

The value of New York City's 1.1 million properties is projected to rise 6.1% for the next fiscal year, boosted by single-family home prices.

The most attractive cities this year count more homes selling under their listing price rather than over it.

The survey period runs through Feb. 24, so don't dally!

High inflation, rising interest rates and increased economic uncertainty may be telegraphing a further slowdown in U.S. new household formation during the closing months of 2022.

While supply was up by over 54% compared to a year earlier, new home listings decreased, according to Realtor.com.

The 30-year fixed loan rate dropped 15 basis points compared with last week as bond market investors acted in advance of this morning's Consumer Price Index report.

With Control Your Price loan officers can lower the interest rate by up to 40 basis points on a loan and by 1.25 percentage points across their pipeline.

The move, which comes with an unspecified number of layoffs, is expected to cost the company $3.8 million to $4.6 million in pretax charges in the second quarter.

The shift opens the door for regional banks to increase their aggregation activities, analysts said.