Originations

Contract closings decreased 5.9% to an annualized pace of 4.43 million last month, according to the National Association of Realtors

The decline in loan activity and softening prices also helped drive down builder sentiment for the 11th month in a row.

At least three lenders have announced the formation of partnerships with real estate or homebuilder companies in November

One week following the Consumer Price Index data release, the 30-year fixed rate loan is 47 basis points lower, while the 15-year is down 40 basis points, Freddie Mac said.

Applications to build, a proxy for future construction, fell to an annualized 1.53 million units, as single-family family permits fell to early pandemic levels.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage saw an average rise of 6 basis points that was higher than the overall gain, according to a retrospective report issued Wednesday.

The company has cut 194 of its 305 employees from its Aurora, Colorado headquarters, it disclosed in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.

Recent changes to the loan level price adjustments should bring business to private mortgage insurers, but if the government agency acts as expected, it would shift the other way, according to a report from BTIG.

Easing interest rates pushed purchases up, with their average loan size also declining to its lowest point since early 2021, but refinances fell again.

Home prices in many areas have peaked and the equity cushion that has bolstered loan performance is starting to erode, but some think damage will be limited.

Jumbo offerings continued to tail off, offsetting a small gain in the availability of government-backed loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The gain of 3 percentage points in 2022 reinforced industry calls for the agency's mortgage insurance premium to be slashed when the current fiscal year federal budgeting process is completed.

A combination of fewer mortgage originations and investment losses for some companies contributed to declines.

The drop was led by a large decline in cash-out refinancing volume, Black Knight said.

The company's India office was not impacted by the recent layoff, sources say.

The non-qualified mortgage lender lost $13 million in the quarter, a slight improvement over the previous period.

The latest move from the lender comes after a recent purchase of a Massachusetts brokerage and the appointment of several new leaders.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is reducing the amount lenders can sell to a government-sponsored enterprise by $3 billion next year.

The company experienced further declines in production volume but reported an intra-quarter improvement in its gain on the sale of loans.

Other firms disclosing cuts in Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications include American Advisors Group and Pennymac.