Originations

Fannie Mae's latest economic forecast no longer expects mortgage rates to go below 6% next year, and that is affecting its views on loan origination volume.

Contract closings increased 3.4% from a month earlier — the most since February — to a 3.96 million annualized rate, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.

Critical defects increased for the second consecutive three-month period, with appraisal-related errors nearly doubling, Aces Quality Management said.

The Federal Housing Administration wants to make it easier for mortgage applicants to use rental income received from boarders in the underwriting process.

Both purchases and refinances came in higher, with government-backed lending providing momentum, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

In the aftermath of the election, a bipartisan group of House members are the latest to ask the FHFA to put the owner's title insurance waiver pilot on hold.

Those born between 1997 and 2012 will go from making up a scant 6% of today's market to a 25% share by 2028, and mortgage lenders need to be ready to serve them.

The Federal Housing Administration reported a 96 basis point increase in its capital ratio for fiscal year 2023, and lenders want more changes to the program.

Homeowners in recent years strayed from cash-out refinances and home equity loans despite their greater financing power.

Private-label securitization volume increased 75% this year versus 2023; conditions are right for that to continue, KBRA said.