Mortgage rates

Real estate experts think homebuilders should prevent natural disasters with better strategies, but this could drive up already rising prices and hurt buyer affordability, according to Zillow.

American Banker and National Mortgage News are offering an exclusive discussion of how policymakers may revamp Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and what that will mean for mortgage lenders of all sizes.

From New York to Seattle, here's a look at cities with the best homebuyer purchasing power for the upcoming competitive spring market, based on changes in house values compared to local wages and mortgage rates.

Falling interest rates contributed to efforts that helped Hovnanian Enterprises nearly halve its net loss during its fiscal first quarter, when it maintained a strong sales pace by selling more low-priced homes.

Consumers have much more confidence in the job market than they do on housing, and home prices could be the culprit, according to Fannie Mae.

As 2019 got underway, weakness in the housing market drove the number of workers employed by nondepository mortgage companies down to a low not seen since August 2016.

New-home construction rebounded by more than expected in January amid strength in single-family starts and a nine-month high for permits, signaling the market is stabilizing thanks to lower mortgage rates.

Despite the pool of refinance candidates shrinking 30% from late 2017, the incentive for mortgage borrowers to refi shot up at the start of the year on interest rate declines, according to Black Knight.

Mr. Cooper Group took a net loss of $136 million in the fourth quarter after lower rates hurt the mark-to-market value of its larger mortgage servicing rights portfolio harder than its peers.

The increase in average mortgage rates this week should not affect the spring home purchase market because other factors remain strong, according to Freddie Mac.

Millennial homebuyers took advantage of a winter lull in interest rates, using the opportunity to refinance their loans, according to Ellie Mae.

Home price appreciation tapered as buyers battling tight inventory and rising housing costs pulled back from the market, according to CoreLogic.

Home purchaser affordability declined in the fourth quarter, which also negatively affects the amount Americans have to spend on cost-of-living expenses, a report from Zillow said.

Sales of new homes unexpectedly rose in December after a downwardly revised November reading, as lower mortgage rates and more-affordable properties offered some relief for buyers.

While millennials comprise the largest cohort of homebuyers, the aging baby boomer generation has created 7.86 million more homeowners and 2.82 million renters age 60 and older — growth rates higher than any other demographic.

The number of homes sold in Marin County, Calif., in January dipped 5.4% to 141 over the 149 homes sold in January 2018, according to CoreLogic.

Rises in the amount of low down payment loans and private mortgage insurance due to tight affordability led to the most first-time homebuyers since 2006, according to Genworth Mortgage Insurance.

Freddie Mac again increased its origination forecast for the next two years, as the rate drops of the past few months are expected to boost refinance volume.

Financing poured into purchasing homes to flip in 2018, reaching the highest total since 2007, according to Attom Data Solutions.

A strong spring home purchase season is likely to further increase mortgage loan application defect risk, which already spiked in the past two months, according to First American.