Mortgages

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 coming months are likely to see greater focus on single-family rentals, reduced credit availability and potential new competitors entering the market.

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.

JPMorgan Chase's asset-management arm entered into a deal to acquire more than $1 billion of single-family rentals, a sign that choppy markets haven't scared investors away from suburban housing.

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 government mortgage-bond insurer's requirements that restrict investor involvement are likely the greatest challenge to finding more purchasers of MSRs, experts said at a servicing conference Monday.

More than 30 million homes in the U.S. are mortgage-free, with Florida — which has the highest proportion of retirees — the state with the biggest percentage of free and clear residences, suggesting it's better shielded from a decline in real estate prices.

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

Lenders are focusing on these loans to drive new business as the refinancing market continues to decline in the face of higher interest rates.

Choices of which homes are used for comparisons play a major role in disparate home valuations for Black and white homeowners, according to studies recently released by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and academic researchers.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called October's positive inflation report in the U.S. "a good reading," but cautioned against relying too much on one data point.

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.