Mortgages

Industry leaders suggested they’ve "never felt so worried at a time when everything feels so good otherwise," said Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

The new product is an extension of its FraudGuard offering for the first lien mortgage market.

This latest campaign comes as application volume is down by 53% from a year ago, while mortgage rates are 2.59 percentage points higher since the start of 2022.

Plummeting returns add to indications that investors may become more selective in home purchases.

Recent remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Powell suggest more upward movement is ahead.

In some of the regions with the biggest slowdowns, the company is offering incentives to boost demand.

Following the third most active season on record, the 2022 forecast predicts La Niña will drive increased Atlantic storm development.

Several Democratic bills to support down-payment assistance for mortgage borrowers and other housing programs met with protests from Republicans, who said the legislation would further fuel inflation. The GOP maneuvers failed, but they highlighted the parties’ differing priorities ahead of the midterm elections.

New home equity conversion mortgage endorsements slowed in April, but remained almost 50% higher than the level from one year ago.

Some economists see a recession as inevitable but other markers, like the unemployment rate and consumption indicators, point to a resilient economy.

Rising interest rates and emergence from pandemic contingencies could put increased strain on the ability to repay, but signs of near-term loan performance stress have been limited.

But total volume is still 53% below last year’s level, while Fannie Mae found the dollar value of refinances down by over 70%.

Depreciation risk in parts of New Jersey, Illinois and California is growing, according to a first quarter analysis by Attom Data Solutions.

As fewer mortgage borrowers remain impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the subservicer elected to reduce the capacity it added over the past two years.

The conflicting analyses of automated valuation models highlight a challenge lenders could face in deciding whether to use them to determine racial disparities in home evaluations.

Many cities with higher shares of list price drops also appeared on a list of the most overvalued areas in the country.

Contract closings decreased 3.4% in May from the prior month to an annualized 5.41 million, the weakest since June 2020, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Tuesday.

The insurer’s stock has consistently been above its initial $19-per-share price, unlike those of the mortgage originators who recently went public.

While compliance specialists will be in demand, loan producers will see their roles change to encompass responsibilities that include more marketing and client development.