Purchase

As 2021 shapes up to be a robust year for mortgage volumes, local lenders discuss the 12 metro areas that are expected to get the most interest from buyers, according to Zillow.

“It’s time for us to stop treating the purchase mortgage as some kind of market impediment or red flag for our forecasts,” says Chairman of JJAM Financial and former Ginnie Mae President Joseph Murin

Even as the company posted record numbers, it could have originated more loans if it had not stopped buying FHA and jumbo mortgages from brokers.

After mortgage rates rose for three weeks, borrowers took advantage of a 3-basis-point dip and sparked a short-term refinancing rally, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

With the shift to a low-rate environment dominated by no cash-out refinancing, use of an alternative to traditional valuations has soared.

The 2020 price increase was more than double 2019's and above CoreLogic's year-ago prediction, but its forecast for 2021 puts the pace at just one-third of last year’s.

Issuance of securitizations backed by these loans is becoming more dependable, and Fannie will need more mortgages that finance newly-built energy-efficient homes to keep it going.

As home prices surged in 2020 due to shrinking inventory and raging demand, sellers received the highest returns on investment since at least 2005, according to Attom Data Solutions.

While financing costs are still low enough to offset sticker-shock from rising home prices, a slight increase in the average 30-year conforming rate weighed on borrowers, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Sales of previously owned homes increased unexpectedly in December, capping the best year for the housing market since 2006 as historically low mortgage rates helped power demand.