Housing markets

With home prices also climbing up faster than expected for the time of the year, median new loan payments headed higher by more than 2%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

An uptick in interest rates kept borrowers on the sidelines, as both purchases and refinances dropped, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Over 54% of borrowers with a mortgage say they only got one mortgage offer, a LendingTree survey said.

Prices in a measure of 20 cities increased 7.4% from a year earlier, larger than the 7.3% annual gain in February, an S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index shows.

Fannie Mae economists suggest home sales will remain resilient amid anticipated dips in both home loan volume and consumer spending.

Contract closings decreased 1.9% from a month ago to a 4.14 million annualized rate, according to National Association of Realtors data released Wednesday.

Application volumes increased, as interest rates slid down to their lowest mark in almost two months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Understanding the peril is important for both primary and secondary mortgage market pricing of loans and risk, experts in a panel to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Secondary Conference said Tuesday.

Horton, who stepped back from an executive role at his company D.R. Horton in October, died suddenly on Thursday.

The April and May announcements from the U.S. government, down payment assistance firms and lenders on easing the homeownership affordability crunch.