Origination

The decline in mortgage production in the year's opening months failed to produce any names to the list of top lenders for the quarter, but it did shake up the rankings a bit. Staying firmly in the No. 1 spot for the quarter was Wells Fargo, which held on to 14.3 percent of the market with $36 billion in origination volumes, down from $50 billion in Q4 2013. On the servicing side, Wells Fargo again beat out all others, boasting a portfolio estimated at $1.81 trillion.

According to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year average fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) eased to 4.20 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending May 15, a drop from the last survey. "These lower than expected rates are welcome news with the spring home buying season underway and may even provide those who haven't already refinanced possibly a reason to take another look," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist at Freddie Mac.

The New York Fed recorded an increase of $129 billion in national outstanding household debt in the first three months of the year, bringing the total debt level up to $11.65 trillion. Leading the increase was a rise in mortgage debt, which was up by $116 billion from the end of 2013, according to the bank. However, with originations dropping to $332 billion—the lowest level since the housing recovery started—there was little to celebrate on that front.

In its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 3.6 percent rise in application volumes for the week ending May 9. In a significant turn from recent trends, refinances were entirely responsible for the bump in overall applications. Still, refinance application numbers remain down nearly 80 percent compared to last year.

As part of its efforts to expand credit access to more borrowers, the Federal Housing Administration has introduced its "Blueprint for Access," which includes a new counseling program for borrowers using FHA-insured financing. The plan has its critics, including the American Enterprise Institute's Edward Pinto, who argues that FHA "has not stood for sustainable homeownership for at least five decades."

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) put out a “flash release” of its National Mortgage Risk Index (NMRI), a measure of the likelihood of purchase loan defaults under stressful economic conditions. According to the group, the index climbed last month to 11.89, indicating nearly 12 percent of loans would be at risk of default in the event of another downturn. That figure is up from a reading of 11.5 percent in March and represents a series high for the index.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Monday a 5 percent month-over-month increase in new home purchase applications. The increase is the lowest so far this year, following gains of 15 percent in March, 12 percent in February, and 27 percent in January. Based on application volumes and other market considerations, the group estimates new single-family sales ran at a seasonally adjusted yearly pace of 419,000 last month.

Despite performing far better than anticipated, April jobs numbers weren’t enough to prop up fixed mortgage rates this week, market reports show. In its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Freddie Mac clocked the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) at an average 4.21 percent (0.6 point), down from 4.29 percent and the lowest level since late last year. A year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.42 percent.

A report released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) shows that mortgage credit availability was down slightly in April, which means a tightening of standards in the mortgage industry. The results, which analyze data from the AllRegs Market Clarity product, come through MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI). These results showed that the MCAI index decreased by 0.18 percent to 113.8 from March to April.

According to monthly application data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association and compiled by Capital Economics, total application activity in April was down 4.8 percent month-over-month, slipping further from March’s 2.9 percent decline. The entirety of the decline came from another drop in refinance application volumes, which were down 10.8 percent over the month, the biggest drop so far this year.