Origination

Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.32 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending March 20, down from last week, when it averaged 4.37 percent. A year ago, the 30-year FRM average was 3.54 percent. Since falling from 4.53 percent in 2014’s first weeks, the 30-year fixed average has seen limited movements since, staying in the 4.2-4.3 percent range.

Using a sample of loan applications initiated in November 2013, Ellie Mae calculated a closing rate of 55.3 percent in its February Origination Insight Report—a small bump from 54.9 percent in January. Meanwhile, credit standards on closed loans remained unchanged, averaging a FICO score of 724 and a loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of 82 percent. Compared to February 2013, though, standards were much more relaxed.

Last week saw another tumble in mortgage applications despite a slight fallback in interest rates, according to weekly data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). MBA’s Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, fell 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending March 14. On an unadjusted basis, the index dropped 1 percent compared to the previous week.

International Document Services (IDS), a mortgage document preparation vendor, and MortgageFlex Systems, a mortgage loan software provider, announced the development of a joint ‘lights out’ interface between IDS’ flagship preparation system—idsDoc—and MortgageFlex’s LoanQuest software.

Financial services solutions firm Wolters Kluwer Financial Services (WKFS) released Tuesday its second Regulatory & Risk Management Indicator for the U.S. banking industry, a metric of major concerns worrying banks and credit unions nationwide. According to the latest results, the January 2014 indicator registered 121, a jump up from the 2013 baseline score of 100.

Tight credit conditions have pushed as many as 1.22 million loans out of the market per year over the last few years, researchers at the Urban Institute (UI) assert in a new commentary. Admitting that their calculation method “likely ... [overstates] the impact of tighter credit,” they also calculated a scaled lower bound estimate of 273,000 “missing” first-lien purchase loans—though they maintain the "true" number is likely on the higher end.

In two reports issued separately Monday, Wells Fargo's Economics Group explores two promising trends that both indicate a positive climate for economic growth. The first report follows FDIC loan performance, noting cyclical improvement in loan performance and a trend favorable for credit quality. The second report comments on underwriting practices, noting ongoing relaxing in standards.

Last week’s improved (though still not great) jobs report brought a little bit of comfort to the financial markets, pushing mortgage rates up for the week. According to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) came up nearly a tenth of a percentage point to 4.37 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending March 13. Meanwhile, Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey showed increases all around.

Builder application data from February suggests another increase in new home sales, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Thursday. According to MBA’s Builder Applications Survey (BAS), which tracks application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of homebuilders, applications for new home purchases increased 12 percent in February, pointing to a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 533,000 (up 1 percent from January).

In a blog post, CoreLogic's Mark Fleming notes that as of the most recent numbers, mortgage applications are down 54 percent compared to a year ago, with much of that decline stemming from a plunge in refinances (down 65 percent year-on-year). However, while rising interest rates have removed some of the incentive homeowners had to move or refinance, improving home prices have created a greater space for home equity loans. "This is good news for the home improvement industry and mortgage lenders who focus on home equity lending, as both will benefit from the resurgent consumer demand," he said.