Loans originated last year are the best-performing mortgage loans on record, according to the November Mortgage Monitor released Tuesday by Black Knight Financial Services (formerly Lender Processing Services). The Monitor also found a significant increase in non-agency loans, a sign that the market might be ready for more risk. Non-agency, first-lien, prime, jumbo loans have increased 75 percent over the year in November, according to Black Knight.
Read More »Fannie’s Book of Business Grows in November
Fannie Mae's book of business increased for the second month in a row in November, marking the fourth month of increases in 2013, according to the GSE's monthly volume report. Fannie Mae's book of business grew at a compounded annualized rate of 0.1 percent in November, down from 0.8 percent in October. Fannie's total book of business is valued at $3.17 trillion as of November, while its total mortgage portfolio totals $496 billion.
Read More »Business Declines for Fifth Straight Month at Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac's total book of business decreased at an annualized rate of 2 percent in November compared to an annualized rate of 6.4 percent in October, according to the GSE's latest monthly volume report.
Read More »Survey: West Home to Healthiest Housing Markets
A recent Zillow survey of market conditions around the country shows the healthiest markets can be found in the West, with San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Denver outclassing the rest of the country. Zillow chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries explained that rapid home value appreciation has improved local conditions in those markets, though the hit they'll take in terms of affordability may soon create unhealthy environments in what were once the healthiest markets.
Read More »Full Housing Recovery Hinges on Young Adults Getting Jobs
While the housing market is showing some signs of promise, a few major indicators continue to lag, according to the latest Trulia Housing Barometer.
Read More »Freddie Mac’s Mortgage Portfolio Shrinks at Fastest Rate This Year
Freddie Mac's mortgage book of business declined at an annualized rate of 6.4 percent in October, marking the fourth consecutive month of declines.
Read More »Investors Will Still Dominate Purchase Market
Rising prices may be bringing some homeowners out from underwater, but tight credit will still preclude many traditional buyers from the market, according to a recent report from DataQuick.
Read More »The Bright Side of Tight Credit
Though tightened underwriting standards have been partly to blame for why housing isn't recovering faster, CoreLogic's Sam Khater says the silver lining is that loan performance has improved greatly. "While there has been much consternation about underwriting being too tight in the context of forthcoming mortgage regulations, one underappreciated outcome has been the very good performance of mortgages during the last few years," Khater said in an article in CoreLogic's most recent Marketpulse report.
Read More »Fannie Mae Reports Continued Drop in Business
Fannie Mae has released its September book of business, revealing further declines as new business acquisitions came to their lowest level in more than a year.
Read More »New Business at Freddie Mac Falls to 1 1/2-Year Low
September marked the third straight month of declining business for Freddie Mac, with purchases and issuances coming in at their lowest level in almost a year and a half. Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio shrank at an annualized rate of 4.3 percent in September, contracting at a slightly lessened pace compared to August's -5.0 percent growth rate. New business fell for the second straight month, with purchases and issuances totaling approximately $28.2 billion--the lowest since April 2012 ($25.9 billion).
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