Origination

Working with a public polling firm, New Jersey-based TD Bank released results Thursday from a survey it conducted with more than 150 Realtors around the United States. Most said they considered closing loans on time the most important quality in a lender and felt it was easier to work with banks focused on helping homebuyers. Two in five said they looked for banks that put buyers ahead of the lending process.

MBA's Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a gauge of credit access based on borrower profiles and underwriting criteria at lenders nationwide, slipped to 116.1 last month from 116.4 in July, the group reported. A decline indicates tighter standards overall in the market. Both the conventional lending and government-focused indices edged down as well, each declining less than a percentage point from July.

Based on weekly data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), macroeconomics firm Capital Economics calculated a 0.4 percent monthly decline in mortgage applications in August. It was the third drop in the last three months, following declines of 0.1 percent in June and 3.4 percent in July.

Payment shock among holders of home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) is a growing concern as 2.5 million HELOCs are scheduled to reset over the next three years, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor Report from Black Knight Financial Services. In fact, the average HELOC holder faces a monthly payment increase of $250 sometime in the next three years as he or she reaches the end-of-draw period.

In its 2014 Second Quarter Market Share Analysis, the American Land Title Association (ALTA) reported that the industry generated $2.7 billion in premiums in Q2 2014, down from $3.3 billion the industry generated in Q2 2013. "A lackluster spring homebuying season that was weaker than anticipated coupled with a substantial decline in refinance activity resulted in the drop in title insurance premium volume," said ALTA CEO Michelle Korsmo.

Having hit their lowest level of 2014 last week, mortgage rates barely budged in the latest market report from Freddie Mac. The company reported Thursday the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 4.10 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending August 28, unchanged heading into the Labor Day holiday.

Applications for mortgage loans increased last week, helped along by gains in both purchase and refinance loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey shows loan application volumes rose a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent for the week ending August 22, doubling the rate of growth recorded the previous week.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Tuesday that independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks posted a net profit of $954 on each loan originated in the year's second quarter. The report represents a significant turnaround from the first quarter, when mortgage banks took a net loss of $194 for each loan.

As the rest of the housing market struggled in the year's first half, so too did the title insurance industry, Fitch Ratings reported in a new analysis. Isolating business at the nation's four largest title insurers, analysts at Fitch calculated a combined 12 percent decline in operating revenues through the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period last year.

Loan risk in the mortgage market slid down again in July but remained far above safe levels, according to the latest measure from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The group reported that 11.41 percent of home purchase loans measured in its National Mortgage Risk Index (NMRI) would be at serious risk under "severely stressed" economic conditions.