Daily Dose

In its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Freddie Mac recorded the average 30-year fixed rate at 4.29 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending May 1, down from 4.33 percent. Freddie Mac’s chief economist, Frank Nothaft, pinned the declines on disappointing numbers for gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter. According to an advance estimate, the economy expanded at a rate of 0.1 percent last quarter, well short of market forecasts.

Home "flips" accounted for 3.7 percent of all home sales in the first quarter, RealtyTrac reported Thursday—indicating investors are cooling as the market continues to change shape. "Slowing home price appreciation early this year in many of the most popular flipping markets put some investors in danger of flying too close to the sun," said Daren Blomquist, VP at RealtyTrac.

According to Freddie Mac's latest report, 39 percent of refinancers last quarter chose to shorten their term, up slightly over the prior quarter and the highest share since 1992. Meanwhile, the share of borrowers extracting home equity stayed relatively low. Together, the two stats suggest borrowers are seeking to strengthen their own equity positions as home values continue to rise, the company says.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Wednesday it is proposing “minor changes” to its mortgage rules to assist nonprofit organizations in getting loans to underserved communities. “Today’s proposal would maintain those strong protections, while making minor changes to ensure consumers have access to credit,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in a statement.

Federal Reserve leaders concluded their April meeting on Wednesday, revealing they have again voted to scale back the Fed's monthly asset purchases. Beginning in May, the committee will add only $20 billion in mortgage-backed securities per month rather than the previous pace of $25 billion. Additionally, longer-term Treasury securities will be scaled back to $25 billion per month rather than $30 billion.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) measure of mortgage application volume saw another decline last week, driving applications down further to their lowest level since the start of the new millennium. “Both purchase and refinance activity fell last week, and the market composite index is at its lowest level since December 2000,” said MBA chief economist Mike Fratantoni.

The American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) International Center on Housing Risk released this week its latest National Mortgage Risk Index (NMRI), a measure of likely loan default rates in the event of another economic crisis. For its March data, the group calculated that under stress, 11.5 percent of recent home purchase mortgages would default, just down from 11.6 percent in February.

According to numbers put out by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Wednesday, real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualized rate of 0.1 percent in Q1, a plunge from the final 2.6 percent growth rate reported for Q4 2013. The sudden slowdown reflects in part the toll this year’s winter season took on economic expansion, though not all changes were weather-related.

Homes continue to fly off the market at a quick pace, according to March data released by Redfin. In March, across the 20 metros measured by Redfin, median days on the market fell by more than a week to 32 days, dropping from 40 days in February. Compared to last year's figure of 35, homes are selling three days faster on average. The company's analysis found that 29.8 percent of homes went under contract within two weeks of being listed.

In a survey of more than 800 recent homebuyers, Chase found approximately nine out of every 10 said that overall, they “felt prepared” when they purchased their home. Still, looking back, a combined 56 percent said they wish they were armed with more knowledge about making an offer and negotiating, the financing aspects of purchasing a house, and the actual details on closing the transaction.