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Citing declines in application activity and increases in interest rates, the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://mba.org/default.htm (MBA) is lowering its forecast for origination volumes in 2014, the group announced.
[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]Overall, MBA predicts mortgage originations will come to $1.12 trillion for the year. That estimate is down $57 billion from the last forecast.
""Despite an economic outlook of steady growth and a recovering job market, mortgage applications have been decreasing--likely due to a combination of rising rates and regulatory implementation, specifically the new Qualified Mortgage rule,"" said MBA chief economist Mike Fratantoni.
Purchase originations are projected at $677 billion for the coming year, down from the original forecast of $711 billion but still a 3.8 percent increase compared to 2013.
Refinance estimates were also revised lower and are now expected to be $440 billion compared to the previous prediction of $463 billion. The updated total is around 60 percent lower than last year's refinance volume, MBA said.
