Tag Archives: Mortgage Bankers Association

While the economy at large and market skewer, loan volume origination may ride a wave of refinance applications and low mortgage rates into 2011, according to a forecast by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage applications jumped by 4.1 percent this week, up from one week earlier, reflecting rock bottom for 15-year fixed-rate loans and unsure homebuyers still eager to refinance. Meanwhile, home purchases fell, according to a weekly survey made public by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Good for mortgage rates, the low numbers persist in driving few homebuyers back to a jumpy and uncertain market. Contract rates for 15-year loans fell hit rock bottom for the first time in the history of the survey.

More homeowners and mortgage borrowers who chose to refinance their loans opted for the fixed-rate loan instead of adjustable-rate mortgages over the second quarter this year, according to a Freddie Mac quarterly report released Monday. The GSE held that some 37 percent of borrowers refinancing their mortgages moved forward with 15- and 20-year loans. Refinancing borrowers nodded toward these fixed-rate loans in increasing numbers, according to the report.

More brokers, loan officers, realtors, and others defrauded lenders, servicers, and homeowners over 2010 despite improving conditions in the housing market at large, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which released a comprehensive report Friday. Mortgage fraud cases and investigations amounted to 3,129 cases over the year, 12 percent more than in 2009 and some 90 percent above the same trends in 2008. Referencing CoreLogic, the FBI said that applicants fraudulently filed some $12 billion in loan applications last year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average swept clean Tuesday's historic gains with a 519.83-point nosedive Wednesday, reflecting widespread fears about contagious European debt, the impact of Standard & Poor's downgrades, and an economic slowdown worldwide. Signaling further distress for housing markets, banks with thick mortgage portfolios and homebuilding companies saw their stocks tumble in an investor stampede for the exits. Following the Dow closely, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 plunged 101.47 points and 51.77 points, respectively.

Coupled with an interest in conforming jumbo loans, a wave of uncertainty over economic news helped throw homeowners into a refinancing frenzy last week, feeding a surge in mortgage applications across the board. Despite upticks, purchase applications continued to flat-line in a market overshadowed by weak consumer confidence, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Speaking to MReport, MBA VP Mike Fratatoni added his two cents about S&P's downgrades and the nation's long-term debt crisis.

In a weekly survey released Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association revealed a 7.1 percent swell in mortgage applications from one week earlier, partly in response to declining mortgage rates. According to the Market Composite Index, which measures total mortgage loan application volume, numbers went up 7.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, increasing at nearly the same percent on an unadjusted basis. From the previous week, the Refinance Index shot up 7.8 percent, alongside updrafts in the Purchase Index.

Citing dips in home sales, purchases, and low job growth, some economists say housing is already in a double-dip recession, with reprieve still off for another two years - this despite a last-minute debt deal.

As reflected by a weekly survey released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association, the number of mortgage applications filed by homebuyers declined 5.0 percent from the previous week. The survey showed a dip by 5.0 percent in mortgage loan application volume, as measured by the Market Composite Index, with a corresponding 4.9 percent decline on an unadjusted basis from the week ending July 22. The Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey reviews half of all residential mortgage applications.

On Wednesday the Mortgage Bankers Association released its weekly survey, showing jumps in mortgage applications by 15.5 percent and by 23.1 percent in refinances, respectively, from the previous week. According to the survey, mortgage loan application volume went up over 15 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, with a steady increase by 43 percent. According to the survey, mortgage loan application volume went up over 15 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, with a steady increase by 43.9 percent on an unadjusted basis from the week earlier.