Tag Archives: Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)

Elevated rates continue to both impact homebuyer affordability and weaken demand for refinancing, as the MBA reports overall app volume fell 1.2% week-over-week.

As interest rates remain high, a new study from Zillow has found that 15% more borrowers purchased mortgage points in 2022 than 2021, and continue to do so as interest rates hover around 6%.

After a five-week string of declining rates, mortgage rates rose modestly for the second consecutive week, on the eve of the GSE’s enacting changes to loan-level price adjustments geared toward tackling housing affordability challenges nationwide.

Sen. Kevin Cramer and Mark Warner have reintroduced a bipartisan bill to authorize remote online notarizations nationwide, allowing notaries and signers to complete the process from different physical locations.

The MBA has filed an amicus brief arguing against lenders being held liable for the actions of independent appraisers in instances where bias is concerned.

Freddie Mac reports the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage took a turn upward this week, rising 12-basis points week-over-week as investors responded to more healthy economic indicators and an uptick in bond yields.

“While the NFCI Credit index indicated that credit tightened in March, which reduced housing market potential, the credit tightening was modest and far from recent pandemic lows, and certainly nothing like the Great Financial Crisis period,” said Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American.

The MBA reports a near 9% week-over-week slide in mortgage applications, as cautious buyers proceed through the spring season amid continued affordability challenges and limited supply.

The MBA reports that despite rates over the 6% mark and low for-sale inventory stunting overall sales, mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 0.6% in March compared to one year ago.

A deceleration in inflation has sent mortgage rates tumbling for the fifth consecutive week, pushing mortgage apps upward to launch the spring homebuying season.