Tag Archives: Mortgage Monitor Report

For the first time after the housing recovery began, the U.S. home equity landscape recorded a decline in the amount of tappable equity. Here’s why.

A total of 6.5 million borrowers could qualify for and benefit from traditional refinances and the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), according to the Data and Analytics division of Black Knight Financial Services latest Mortgage Monitor Report, based on data as of the end of May 2015.

In their monthly Mortgage Monitor Report, Black Knight reports the number of potential refinance candidates currently sits at 7.1 million, a substantial increase form just 4.1 million potential borrowers in February 2014. However, Black Knight’s SVP of Loan Data Products, Trey Barnes, says that number is fragile. According to Barnes, any increases in mortgage rates could cause that number to drop, even marginally.

Level of affordability varies by state with Washington D.C., Hawaii and Alaska all being less affordable now than in the pre-bubble years. In Washington D.C. the current payment-to-income ratio is 40 percent, which is lower than the 62 percent ratio shown at the peak of the housing bubble. Michigan, Texas, and Florida currently have ratios under the national average, with Michigan having a low ratio at 16.9 percent.