Tag Archives: Mortgage Rates

For the entire year, industry numbers point to a total of $1.8 trillion in originations, well above what many analysts projected at the opening of the year. Given the current trend of declining mortgage rates and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's expected push to open credit availability at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, FBR Capital Markets says we might see originations in 2014 push to $1.3 trillion or higher, depending on how the next few months play out.

The average interest rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) came down to 4.32 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending January 30, Freddie Mac reported in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Mortgage application volume remained essentially flat last week, with refinance and purchase loan numbers canceling each other out, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. According to MBA's Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, loan application volume fell a scant 0.2 percent (seasonally adjusted) for the week ending January 24. The results include an adjustment to account for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, on which markets were closed. Unadjusted, applications fell 9 percent week-over-week.

As fixed interest rates continue on their upward path, initial-period rates on adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) remain near historic lows--a stat the Freddie Mac anticipates will factor into borrowing decisions in the year ahead. "As longer-term interest rates rise, ARMs with their lower initial interest rates will become more appealing to loan applicants," said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac. "We are expecting ARMs to gradually gain back some favor with mortgage borrowers."

It's been a quiet week for mortgage rates, which drifted down slightly as markets wait to see what comes of the Federal Open Market Committee's next meeting in late January.

Following a year of fast-paced appreciation, Fitch Ratings expects home price gains to slow to a more moderate pace in 2014 in the United States.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, loan application volume rose 4.7 percent (seasonally adjusted) for the week ending January 17. The overall increase came entirely from a continued recovery in refinance numbers. The survey's Refinance Index was up 10 percent week-over-week, with refinance share accounting for 64 percent of total applications, the highest level in a month. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index dropped 4 percent compared to the prior week.

The housing market has made great strides in recovering from the problems that ail it, but there are still major improvements that have to occur before it's back up to full health, Freddie Mac says in its latest Economic and Housing Market Outlook. The GSE's outlook focuses on four things the market needs to see before it can say the crisis is well and truly behind it: a healthy jobs market, mortgage delinquencies back down to historical averages, home prices consistent with payment-to-income ratios, and home sales more in line with historical norms.

December's discouraging jobs report caused mortgage rates to pull back once again last week.

Having started the new year with a slight bump, mortgage application volume continued to climb in early January, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported.