Tag Archives: Refinance

An uptick in interest rates brought early March mortgage applications down, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported. MBA's Market Composite Index, a weekly released measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 2.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending March 7. On an unadjusted basis, the index dropped 1 percent.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) application data for last month showed a 0.1 percent bump in total application volume, down from a gain of 2.5 percent in January. Growth was toppled by a 9.0 percent drop in applications for home purchases, which were at their lowest level in more than 18 years in February—despite a 9 percent week-over-week improvement to close out the month.

Origination numbers remained weak through the end of 2013, and the odds of a resurge in refinances boosting volumes don’t look great, either, according to Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS). “In January, we saw origination volume continue to decline to its lowest point since 2008, with prepayment speeds pointing to further drops in refinance-related originations,” said Herb Blecher, SVP of BKFS’ Data & Analytics division.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a seasonally adjusted 8.5 percent drop in loan application volume for the week ending February 21, bringing application numbers even lower after a 4.1 percent decrease the previous week. “[T]his is the time of year we would expect a significant pickup in purchase activity, and we are not yet seeing it,” remarked MBA chief economist Mike Fratantoni.

After a slight uptick in December, the annualized growth rate of Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolio dipped back into the negatives in January, with growth clocking in a rate of -1.9 percent. The GSE's monthly volume summary notes the unpaid principal balance (UPB) of mortgage-related investments decreased by approximately $7.1 billion in January.

Examining a sample of applications passing through its network, Ellie Mae reports refinance mortgages made up 47 percent of originations in January, up slightly from December. Refinance share bottomed out at 39 percent in October 2013 and has slowly risen since. The increase in refinances compared to purchase loans matches Freddie Mac’s latest outlook, which observed a “second wind” for remortgaging as interest rates resist lifting factors.

After seeing their first notable drop of the year in February’s first week, mortgage applications continued to slide down a slipperier slope approaching the middle of the month, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported. According to MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, loan application volume dropped 4.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending February 14. Unadjusted, the index was down a smaller 2 percent.

Noting that interest rates have spent most of the last two months on a downward slope (despite actions from the Federal Reserve to bring down asset purchases), Freddie Mac’s chief economist, Frank Nothaft, says the refinance segment of the market may be getting its second wind, thus giving a lift to overall applications activity.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) revealed in its latest refinance report that the GSEs have together reached a landmark three million refinances under HARP.

Using weekly stats published by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Capital Economics calculated a 2.5 percent increase in applications last month, turning the trend around from an 18.2 percent decline in December and a 1.3 percent drop in November. With the refinance boom in the rearview, Capital Economics shifted its focus to purchase applications, which rose 3.1 percent in January. As for future movements, the firm's outlook paints an unclear picture.