Tag Archives: Refinance

A report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA OIG) found a lack of borrower education is a critical barrier to the performance of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). "[M]any borrowers have not heard of the program, confuse the program with other government housing programs, or do not realize that they are eligible," the report stated. In address borrower misconceptions, FHFA announced plans to implement a nationwide public relations campaign to inform borrowers.

Mortgage application volume declined last week at a more sudden rate than in previous weeks, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together recorded 418,004 refinances in May, a drop from 463,587 in April but still well above May 2012's 341,185.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) revised its economic forecast down and its mortgage originations and mortgage rate forecasts up in its most recent outlook released Thursday. Having previously announced a 2.4 percent economic growth forecast for the second half of this year, MBA now believes economic growth will be closer to 2.2 percent. At the same time, the association's forecast for originations has risen to about $606 billion, an improvement over the original prediction of $527 billion.

A growing number of older Americans are applying for mortgage loans online, according to a recent survey from Mortgage Marvel. Thirty-five percent of mortgage applicants are past the age of 50, according to the survey of more than 650,000 applications submitted to more than 1,100 lenders in 2012. "[P]lenty of older Americans are computer savvy and very willing to pursue major transactions, such as mortgage applications, on the Internet," said Mortgage Marvel COO Rick Allen.

Mortgage application volume remains on the decline, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The originations market has been dominated by refinances for some time, but purchases are beginning to make a comeback, according to Ellie Mae's latest Origination Insight Report. Refinances made up just over half the market in June, with 51 percent of loan applicants seeking refinances. This is down from 58 percent in May and 54 percent in June of last year. Purchases closed one day faster than refinances in June (46 days compared to 47), though both categories took longer to close in June than they did in May, according to the report.

Mortgage applications fell another 2.6 percent (seasonally adjusted) for the week ending July 12, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

As major lenders start releasing their second-quarter earnings reports, Fitch Ratings anticipates future filings will show the impact of higher interest rates on banks' mortgage earnings.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported another weekly drop in applications to start July.