Tag Archives: Refinance

Mortgage application volume continues to seesaw week to week throughout November--this time falling, according to data from the MBA.

Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA), an association of private mortgage insurers, reported Monday that since 2009, its members have insured $86.9 billion in mortgages modified or refinanced through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) as well as in mortgages modified through other means. During the third quarter of 2012, the dollar volume of insurance written by MICA members reached nearly $11.6 billion, up 62 percent year-over-year.

More than 95 percent of borrowers who refinanced in this year's third quarter selected a fixed-rate loan, according to data from Freddie Mac.

Following a rocky October, mortgage applications picked up for the week ending November 9, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index increased 12.6 percent from the previous week. In a commentary, Capital Economics property economist Paul Diggle said "the balance of evidence increasingly suggests that mortgage-dependent buyers are starting to make more of a contribution to the housing recovery."

Mortgage loan delinquencies increased 7.72 percent from August to September--the largest monthly increase since 2008, according to a report from Lender Processing Services (LPS). The upturn was substantial, even for a month historically marked by seasonal rises in delinquency, LPS said. However, company analysts say it is important to look at the longer-term trend, which shows a significant decrease in the delinquency rate since its January 2010 peak.

The vast majority of homeowners who refinanced in Q3 2012 either maintained or slashed their loan debt, according to a release from Freddie Mac.

Mortgage applications continued to decline in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's data.

Mortgage activity was down last week, dropping 11 percent from the previous week and by almost one-third from the same week last year.

Mortgage applications fell 12 percent for the week ending October 19, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

When it comes to creating sustainable homeownership, some economists are saying the FHA is celebrating results it hasn't actually achieved. In a new study, New York University economics professor Andrew Caplin and his co-authors investigate mortgage risk assessment and the FHA's actual progress toward creating sustainable homeownership. Caplin and his co-authors conclude that the FHA measuring the wrong data and using flawed results to estimate mortgage risk--specifically, the risk related to internally refinanced loans.