Tag Archives: TransUnion

All mortgage originations, measured by loan count, jumped up to 1.48 million in Q2, which was an increase of 2.4 percent from the previous quarter and of 40 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.

Credit unions' market share of mortgage originations are experiencing a growth spurt in comparison to other financial institutions. TransUnion research released Tuesday found that credit unions' share of all mortgage originations has increased from 7 percent in Q1 2013 to 11 percent in Q1 2015.

More than 1.5 million "boomerang buyers"–those negatively affected by the housing crisis–could re-enter the housing market at some point in the next three years, according to a study released by TransUnion on Wednesday.

TransUnion recently released their National Consumer Survey revealing that as Americans enter into the peak time of the year to buy a home, three out of four of people are aware that their credit score is important, yet they are not sure about how it will affect them when purchasing a home. The survey found that the majority of those who intend to or are considering buying a home in the next 12 to 18 months are not aware of actions that could enhance their credit and are unsure of how their credit directly affects the home financing process.

A TransUnion study discovered that in spite of the rises in student-loan balances for the past decade, younger consumers have not allowed loan obligations to hinder repayment of other credit-related items such as auto loans and mortgages when compared with peers with no student loans. These findings place a contradiction on the belief that student debt is preventing young adults from accessing credit.

According to a report released Wednesday by credit reporting firm TransUnion, the average mortgage balance per consumer increased to $187,139 by the end of last year's fourth quarter, up from $185,496 in Q4 2013. The greatest increase in mortgage balances came in the super prime risk category.

Now that so many of the once-popular home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) are coming due, many borrowers could be in for what TransUnion calls "payment shock." A new study by the credit reporting agency shows that nearly half of all HELOC balances at the end of 2013—totaling about $474 billion—were originated between 2005 and 2007. Many of these HELOCs had 10-year draw periods, which means that the bill will soon come for those borrowers.

Looking back a quarter, TransUnion says new account originations in Q4 2013 totaled just 1.39 million, down by nearly a million from Q4 2012. While overall new loan activity was slow, participation increased among the non-prime population—defined by TransUnion as those with a credit score lower than 700 on the company’s VantageScore 2.0 model.

TransUnion released its Credit Risk Index (CRI) Wednesday, concluding that credit risk dropped at the end of 2013 to the lowest level since 2005. "With credit risk at such low levels, there is a possibility that consumers in higher risk segments may see more credit offers, as some lenders decide they have the room in their profit models to take on greater risk," said Ezra Becker, VP of research and consulting for TransUnion.