According to recent MBA forecasts, loan originations will drop in 2017 by about 15%. This shouldn’t be a big surprise. This decline is mainly due to a drastic decrease in refinances, resulting from the gradual rise in rates, and a potential for a rate spike, if the Fed discontinues purchasing mortgage-backed securities. Although forecasts are for a stronger economy driving…
According to First American Financial Corporation’s latest Loan Application Defect Report, the frequency of defects, fraud, and misrepresentations jumped to 4% on loan applications submitted in February. That’s a 1.3% increase above just one year ago. A 4% increase may not seem like much but when talking about fraud and misrepresentations among mortgage applications it could prove to be an…
Millennials have been toying with the idea of buying a home for the past year. Many say they want to make the jump, but there are extenuating circumstances still holding them back. Things like: Student loan debt Limited credit profile Fears leftover from the credit crash of 2008 Lack of knowledge about the financing process, and A shortage of affordable…
The much anticipated, and long awaited, entrance of Millennials into the home buying market seems to finally be upon us. This generation accounted for about 85% of the volume of home purchase, closed mortgages in January. Not surprisingly, many of these buyers chose low down payment mortgage programs for their financing. In fact, Down Payment Resource, an entity that creates…
According to Lynn Fisher, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics, new housing starts should increase about 10% in 2017 and just a bit less in 2018. The effect should be to slow the rising prices for existing housing, helping more consumers realize their American Dream. The MBA forecasts that mortgage debt in the US will increase in 2018 to…
Despite rising mortgage rates and increasing home prices, many consumers are feeling good about housing going into the spring buying season. As evidence, Fannie Mae’s monthly index of homebuyer sentiment rose to its highest level since 2011. That’s great news. Woo-Woo! According to Doug Duncan, Chief Economist at Fannie Mae, Millennials showed strong increases in job confidence and income growth.…
