Data

A HPI Forecast shows low mortgage rates and increased home prices are on the horizon. The data for April 2017 was released Tuesday showing home prices up both in year-over-year and month-over-month. Increased buying activity was paired with low mortgage rates, which were at their lowest since November 2016.

As both current homeowners and potential homebuyers are settling more into their prospective communities, turning to federally-insured credit unions for their mortgage and banking needs has become a viable option. On Monday the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) released its 2017 Q1 call report data, which reports growth all across the board for federally insured credit unions. Dan Berger, the President and CEO of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) attributes the overall growth first and foremost to growing membership, which rose 4.2 percent, over 4.3 million more members than were registered a year ago.

According to a major industry organization, President Trump’s potential tax reform could make homeownership unaffordable for many Americans. The President’s plan would raise the threshold on the mortgage interest deduction, allowing only those with the heftiest home loans to take advantage of it. To date, the MI deduction has primarily benefited middle-class taxpayers. If reformed, it may cease to do that.

Since the housing crash and recession of 2008, most metro areas have fully recovered while others are still lagging behind the housing recovery. Using the Federal Housing and Finance Agency’s Home Price Index, a report has been put together on the top and bottom 10 metros that have recovered the most and the least respectively. Five more metro areas were considered “fully recovered” this quarter.

New data shows that mortgage originations are in freefall. While both purchase loan originations and refinances took a hit, refis saw the steepest drop, decreasing 34 percent over the first quarter of the year. Purchase originations dipped 21 percent over the same period. The average credit score of borrower is also on the decline, which could dampen the market if the trend keeps up.

New data shows rents are steadily increasing, and with increasingly tight housing inventory, those rents will likely get even higher as potential buyers are driven toward renting. Experts expect rents to increase 1.5 percent by the end of the summer. They’ve already grown more in five months of 2017 than all of 2016 combined.

Discouraging results in the May 2017 Employment Situation are leading experts to believe there could be a rate hike in 2017. Unemployment rates were fairly stagnant and though total nonfarm payroll increased, results were well under predictions. Wage growth showed no improvement. 

According to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey ending May 31, 2017, mortgage applications decreased since last week’s report. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage ...

Fannie Mae's Book of Business increased at a compound annualized rate of 1.3 percent in April. Fannie Mae's Gross Mortgage Portfolio increased temporarily in April, at a compound annualized rate of 52.5 percent. The Conventional Single-Family Serious Delinquency Rate decreased five basis points to 1.07 percent

A recent survey of mortgage professionals shows that a majority are ready for regulation changes to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Most of those polled believe requirements for collecting, analyzing and reporting data, coupled with a lack of resources to manage the mortgage data, contributes to the rising cost of loans. Nearly a quarter share President Trump’s sentiment that policy changes to the mortgage industry would be beneficial to the lending market.