Tag Archives: Refinance

Meg Burns, senior associate director for housing and regulatory policy for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, joined Zillow for a Google+ Hangout session to field questions from underwater homeowners and explain the Home Affordable Refinance Program's (HARP) finer points. Hosting the call was Erin Lantz, Zillow's director of mortgages. Thursday's question and answer session represented one way in which FHFA is working to spread knowledge of HARP and get more borrowers involved.

Using weekly data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Capital Economics economist Paul Diggle calculated a 7.7 percent drop in mortgage applications from August to September.

Mortgage application activity increased for the second straight week in September while mortgage interest rates continued to ease, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index increased 5.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending September 20. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased an even 5 percent week-over-week. Purchase activity was strong, with that index climbing 7 percent (seasonally adjusted) from the week prior.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the launch of a new nationwide campaign intended to encourage eligible borrowers to contact their lenders about the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). "With the launch of this campaign we look forward to reaching those homeowners who may not know about the program or understand the eligibility criteria to take advantage of today's low interest rates by refinancing through HARP," said FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco.

Second-quarter origination volume (in dollars) increased 9.6 percent over the same time last year as purchase loans started to make meaningful contributions to the housing recovery, Experian reported in its quarterly analysis of real estate trends. According to Experian's report, origination volume climbed to $478 billion, $42 billion more than Q2 last year. What was more notable to Experian, however, was how origination activity was split: As refinance volume tumbled, purchase volume stepped in to make up some of the difference.

Purchase loans took up more space among originations in August as credit requirements eased, according to data presented in Ellie Mae's monthly Origination Insight Report.

A slight decline in interest rates helped boost mortgage application volume last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, increased 11.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending September 13. The weekly improvement was aided in part by a rebound in refinance activity, which increased 18 percent from the previous week.

According to a report from FOX Business, executives at Citi told reporters the company will cut an estimated 2,200 jobs from its mortgage business "by early next year" due to rising mortgage rates driving down demand. Meanwhile, Bloomberg has reported that Bank of America is cutting 2,100 jobs and closing 16 offices by the end of October, according to "two people with direct knowledge of the plan." Citi and BofA aren't the only banks to be impacted by rising interest rates and improved loan performance.

Mortgage refinance applications went into free-fall last week as interest rates came back up, according to data in the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, dropped 13.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending September 6. The Refinance Index fell 20 percent week-over-week, bringing it to its lowest level since June 2009.

While FBR Capital Markets says its predictions for origination volume are still "attainable," the company admits its estimates "depend on a stable rate environment or a more robust level of economic activity."