Mortgage Rates Higher As Washington Scrambles For Fiscal Cliff Deal

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates moved moderately higher to end the year, reversing last week's trend of small improvements. In Washington, Fiscal Cliff negotiations have seemingly come to a head with a deal still possible before midnight tonight. That possibility has bond markets more cautious today, and although mortgage-backed-securities have been less damaged than Treasuries in the process, it's been enough to raise borrowing costs on the prevailing Best-Execution rate of 3.375% for conventional 30yr fixed loans. Markets and Mortgage Lenders will be closed for New Years Day tomorrow. ( Read More:What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate? ) Whether or not we get some sort of Fiscal Cliff deal by tonight, the fact remains that any attempts to reduce spending and/or increase taxes amounts to "austerity." Opinions...(read more)

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The Day Ahead: Closed Door Cliff Meetings Ahead of Sunday House Session

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Posted To: MBS Commentary

After the closing bells on Thursday, the White House announced that the President would be meeting with Majority and Minority Leaders from both the Senate and the House on Friday. One can only imagine that the goal is to produce actionable legislation that sneaks in before the Fiscal Cliff buzzer sounds early next week. The fact that the House of Representatives announced earlier on Thursday that it would reconvene on Sunday evening seems to mesh with a few days of strategy and sales pitches including all four corners of congressional representation. This is the first serious meeting announcement we've seen and would that it were more of a surprise to be seen this late in the game. This closed-door meeting can inform Friday's session in three ways . Naturally, any information that makes it...(read more)

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MBA, Others Weigh in on LO Training and Licensing; In Conjunction with States, the CFPB Flexes its Muscles

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Posted To: Pipeline Press

"We're lost, but we're making good time." The CFPB does not seem to be lost, and is certainly feeling its way along. From it we learned that between July 21, 2011 and September 30, 2012, U.S. consumers filed 36,403 mortgage-related complaints against various lenders, banks, servicers, and other mortgage companies. Bank of America accounted for 27% of complaints , the most out of any bank accounted for in CFPB's data - of the 9,930 mortgage complaints filed against Bank of America, 6,430 related to loan modifications, collections and foreclosures. Loan servicing, payments and escrow accounts recorded 2,044 complaints, while complaints regarding application, originator or mortgage broker issues tallied 542. BofA received nearly twice as many complaints as runner up Wells Fargo who recorded 5...(read more)

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Pending Home Sales Highest Since 2010 Tax Credit Expiration

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Posted To: MND NewsWire

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index reached the highest level seen in two and a half years in November after posting its third consecutive monthly increase. The previous recent high was in April 2010 when buyers were rushing to qualify for the homebuyers' tax credit . The PHSI rose to 106.4 in November, a 1.7 percent increase over the October number which was revised down slightly to 104.6 from the 104.8 originally reported. The November index was 9.8 percent above the index of 96.9 in November 2011. The PHSI is a forward looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings. Home sales are typically completed within one to two months of contract signings. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales are on a sustained uptrend. "Even with market...(read more)

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Mortgage Rates End Week At Best Levels, But Risks Persist

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates continued a moderate trend of improvement from mid-week, bringing rates to their best levels of the week on Friday. All of the recent day-over-day changes in rates have taken place on quite a small scale historically as broader markets stay exceptionally contained ahead of the Fiscal Cliff deadline. Conventional 30yr Fixed Best-Execution rates are still widely viable at 3.375%, but 3 days of minor improvements brings 3.25% increasingly back into view. ( Read More:What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate? ) Despite the positive tone to end the week, markets and mortgage rates are still at risk for additional volatility related to the Fiscal Cliff. The House of Representatives will reconvene on Sunday Evening--something that likely wouldn't be happening unless they're trying to pass...(read more)

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Consumer Loan Defaults Hit New Lows while Mortgage Defaults Rise

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Posted To: MND NewsWire

Default rates for first mortgage loans increased in both October and November according to the S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian. The increases drove the national default rate up from a post recession low reached in September despite continued improvements in the performance of second mortgage, credit card, and auto loans. The national composite index increased from 1.46 percent in September to 1.55 percent in October and 1.64 percent in November. First mortgages had also hit a post-recession low in September of 1.36 percent but rose 11 basis points in October and reached 1.48 percent in November. In contrast auto loan defaults rates dropped from 1.14 percent in October to 1.09 percent in November and second mortgages decreased slightly from 0.65 percent in October to 0.62 percent, a historic...(read more)

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Mortgage Rates Moderately Improved On Fiscal Cliff Headlines

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates moved slightly lower on Thursday after markets received their first Fiscal Cliff update of the week. Earlier this morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that over the Fiscal Cliff "looks like where we're headed." Stock prices and bond yields fell steadily following that headline, but ultimately leveled off in the afternoon. Despite improved trading levels in Financial Markets, lenders maintained relatively more conservative pricing strategies, with only moderate improvements to borrowing costs at the same rates offered yesterday. 30yr Fixed Best-Execution remained unchanged at 3.375%, though buying down to 3.25% could make sense for some borrowers at certain lenders. ( Read More:What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate? ) Market activity picked up dramatically today as...(read more)

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Mortgage Forgiveness Act in Jeopardy? Hiring and Retaining Employees the CFPB Way

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Posted To: Pipeline Press

Okay, so here's something entirely un-mortgage related - productivity this week stinks anyway. The kids are back from college, or on vacation from school, many have had great 2012's and are coasting, whatever. What's this about Mr. Rogers being a Navy SEAL sniper? Oh, and I thought that gerbil rumor was forgotten long ago. Read more . "Rob, what do you hear about the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act extension ?" I have heard nothing about an extension, although it is a timely question. "If the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 does not get extended by Congress by the end of the year, homeowners will have to start paying income taxes on the portion of their mortgage that is forgiven in a foreclosure, short sale or principal reduction. That means if someone owes $150,000 on their...(read more)

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Mortgage Rates Mostly Unchanged, Markets Mostly Silent

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates remained essentially unchanged this week as markets are essentially still closed for the Christmas holiday. Technically, financial markets are open for business today, but the amount of business actually being conducted is extraordinarily small. What little movement we've seen has been at least supportive of mortgage rates holding their ground. Because of that, several lenders' rate sheets are fractionally better than Monday's though the average movement is almost imperceptible. Conventional 30yr Fixed Best-Execution remains at 3.375% for most lenders, though some lenders can offer compelling alternatives at 3.25% for some scenarios. ( Read More:What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate? ) Even though today's market movements were barely capable of fogging a mirror, we're not assuming...(read more)

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Mortgage Rates Slightly Higher. Markets Closed Tomorrow

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates moved slightly higher on Monday, though there were no material market movements driving the change. Lenders are erring on the side of caution heading into the Christmas holiday. Bond markets (which encompass the Mortgage-Backed-Securities that most directly influence rates) are only open for a half day today and are fully closed tomorrow. The fact that markets are open for a half-day today doesn't mean much as activity has been even lighter than past examples of holiday-shortened sessions. Best-Execution is unchanged at 3.3375%, though borrowing costs edged slightly higher. ( Read More:What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate? ) The dramatically slower than usual market conditions seem to make sense in the context of recent events. Even though the ultimate outcome of the Fiscal...(read more)

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The Day Ahead: Assessing The Impact Of Fiscal Cliff Failure And Responsibility

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Posted To: MBS Commentary

Whereas Thursday's session was characterized as a bit tricky due to the uncertain balance of importance between economic data and pervasive Fiscal Cliff issues, Friday is a bit more straightforward, even if more prone to volatility. The reason for this is the failure, late Thursday night, of the House to pass the so-called "Plan B" tax and spending bill which served as a counteroffer to the President's offer. Markets immediately moved in a "risk-off" direction with huge selling in equities futures and substantial gains for bond markets. While this is nice to see for fans of low rates, it's no guarantee of the domestic reception this morning. So, in the sense that today's focus will be on trading the consequences of that failure, it's a straightforward session, even if we don't know how it will...(read more)

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LPS Previews November Mortgage Performance Data

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Posted To: MND NewsWire

Lender Processing Services has released preliminary data from its monthly report on mortgage performance statistics . Data for November was derived from LPS's loan-level database representing approximately 70 percent of the overall market. The U.S loan delinquency rate rose 1.19 percent from October to 7.12 percent or 3.58 million loans that were 30 or more days past due but not yet in foreclosure . The November rate is down 9.06 percent from that of a year earlier. The pre-sale foreclosure inventory - loans that have entered the foreclosure process - was 3.51 percent, a 2.84 percent decrease from October and 16.42 percent below the rate in November 2011. There were 1,767,000 homes in some stage of foreclosure at the end of November. Florida, New Jersey, and Mississippi had the highest level...(read more)

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Mortgage Rates Fall As Hopes For Fiscal Cliff Progress Fade

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates fell moderately to end the week after the House of Representatives failed to pass a tax and spending bill aimed at averting Fiscal Cliff tax increases on Thursday night. This ended any hopes that a deal would be reached before Christmas and casts serious doubt as to whether or not the two parties can come together in a meaningful way before the New Year. Stocks fell sharply on the news and bond yields backed down from their highest levels since late October. Mortgage rates had already moderated after hitting recent highs on Tuesday, but today's gains in the bond market translate fairly well to the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) that most directly influence mortgage rates. This allowed most lenders to put out their best rate sheets of the week. Best-Execution for 30yr Fixed...(read more)

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Home Retention Actions were Double Home Forfeitures in Q3

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Posted To: MND NewsWire

The Office of Comptroller of the Currency ( OCC ) reported today that 88.6 percent of the mortgages serviced by selected national federal savings banks were current and performing at the end of the third quarter. The OCC Mortgage Metrics Report released this morning covers portfolios containing 29.8 million loans, 58 percent of all mortgages outstanding in the U.S, with $5.1 trillion in principal balances. The percentage of performing mortgages declined by one tenth of one percent from 88.7 percent in the second quarter, but increased 0.7 percent from the same period a year ago. The early delinquency rate (30 to 59 days past due) increased 10.4 percent in the third quarter to 3.1 percent, 3.6 percent above the rate in the third quarter of 2011 while the percentage of mortgages that were 60...(read more)

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HARP Market Share Dropped 18.5% in October, Despite Record Low Rates

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Posted To: MND NewsWire

The share of mortgages refinanced by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae through the Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP) dropped to 18.5 percent in October from 21 percent in September. Out of a total loan volume of 441,017 transactions completed by the two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) during the month, 81,613 were HARP loans. This was a 9000+ decrease in HARP refinancing despite the fact that all overall refinancing, bolstered by new record low mortgage interest rates , increased by about 10,000 loans month-over-month. HARP was specifically designed to assist underwater homeowners to refinance. They must have a loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of at least 80 percent to qualify for the program and there is no upper LTV limit. Through October, 790,619 refinances have been completed through...(read more)

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Amid Political Uncertainty, Mortgage Rates Virtually Unchanged

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates were virtually unchanged on Thursday, continuing to operate in slightly better territory than the multi-month highs seen on Tuesday. That said, a combination of uncertainty in markets and varying approaches to year-end pricing strategies (or necessities) has been leading to bigger divergences in rate offerings between lenders. With today being mostly flat overall, that means that some lenders moved higher with others moving lower. 3.375% Continues to be the most prevalent Best-Execution level for 30yr fixed, conventional loans. ( Read More:What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate? ) The market movements that underpin the day to day changes in mortgage rates generally conveyed a sense of uncertainty and waiting as the busiest morning of economic reports failed to inspire momentum...(read more)

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Mortgage Rates Fall Slightly From Recent Multi-Month Highs

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

The tone of Fiscal Cliff news shifted from comprommisory back to combative today, helping Mortgage rates recover from Tuesday's multi-month highs . Interest rates rose quickly on the first two days of the week as markets sensed that Washington was beginning to come together in order to craft a tax and spending plan to avert the Fiscal Cliff before the end of the year. Conventional 30yr Fixed Best-Execution rates are most commonly 3.375% with some lenders an eighth of a point higher or lower. ( Read More:What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate? ) Even before politicians had the chance to take the podium today, bond markets were already in the process of bouncing back from their weakest levels since late October. This suggests one of two things. Either markets are waiting for more substantive...(read more)

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Lenders Sped up Refi Processing in November

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Posted To: MND NewsWire

Metrics of loans originated through Ellie Mae's mortgage management software and network were largely unchanged from earlier months according to its Origination Insight Report for November 2012 released today. The report covers over 20% of all originations in the United States. Loans originated for the purpose of refinancing declined from 69 percent of the total loans originated to 68 percent and the FHA share of originations remained at 19 percent. This is, however down from an FHA share of 25 percent in November 2011. Jonathan Corr, chief operating officer of Ellie Mae said "There were also signs that HARP may still have some legs : Conventional refinances at 95%-plus LTV rose for the third month in a row, hitting 9.62% in November 2012." To determine a pull-through rate Ellie Mae reviewed...(read more)

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Mortgage Rates Rise To Multi-Month Highs On Fiscal Cliff Optimism

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates moved higher at the quickest pace in weeks on Tuesday as politicians convey an increasing sense of compromise regarding Fiscal Cliff negotiations. The broader move higher in rates had been somewhat gentler until today, beginning with the jobs report on December 7th. From there, the changes in Fed policy convey last Wednesday kept the pressure on, but it wasn't until yesterday and today that a shift in tone on the Fiscal Cliff pushed the 30yr Fixed "Best-Execution" level firmly into 3.375% territory, with some more conservatively priced lenders at 3.5%. ( Read More:What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate? ) Yesterday, we noted a "general, pervasive weakness" due to weekend's Fiscal Cliff evolutions. While today's weakness can also be largely attributed to The Cliff, it was specifically...(read more)

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Home Builders Report Best Sales Conditions in Five Years

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Posted To: MND NewsWire

Builders of new single family homes continue to grow more confident about the market for their product according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market survey for December. The Housing Market Index (HMI) derived from the survey rose two points to 47 marking the eighth consecutive monthly gain and the highest level for the index since April 2006. The HPI and its component indices are based on responses of NAHB's home builder members to a series of questions on new home sales activity. They are asked to gauge the current level of single family home sales and their expectation for sales over the next six months each on a scale of "good," "fair" or "poor" and to rate traffic of prospective buyers as "high to very high," "average" or "low to very low." Scores...(read more)

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Mortgage Rates Slightly Higher To Begin The Week

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates moved slightly higher to begin the last full week of 2012 after fighting back against recent weakness on Friday. Bond markets did little to react to economic data or events today, instead moving higher in anticipation of events and trading considerations in the weeks to come. Thursday remains the weakest day we've seen in several weeks, depending on the lender and today's average rate sheet is somewhere between there and Friday's bounce back. Best-Execution for 30yr Fixed, Conventional Loans continues to hover between 3.25% and 3.375%. ( Read More:What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate? ) There's quite a bit of extra "stuff" packed into the current week in order to make room for the 1.5 days off due to next week's Christmas holiday. Added information is added uncertainty for...(read more)

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The CFPB on QM and Auto Financing; ALTA on Risk Policy and Closing Policies

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Posted To: Pipeline Press

Remember when pictures of your home weren't on the internet for everyone to see? Those days are gone, and in fact now our residences are in snow globes for the holidays. (Thanks Mike H.) Say what you want about Trulia, it just issued the results of a survey that has Realtors and LO's cheering: 93% of renters between the ages of 18 and 34 plan to purchase a home someday . So yes, 2013 is shaping up to another good year for the industry, and companies are staffing up. New England based Norcom Mortgage is seeking to expand its branch operations in all states in the Eastern time zone. Norcom (norcommortgage.com), is "one of the fastest growing lenders on the East Coast," and is seeking branch managers and talented loan officers that would benefit from working with Connecticut's # 2 purchase money...(read more)

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Federal Home Loan Banks in Correspondent Lending; MBA Confirms Average Lenders are Making Big Bucks

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Posted To: Pipeline Press

Yesterday I journeyed to San Jose to visit with the Silicon Valley Chapter of CAMP. Casey Fleming, the president, reminded the capacity crowd how important it was to support your local organization. (Apparently this chapter has the most members of any of the California Association of Mortgage Professional chapters, and is very proud of that.) He also stated how important it is to be surrounded by your fellow mortgage professionals, which is very true. In my travels I have heard of a few tactics that help bring in new members to our trade organizations. One is to have a vendor give new members (and old?) a certain number of free credit reports, or flood certs, or "whatevers" instead of sponsoring a lunch, therefore absorbing a good chunk of the yearly fees. Another is to remind members about...(read more)

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Bank of America CEO: Private Investment Returning To Mortgage Market Is A Certainty

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Posted To: MND NewsWire

Brian Moynihan, Bank of America's chief executive officer, said that everyone involved in the housing market needs to reset their expectation that everyone can own a home. In remarks prepared for delivery at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Moynihan said that the government, borrowers and lenders need to look hard at some of the old assumptions and ask if homeownership the right solution for everyone?" There must be a different role for government; the GSEs and the FHA need to return to their original mission of helping low- and moderate-income borrowers. In an interview before his Brookings appearance, Moynihan spoke with CNBC reporter Diana Olick who asking him if concern over the fiscal cliff is influencing the bank and its the mortgage business . Moynihan said it was impacting businesses...(read more)

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Mortgage Rates Battle Back From Recent Highs

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Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates moved slightly lower to end the week after having risen to the highest levels of the month yesterday. That was part of a two day slide following Wednesday's FOMC announcement and an extension of weakness beginning with last Friday's Employment Situation Report. Conventional 30yr Fixed Best-Execution remains solidly at 3.375% and in some cases, eased back to 3.25% in certain scenarios. ( Read More:What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate? ) The pace of market movements today was incredibly subdued. Heading into today's trading session, there was some risk that bond markets had embarked on a path higher in rate, but tempered by the the hope that Thursday's scariest levels would mark some sort of turning point . Although there's never any way to know how things will move in the future...(read more)

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