Mortgage applications

Lending activity among builders surged over 22% annually in December, but the growing share of FHA-backed borrowing in the segment took a step back for the first time in four months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The end-of-year slowdown comes after a recent fall surge, but overall activity still finished 6% below late 2022 levels, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Activity fell despite an ongoing slide in rates, but elevated interest in VA loans, particularly refinances, managed to lift the government-sponsored index higher by a fraction, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The lawsuit accuses Navy Federal of violating the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act after a CNN report that the lender approved a lower percentage of Black and Latino mortgage applicants.

Falling interest rates are behind a recent spike in government-backed lending as well as refinances, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Rising purchase activity countered falling refinances, as declining interest rates helped bring some aspiring buyers to market, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Loan activity overall came in higher for the second week in a row, with interest rates flattened following an extended volatile period, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Loan activity fell for a second consecutive week, dropping to levels last seen in 1996, as a potential government shutdown loomed.

Purchase-loan activity dropped again to its most subdued level in close to three decades, while refinances saw their smallest numbers in eight months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Both loan volumes and interest rates came in mostly flat, but the jumbo average ran ahead of the conforming for the second week in a row, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.