Mortgage applications

Homeowners responded to moderating interest rates and brought in significantly more refinance volume, with Department of Veterans Affairs numbers more than doubling from the prior week.

Companies are seeing evidence of income falsification, which previous research shows is the most common type of fraud or defect risk.

Loan volumes fell for the third straight week, with depressed demand for government lending driving activity downward, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Mortgage application activity had its largest decline in a year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

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.