Mortgage rates

Tight inventory and heightened competition kept prime purchasers at bay as property values continued their summer surge, according to Fannie Mae.

Such applications have declined on an annual basis for the past three months, but overall weekly numbers increased due to a jump in refinances amid plummeting rates.

Despite lower numbers, refi applications continued trending strongly, while purchases fell close to lows from more than a year ago.

The GSE forecasts $4 trillion in production this year because refinance activity is stronger than expected.

Boosts in purchases and cash-out refinances drove the summer turnaround, according to Black Knight.

Increases in refinances, both in applications and average size, help lead overall numbers higher

A spike in government-sponsored applications helped lead indexes to their largest gains in several weeks.

Changed borrower psychology and the severe housing inventory shortage dropped lending activity across the board, according to Black Knight.

Home prices grew at a record annual pace in April but indicators of a possible slowdown popped up in May, Redfin noted.

Average loan size also continues to increase, as demand remains high and costs in homebuilding materials rise this year.

Economic recovery should soar into the summer as vaccination rates climb and restrictions loosen up, but low inventory is likely to limit mortgage activity into the next year, according to Fannie Mae.

With little transitional disruption, the bigger players on the non-agency side could gain a hefty share of non-owner-occupied mortgage volume as a result of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s caps on such purchases, a KBRA analysis finds.

Hedge accounting will align Fannie’s reporting with competitor Freddie Mac, and will address a mismatch between the recorded value of financial instruments used to offset interest-rate volatility on mortgages and the loans themselves.

The government sponsored enterprise’s latest forecast calls for a nearly $4 trillion year for 2021.

Rising cases and vaccine issues caused bond yields to fall, but inflationary pressures will likely reverse that course.

Mortgage rates that are rising in tandem with a recovering economy dampened borrower activity, even with prime homebuying season underway.

The increase won’t hurt the incentive for the average home shopper, but it means those who were looking to “buy the dip” in prices amid the pandemic may have missed their chance.

While the economic recovery and stimulus checks drove upward movement in purchases, it wasn’t enough to offset tumbling refinance activity.

After a booming 2020, more mortgage lenders than ever before expect diminishing margins in the coming months as climbing interest rates set up heightened competition.

Servicers struggled to bring back their borrowers as the overall retention rate crept down to a nadir in the fourth quarter, according to Black Knight.