Mortgage rates

Purchase mortgage application volume was at its most in over a decade as consumer confidence continued to improve in the aftermath of the coronavirus shutdown, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage rates increased slightly for the second consecutive week, buoyed early on by positive economic news such as the jobs report that came out last Friday, according to Freddie Mac.

Mortgage applications increased 2.7% from one week earlier, as purchase volume is now outpacing the prior year's activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

With mortgage rates reaching all-time lows in the opening quarter, refinance originations were up in 97% of housing markets during 1Q, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Purchase mortgage activity rose for the third consecutive week, although the total volume was flat compared with the previous seven-day period, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage rates fell to their lowest level since Freddie Mac started reporting this data in 1971, as the coronavirus shutdown continued to play havoc with the economy.

The coronavirus disruption caused March's pending home sales to fall and the losses will reverberate through the rest of 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Lenders that split their sales of loans and servicing between two different investors may be facing yet another challenge due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Additional mortgage-backed securities purchases by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will address private investor skittishness about the asset class, but it will not necessarily lower rates.

With small businesses feeling the financial scourge of the coronavirus, bridge loans could be the direction they turn to keep things afloat.

Increased refinancing volume led Fannie Mae to raise its 2020 estimate by $300 billion and 2021 projection by $280 billion.

Not so long after Treasury bond yields experienced an unprecedented drop, the average 30-year mortgage rate rose, reflecting volatility related to the coronavirus as well as capacity issues on multiple levels.

Mortgage companies that borrow heavily to keep their operations running may face financial pressure from coronavirus-related market volatility as it affects the valuations of collateral securing their financing.

Mortgage lenders could benefit from the surge in refinancing due to widening market spreads, and that could help offset damage to servicing rights portfolio valuations, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

A dip in conventional mortgage refinance demand drove mortgage application volume down compared with one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

For the first time since the start of the housing crisis, mortgage origination volume could top $2 trillion for three consecutive years, according to Fannie Mae.

Freddie Mac saw a decline in net profit in 2019 due to decreased interest rate income, lower amortization revenue and risk-reducing investment costs, but its consecutive-quarter results improved.

Consumer sentiment about purchasing a home nears its record high as almost half of those surveyed said mortgage rates will stay at the current low levels, according to Fannie Mae.

With interest rates expected to stay low while wages and the overall economy grow in conjunction, Fannie Mae again boosted its single-family mortgage origination outlook for 2019, 2020 and 2021.

The Federal Housing Administration has implemented defect taxonomy revisions for 2020 that it considers one of several milestone achievements in its efforts to "provide greater clarity and consistency for lenders.”