Mortgage rates

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.”

November's foreclosure starts hit their lowest level since Black Knight started tracking this data in 2000, while the foreclosure rate reached a 14-year low.

Mortgage rates ended the week little changed from the previous seven-day period and near historic lows for the year, according to Freddie Mac.

More than half of the third quarter refinance activity was the cash-out variety, with borrowers removing the most total equity from their homes in nearly 12 years, according to Black Knight.

Loan defect risk in purchase applications stopped falling and plateaued in October, according to First American Financial Corp.

With economic expansion expected to keep churning through at least the first half of next year, Fannie Mae upwardly revised its single-family mortgage origination outlook for 2019 and 2020.

Rising demand and plummeting mortgage rates pushed multifamily origination dollar volume above 2017's record to a new peak, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage debt climbed to a new peak of $9.4 trillion in the second quarter and the distribution across the U.S. varies greatly.

Mortgage rates rose for the first time since the middle of July, but that, along with continued consumer worries about the economy, helped to reduce application activity from the prior week.

Though advocates and industry are rarely aligned, they are starting to coalesce around a plan that would call for the elimination of the CFPB’s 43% debt-to-income limit as part of its qualified mortgage rule.

Refinances jumped in July in response to a considerable mortgage rate decline from the month prior as homeowners set to lock in lower costs, according to Ellie Mae.

While talks of an impending recession pick up steam, the housing market remains fairly stalwart and won't be to blame this time around, according to Zillow.

Lower rates will likely sustain higher levels of origination through at least the third quarter, but supply constraints and economic weakness could limit the purchase market's response in the long term.

Mortgage activity fell at the start of the year, but lower mortgage rates are boosting refinance volume, and Generation Z is starting to creep into the housing market, according to TransUnion.

The potential for negative long-term mortgage rates is surfacing around the world, and with global tensions building in the U.S. market, there's a small but growing chance it could happen here, too.