Mortgage Bankers Association

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

Demand was strongest at the high end of the market, which pushed loan amounts up for the fourth straight month.

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

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

Short-term late payment rates rose again and later stage delinquencies remain at elevated levels compared to those prior to the pandemic, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The modifiable templates are a follow-up to a similar notification the organization created in 2019 for lender use.

But the percentage of weekly applications in that category was closer to 60%, the Mortgage Bankers Association found.

However, the number of borrowers who failed to remit payment but were not yet 30 days overdue increased.

Volumes were at a record high in the final quarter of 2020 but lenders didn’t make quite as much since gains on loan sales to the secondary market fell.

Mortgage applications decreased 1.9% from one week earlier as rising rates started to affect refinance activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Following similar decisions by big banks, the Consumer Bankers Association and Mortgage Bankers Association said they will halt all political contributions to elected officials as some lawmakers face harsh criticism for comments that incited the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

The organizations renewed pledges to work with the incoming Biden administration.

But late payments for all other investor types rose compared with the second quarter.

Mortgage applications slipped 0.3% from one week earlier, as refinance volume, particularly for Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs loans, shrank significantly, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Rates could be 50 basis points steeper than the MBA’s current projections, which anticipate the 30-year mortgage will average 3.3% next year, up from nearly 3% this year.

Lenders also increased jumbo product availability as well as rolling out new SOFR-indexed ARMs.

The overall mortgage delinquency rate improved in the third quarter as the economy got healthier while late-stage delinquencies hit a decade high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage rates are currently the lowest in the history of Freddie Mac’s survey, but sharp differences of opinion persist on whether that will make this a $4-trillion year or not.

Mortgage applications increased 3.8% from one week earlier as a drop in most loan interest rates brought on an increase in refinance activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

And an uptick from second-quarter numbers is attributed to seasonality rather than any upswing in the economy.