Mortgage Bankers Association

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.

The forbearance rate improved to the a level not seen since early April, but getting back to pre-COVID levels will require employment gains or additional government stimulus measures, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

A booming housing market contrasts with a slow-to-improve job market, making for lopsided improvement in the number of troubled mortgages, according to numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

As of the end of July, there were more than 1 million past-due mortgages not in forbearance plans, and the majority likely would have qualified for forbearance under the CARES Act.

But an expected drop in refinancings as mortgage rates rise should more than cancel that out, resulting in declining overall volume through 2023.

Mortgage applications decreased 0.6% from one week earlier, although a slight drop in purchase volume belied the fact that consumers are taking advantage of the current rate environment, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The overall forbearance rate was under 6% for the first time since April as another large swath of loans fell out of CARES Act coverage, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.