Mortgages

Refinance activity was up 16% from the end of February while purchase applications rose mildly, on the strength of fading rates amid larger economic woes.

Tax liens have so-called super priority in repayments, even placing ahead of a previously filed mortgage.

For the first time in almost two years, mortgage products available for consumers are at a level established in 2012.

American lumber producers have alleged that the Canadian lumber system amounts to a subsidy — a charge Canadians deny — and the countries have fought over tariffs on those products for decades.

More than two-thirds of the counties most at risk of a housing downturn were concentrated in five states, according to a new report from Attom.

Independent monetary policymakers have resisted President Trump's call to lower financing costs but could find it harder to ignore employment losses.

Easing regulations on the GSEs will likely drive elevated activity in non-QM if or when it occurs, leaders at the real estate investment trust also said.

The grandson of the PulteGroup founder did not elaborate on plans for a much-anticipated government-sponsored enterprise exit from conservatorship.

Interest-only loans, popular pre-2008, have revamped requirements and can be an option for borrowers looking for short-term lower payments, stakeholders say.

The Department of Veterans Affairs ended a break for borrowers put at a disadvantage by a discontinuation of pandemic aid as they transitioned to a new program.

The potential impacts of import tariffs cloud the outlook, though, and could lead mortgage rates to surge and fall throughout the coming year.

Meanwhile, home prices are set to grow 3 to 4% in 2025, a Fitch report predicts.

Fannie Mae set aside $752 million for credit losses in its apartment complex lending business in part because of fraud or suspected fraud, denting profits amid an industrywide scrutiny of borrowers. 

The consortium of businesses intends to work with state regulators to protect consumers as interest from secondary market investors also grows.

The latest refinance surge helped lift total application activity up for a second straight week, even as purchases fell, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The government-sponsored enterprises were not meant to remain in conservatorship permanently, but privatizing them once again must include a new set of rules that minimize market disruptions and maximize their focus on making homeownership affordable.

Most participants in a monthly Wolters Kluwer survey no longer think the next short-term rate reduction will be in March.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage continues to slip away from the 7% mark, Freddie Mac said, but experts still expect them to stay higher for longer.

Completed foreclosure auctions should be 8% lower this year, but if home value and unemployment expectations change, all bets are off, Auction.com said.

Some mortgage stakeholders say Trump's tariffs would make interest rates rise and housing costs shoot up.