Mortgages

Declining mortgage rates and home prices drove more positive views compared to the prior month, but December's overall outlook remained negative, Fannie Mae said.

The sector is not immune to the same economic instability that affects the single-family residential market, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Other investors could step into the breach as depositories depart, and the strain on nonconforming borrowers might not be that bad, recent forecasts suggest.

Higher interest rates helped drive down refinances by 87% and purchases by 42% compared to last year.

House hunting activity also slowed in December, with home tours declining 69% from the start of the year, a Redfin report found.

The 30-year fixed rate surged 15 basis points from a week earlier but ends 2022 at more than twice its mark from a year ago.

Sales of high-end homes fell 38.1% year-over-year, per a Redfin report.

The overall share of distressed mortgages fell in every state, but the effects of Hurricane Ian led to a small uptick in early-stage late payments compared to one year ago, CoreLogic said.

Kindred Home Loans will serve buyers of properties in Dallas and San Antonio markets.

Foreclosure starts also increased by over 19% between October and November but remain below pre-pandemic levels.

The partnership will expand UHM reach to new markets in Florida, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and California.

Loans with payments late by a year or more were the biggest sub-category within the distressed portfolios a year ago, but now mortgages that've been late for 30-59 days are.

But the lower rates of the past month did result in a $7-billion boost to its origination forecast for 2022.

The uptick in the 60-day-plus metric could reverse the bulk of the decline that occurred between 2019 and 2021.

The Lansing, Michigan-based firm was awarded the contract this spring and takes over from Novad Management Consulting, which had previously serviced government-held HECMs since 2014.

Borrowers gained an average of $34,300 in home equity since the third quarter of last year, but that's almost half the amount of growth recorded over the summer.

The products are currently limited to a single distribution channel, but the company hasn't ruled out offering them through third-party originators in the future.

The deal will close for $10 million in cash, plus the right to purchase nearly 33.9 million shares of common stock.

Deterioration in credit quality should put strain on collateral originated in late 2021 and early 2022, affecting performance, Barclays Credit Research said.

Home prices dropped again on a monthly basis in October, exacerbating the loss in home equity among recent buyers, but the size of the falloff was the smallest since June.