A significantly smaller percentage of purchase mortgage applications have been approved since the height of the home buying season last July despite lending industry claims that lending standards have loosened. Time to close and median FICO scores are only marginally improved. Read More »

Freddie Mac Tuesday forecasted economic growth in the 2.5 to 3.0 percent range in 2014, more than 0.5 percentage points better than is projected for 2013 with the unemployment rate falling below 7 percent, perhaps by mid-2014. Read More »

Rising rates caused residential loan originations took a hit in the third quarter, and fourth quarter volume is poised for a further decline. But the top three lenders and servicers maintained their standings. Read More »

The serious delinquency rate on mortgages (90 or more days delinquent, in foreclosure or real-estate owned) peaked at 8.5 percent in January 2010 and has since declined to 5.4 percent as of July 2013, according to CoreLogic’s Insights blog. Read More »

The overall market share of single buyers declined from 32 percent in 2010 to 25 percent in both 2012 and 2013. First-time home buyers slipped to a 38 percent market share in the past year from 39 percent in a preview of NAR’s 2013 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Read More »

Changes in lending standards by banks, undertaken to reduce their risk and preserve capital, have huge, macroeconomic effects on the economy. Not are not only restricting credit, they simultaneously reduce the demand for credit by businesses homeowners, even creating credit shocks that impact GDP. However, banks loosen standards to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace according to a new study by economists at the Federal Reserve. Read More »

Only about 20 percent of today’s mortgage applications will pass muster with the new QM rule that takes effect January 10, according to a leading software platform used by lenders to comply with the Dodd-Frank Act and other federal rules and regulations covering mortgage lending. Read More »

Is mortgage credit loosening up a little or not? Read More »

Mortgage originations have increased by 10 percent from a year ago, a gain not quite as large as existing home sales. More important, a look at the most recent completed quarter shows a 29 percent increase in home purchases from the prior quarter and a decrease in the number of refinances, suggesting a sustained recovery is beginning to come from purchases, Experian reported. Read More »

Lending standards? What lending standards? Purchase loans are soaring as home buyers outmuscle refinancing home owners in the pursuit of mortgage credit. Read More »