The 30-year conforming rate has been relatively volatile since the start of the year, but its low point for 2025 came on April 11 when it reached 6.69%. That’s a higher number than many consumers and mortgage professionals would like, although home sales and mortgage demand are up from one year ago. Fed’s Waller on
Over the past couple of months, proprietary reverse mortgage activity has been expanding. The HECM market leader has rolled out a new product, leading lenders in the space are singing the praises of their products’ performance, and existing players have aimed to bring new variations to the market. Does this make it a challenge to
“Mortgage delinquency rates held steady at a low level in the first quarter of 2025. Roughly 40% of metropolitan areas showed increases in the overall delinquency rate, comparable to the share from the fourth quarter of 2024,” Molly Boesel, senior principal economist at Cotality, said in a statement. “Those areas posting the largest increases in
“In 2015, HUD set a requirement for some HECM borrowers to maintain a Life Expectancy Set Aside to pay for future property taxes, insurance premiums, and flood insurance on behalf of the borrower,” HUD explained in its announcement. “Our objective is to determine if HUD’s HECM Life Expectancy Set Aside calculations are meeting program goals.”
Fueling this moment is a persistently high interest rate environment, which has increased the value of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) — the asset outsourced to subservicers — due to slower prepayment speeds. For subservicers, managing loans can generate stable income through fees, and when agreements allow and align with their strategy, it opens doors for
The national PAPI decreased 0.6% from March to a reading of 163.0 in April. Median earnings were up 4.8% compared to one year ago, and while payments decreased 3.1%, the significant earnings growth means that the PAPI is down 8.4% on an annual basis. For borrowers applying for lower-payment mortgages (the 25th percentile), the national
Piggybacking on previous comments from President Donald Trump, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte said on social media that “Jay Powell needs to lower interest rates — enough is enough. President Trump has crushed Biden’s inflation, and there is no reason not to lower rates. The housing market would be in much better
On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 5% compared with the previous week. The refinance index also decreased 5% from the previous week and was 27% higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 36.6% of total applications from 36.4% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM)
Mortgage spreads Mortgage spreads — the difference between the 10-year Treasury yield and the 30-year mortgage rate — are a complex topic. Over the past decade, they haven’t received much attention because spreads were typical and not a concern. Under normal circumstances, the spread typically ranges from 1.60% to 1.80%. A historical review of these
“I think the last few years have paid off for us. First off, we grew 60% last year,” Arvielo said. “So I think the consolidation of loan originators is part of it. I think the move-up buyer is driving the market, meaning a former first-time home buyer [who] now has a significant amount of equity.”