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During the housing boom, anyone who could fog a mirror could get a mortgage. Today, only highly qualified borrowers can get financing — let alone the best rates. The latest data from the Federal Reserve shows that nearly a quarter of people who apply for loans are turned down.
“Good borrowers with one or two blemishes on their credit are being denied credit,“ said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Get the full story »
Applications for U.S. home mortgages tumbled last week as higher interest rates sapped demand for loan refinancing, an industry group said on Wednesday. Get the full story »
The volume of mortgage applications filed in the U.S. last week fell a seasonally adjusted 9.5 percent from the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday, as higher interest rates versus late last year discouraged recent activity.
Refinance activity was down 11 percent to its lowest reading since the week ending July 3, 2009, according to the MBA’s weekly survey, which covers more than half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications. Purchasing activity fell 0.9 percent in the week ended Friday. Get the full story »
Applications for U.S. home mortgages increased last week as lending rates eased from recent highs, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity rose 2.2 percent in the week ended Jan. 7 to its highest level in about a month. Get the full story »
Mortgage-related jobs slid in the third quarter, with the biggest net losses occurring in Maryland, Illinois and Oregon, according to an index published by MortgageDaily.com.
With 3,216 layoffs and 2,286 hires, the net loss was 930 jobs. For the first three quarters of the year, there has been a net gain of 524 jobs.
This flattening comes after a modest rebound last year, following two years of dramatic job losses. In 2005, more than half a million people worked in mortgage lending, and less than half are left now, MortgageDaily.com reports. Get the full story »
Applications for mortgages rose last week for the third straight week.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday overall applications increased 5.8 percent from a week earlier, driven by gains in purchase and refinance applications. Get the full story »
Government-controlled mortgage buyer Freddie Mac on Wednesday posted a narrower loss of $4.1 billon in the third quarter as it asked for an additional $100 million in federal aid — substantially less than the $1.8 billion it sought in the second quarter.
Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose slightly from their lowest level in decades, inching up to a national average of 4.21 percent. Get the full story »
Illinois regulators have “outed” four mortgage servicers that it said did not respond to requests for information on their foreclosure procedures. Get the full story »
Mortgage applications rose 13 percent last week as consumers refinanced at the lowest rates in decades. The Mortgage Bankers Association says the increase was driven by a 17 percent surge in applications to refinance home loans. Those taken out to purchase homes fell by more than 3 percent. The numbers are adjusted for seasonal factors. Get the full story »
Only four of the eight largest mortgage servicers have committed to participate in a government-sponsored, yet voluntary, program designed to aid troubled homeowners with second mortgages, new data released Tuesday shows.
Of the four servicers participating in the second lien modification program — Bank of America, CitiMortgage, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo Bank — only Bank of America and Chase were “operationally ready” and extending modification offers to consumers this spring, the Treasury Department said Tuesday. Get the full story »
Demand for loans to purchase U.S. homes sunk to a 13-year low last week, and refinancing demand also slid despite near record-low mortgage rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday. Get the full story »
Refinancing drove total U.S. mortgage applications to a nine-month high last week, while demand for loans to purchase homes sunk to a near 13-year low as buyers remained sidelined after the expiration of federal tax credits. Get the full story »
Refinancing drove total U.S. mortgage applications to an eight-month peak, as loan rates fell to or near record lows, but demand to buy homes sank toward 13-year lows last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday. Get the full story »
