Mortgage Application Volume Sees 12% Spike on Demand for Refinances
This past week, mortgage application volume increased 12%. This increase was led by a somewhat surprising uptick in demand for refinances according to the Mortgage Bankers Association survey. When you compare these numbers to last year, mortgage applications dropped 37% overall with refinances specifically seeing over a 50% decrease. Refinance applications made up 57.3% of total applications this past week. With rates creeping up, seeing more refinance inquiries is definitely interesting. The FHA share of total applications decreased from 8.6% to 7.7% this past week. The VA share of total applications decreased from 9.9% to 9.1% this past...New Lending Guidelines Threaten Some Condo Sales
Starting in December, lenders enacted new condo financing guidelines in regards to the condo questionnaires filled out by management companies. New questions were added to the condo questionnaire that generally relate to the possibility of “deferred maintenance” to the subject building. These questions must be answered by the condo associations management company or condo boards in order for lenders to approve the condo for financing. We have been seeing pushback from several management companies’ legal teams since these questions are highly subjective and aren’t black and white. Some lenders do have possible workarounds such as meeting minutes, inspection reports, and engineering reports, but in general the new documentation needed to finance condos has been tedious to gather and confusing for all parties involved. These new condo guidelines are still temporary in nature and we are optimistic for improvement to this process in the future. When financing a condo, it’s more important than ever to work with someone who understand the guidelines and knows what is required to get the financing approved. Please call us with any condo...After a Month of Mortgage Rate Increases, Rates Drop This Week
According to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey, the average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate declined one basis point this past week. This drop comes after nearly a month of consistent increases. The expectation is that mortgage rates will continue to move in concert with the 10-year Treasury yield. If the Federal Reserve continue to raise interest rates, there is a good chance mortgage rates continue to rise...Mortgage Applications Rise with Average Loan Size Increase
Mortgage application volume is up 2.3% from the previous period according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The amount of purchase applications rose 7.9% from the week prior, while the refinance numbers decreased 3.1%. The average loan size for purchase applications hit a record level this past week, at $418,500. The hot housing market creating higher prices has allowed record setting loan amounts to become more frequent over the last few years. The VA share of mortgage applications decreased from 11.4% to 10% last week. The FHA share of mortgage applications decreased from 9.9% to 9.3% last...Connect With Us
