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More homebuyers seek government-backed loans as an affordability lifeline

Housing Wire

Chris Porter, a senior vice president at the firm and the author of the latest outlook, said this correlates with buyers dedicating more of their income to housing and seeking accessible financing options. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, which made up 10%, according to purchase loan lock data from Optimal Blue.

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Purchase mortgage applicants are seeing more reasons to smile

Housing Wire

According to data released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the median payment for purchase loan applicants declined by 0.8% This was also reflected in median payments for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, which stood at $1,753 in September. from August to September. by the end of the year.”

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NAR: Homebuyers still have down payment misconceptions

Housing Wire

Despite growing attention around all-cash transactions, most Americans — especially first-time buyers — continue to finance their home purchases, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Among primary residence buyers, 74% financed their home purchase in 2024.

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Southern states had the highest mortgage denial rates in 2023: NAR

Housing Wire

“A loan-to-value ratio that is too high, either because of a limited down payment or an appraisal of the home that resets the value used to calculate this ratio, can also be a factor,” she said. The type of mortgage also plays a role, with jumbo and nonconventional loans facing higher rejection rates.

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Mortgage demand jumps 6.3% as rates level off

Housing Wire

22, driven by a 12% increase in demand for purchase loans, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). But government loans saw their shares shrink. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans shed 60 bps during the week to represent 16% of all applications while U.S. of applications.

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Optimal Blue: Mortgage refinances jump despite higher rates

Housing Wire

January lock data shows two important ways constrained affordability is impacting the housing finance market, Brennan OConnell , director of data solutions at Optimal Blue, said in a statement. Jumbo mortgage rates were up 2 bps, VA loan rates were up 4 bps and FHA loan rates remained unchanged.

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ICE: First-time homebuyers account for record share of agency lending in Q1 2025

Housing Wire

And despite tightened affordability , first-time buyer purchase lending has held up better than activity among repeat buyers compared to 2018 and 2019 especially for conventional loans through the government-sponsored enterprises ( GSEs ). Indiana , South Dakota and Kentucky are seeing Gen Z shares top 30% of first-time buyer activity.