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More homebuyers seek government-backed loans as an affordability lifeline

Housing Wire

As a result, more buyers are turning to products like Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, which accounted for 24% of primary home purchases in 2024, and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, which made up 10%, according to purchase loan lock data from Optimal Blue.

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Cause for concern? FHA, VA delinquencies are rising quickly

Housing Wire

Although mortgage delinquencies rose only ten basis points in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to one year ago, the composition of the delinquencies changed, Marina Walsh , the MBAs vice president of industry analysis, said a statement. Specifically, conventional loans are performing much better than Federal Housing Administration and U.S.

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Mortgage demand falls for the first time in five weeks as interest rates increase

Housing Wire

Rates for 30-year jumbo loans (balances above $766,550) grew by 7 bps to 6.86%. And the 30-year FHA loan rate increased by 2 bps to 6.49%. Contract interest rates for 15-year fixed-rate loans increased by 3 bps to 6.15%, following a period of stagnation a week earlier. Rates for 5/1 ARMs increased by 22 bps to 6.03%.

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Fix-and-flip activity was down in 2024, but profit margins grew slightly

Housing Wire

The home-flipping industry saw investors shy away even more in 2024 amid the extended period of languishing profits. Additionally, the share of flipped homes sold to buyers using Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans remained steady at 10.7%. The top market for FHA buyer activity was Merced, California, where 38.3%

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In a sluggish market, Rocket Mortgage courts brokers with pricing incentive

Housing Wire

The third party origination (TPO) division of Rocket Mortgage on Monday announced the rollout of its latest product, 24 Takeoff, which allows mortgage broker partners to receive a 24 basis point credit on all eligible loans until Nov. 29, which gave borrowers a 75-basis-point rate cut on various refinancing options.

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2025 mortgage predictions: Your playbook for a winning year

Housing Wire

Although no person can truly predict mortgage rates for there are several factors involved; Industry forecasts predict interest rates will hover between 5.5% Heres your game plan: Check your credit: A score of 640 opens the door to FHA loans and down payment assistance programs. and 6%, with potential dips below 6% by mid-year.

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With rate lock activity up, Optimal Blue introduces automated refi tool

Housing Wire

The new product, called Capture for Originators, is available to users of Optimal Blue’s product pricing engine (PPE) and was developed in partnership with Uplist , a software-as-a-service (Saas) platform serving the real estate industry.