Housing Wire

JANUARY 2, 2025

Applications for refinances drove the decrease in the overall index as they fell 36%, while applications for purchase loans were down 13%. Data at HousingWire ‘s Mortgage Rates Center also shows consistent upward movement in the cost of a home loan during the last two weeks of the year.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 8, 2025

Refinances made up a quarter of all lock activity for the first time in six months, and we saw a clear rise in non-conforming loan share as buyers looked for more flexible options and higher loan amounts. The pull-through rate for refinance loans rose to 63.3%, indicating stronger borrower commitment compared to earlier months.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 13, 2025

The share of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan applications hit a record high for the survey, accounting for nearly one-third of all applications. The average loan size decreased, signaling that first-time homebuyers remain active in the market, Kan said. By loan type, conventional mortgages made up 56.7%

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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2024

According to data released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the median payment for purchase loan applicants declined by 0.8% The average mortgage payment declined in spite of an increase in the median loan size for purchase applicants, which went from $320,100 in August to $328,000 in September.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 6, 2023

CBC Mortgage Agency – a federally chartered housing finance agency – will offer two temporary rate buydown features for its down payment assistance (DPA) program for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans. The agency is the first to provide either a 2-1 rate buydown or a 1-0 rate buydown on a DPA program.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 20, 2024

House of Representatives proposes to relieve Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers of mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs) once they reach a certain level of home equity , aligning FHA policies with those of conventional loans. Mortgage insurance exists as protection from foreclosure on low equity loans.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 5, 2025

According to the MBA, rates for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans dipped to 6.42%, while refinance activity posted its fastest pace since October 2024. The move in government refinances was driven by a 75% increase in VA loans, which have been prone to large changes in recent months. More renovations?

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Housing Wire

MAY 28, 2025

FHA loan rates averaged 6.68%. ARMs typically gain market share when rates are elevated, as borrowers can access lower initial rates compared to traditional fixed-rate mortgages. As of Wednesday morning, the average 30-year conforming mortgage rate stood at 6.97%, according to HousingWire s Mortgage Rates Center.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 17, 2024

Conventional loans accounted for 61.6% of applications, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans for 28% and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans for 9.9% The average loan size for new homes decreased to $402,873, down from $409,942 in October. from the 56,000 sales in October. in November.

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Keeping Current Matters

JUNE 9, 2025

If you’re a first-time homebuyer, you might feel like the odds are stacked against you in today’s market. But there are resources and programs out there that can help – if you know where to look.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

22, driven by a 12% increase in demand for purchase loans, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The increase in conventional purchase applications helped push the average purchase loan size to $439,200, its highest level in almost a month. But government loans saw their shares shrink.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

wholesale lender United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has taken another aggressive move related to its product set, underscoring its strong commitment to government-backed loans. On Wednesday, the company announced the removal of all loan-level pricing adjustments (LLPAs) on government loans, albeit with some limitations.

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

A report released Tuesday by Optimal Blue found that the conforming loan share sank to historic lows in December. More refis in December pulled market share away from other loan types, including conforming loans. ” The conforming loan share dropped by 1.5% mortgage market trends.

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Housing Wire

MAY 19, 2025

You’ve lowered the MIP; you’re making that mortgage insurance for that high-LTV loan cheaper. “Builders are doing a lot more of these buydown loans, so they’re able to sacrifice a little on the loan because they can make up for it on the home price,” Curro said. It was a more affordable mortgage.”

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 18, 2024

Market data at HousingWire ‘s Mortgage Rates Center showed an average fixed rate of 6.87% for 30-year conforming loans on Wednesday, a slight increase from the week ending on Dec. ” Refinance application activity across all loan types decreased 3% week over week, although it was still 41% higher compared to the same week in 2023.

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Housing Wire

JUNE 9, 2025

For Ginnie Mae loans, which often serve lower-income and first-time borrowers, DTIs have surged to 45.1%, the highest since 2008 1. in 2022 – while auto loans delinquencies hit 2.0%, and student loan delinquencies (90+ days past due) soared to 20%, a level unseen since 2012. Post-crisis reforms lowered the average to 35.5%

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 2, 2020

Given massive year-over-year gains in home prices , the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is increasing its 2021 loan limit in most of the U.S. to $356,362, an increase of nearly $25,000 over 2020’s loan limit of $331,760. LOs are only human — Tech is necessary to keep up with max loan volumes.

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Housing Wire

JUNE 10, 2025

Amid expectations that interest rate declines may reignite refinance activity , Optimal Blue on Monday launched a new tool that automatically analyzes loan officer portfolios each month to identify recapture opportunities. The tool is designed to ensure loan officers are ready when refinance volume picks up.

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

Loan locks for refinances rose more than 20% year over year while purchase lock counts saw a 6% decrease, according to Optimal Blue ‘s January 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report released Thursday. of all locked loans in January. The average loan amount there was $576,385. It was followed by Dallas (3.4%

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Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

Meanwhile, the median loan application amount grew from $319,000 in December to $324,800 in January. Higher payments across loan types Borrowers across different mortgage programs also saw their payments rise. Higher payments across loan types Borrowers across different mortgage programs also saw their payments rise.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 4, 2024

Purchase loan activity drove total applications higher last week, which included an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday. Rates for 30-year jumbo loans (balances above $766,550) decreased by 12 bps and averaged 6.85%. In 2025, jumbo loans will increase to a minimum size of $806,501 — a 5.2% in the prior week.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 24, 2025

“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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Housing Wire

MARCH 25, 2021

If you’re a first-time homebuyer (or you already own a home), you’ve heard of mortgage loans. You have your conventional loans, FHA loans, VA loans, USDA loans and so on. But there’s another type of loan, not too many people are familiar with that can make the home buying process much easier.

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Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

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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Housing Wire

OCTOBER 4, 2023

In an environment where 30-year fixed mortgage rates are racing towards 8%, loan officer pipelines are thinning dramatically. But LOs who cater to first-time homebuyers’ needs – offering FHA loans and down payment assistance loans — are faring better, Michael Ullmann, producing branch leader at Movement Mortgage , explained. “So

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 22, 2025

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan borrowers must maintain escrow accounts for the entire loan cycle, regardless of equity. After that, 70% had higher homeowners’ insurance and 57% had higher premiums. Escrow accounts are required for conventional borrowers with 20% or less equity in their homes.

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Housing Wire

MAY 5, 2025

Gen Z was responsible for one in four loans issued to first-time homebuyers. 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 ). Washington, D.C.,

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Housing Wire

AUGUST 12, 2024

The share of piggybacked Federal Housing Administration (FHA) home purchase loans rose by more than seven percentage points from June 2022 to June 2024, going from 10.8% for conventional purchase loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The calculations were based on the number of purchase loans in CoreLogic public records.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 25, 2021

Do I need to pay off my student loans before buying my first home? What it really comes down to is whether or not you feel comfortable paying a mortgage (and all the other fun expenses that come with having a home), while also paying off student loans. For example, a conventional loan lets you put as little as 3% down.

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Housing Wire

MARCH 27, 2025

Mortgage affordability remained flat in February as the national median monthly payment for purchase loan applicants remained unchanged at $2,205. By product type, the median mortgage payment for conventional loan applicants was $2,226, up from $2,225 in January and up from $2,194 in February 2024.

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Housing Wire

MAY 13, 2025

This was partially driven by an uptick in conventional loan delinquencies and rising foreclosure inventory , particularly among loans backed by the U.S. The percentage of loans entering foreclosure also edged higher rising by 5 bps to represent 0.2% of outstanding loans during the first quarter.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 13, 2023

mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) is offering discounted rates on some government loans until January for brokers to create their own “refi boom,” the company announced on Wednesday. points – on FHA and VA refinances available to brokers until Jan. points, 5.999% paying 2 points and 6.249% paying 2.5

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Housing Wire

JULY 21, 2023

These loans would still have access to all the features of the FHA streamline refinance program, allowing borrowers to reduce their payments if they stay on their new mortgage. The lender could charge the borrower a 1% higher interest rate to fund a 3.5%

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Housing Wire

JANUARY 15, 2025

Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans decreased. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA both saw increases for jumbo loans it was an increase to 7.05% from 6.99%, and for FHA loans the interest rate reached 6.76% from 6.65%.

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Housing Wire

DECEMBER 28, 2023

In his 20 years in mortgage banking, no year has compared to 2023 in terms of difficulty, said Ben Cohen, Guaranteed Rate ’s managing director and a top-producing loan officer. It was another brutal year, pushing loan originators to work longer hours, close loans faster while diversifying their mortgage product offerings.

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Housing Wire

APRIL 10, 2023

After four years of Congress hiking Veterans Administration (VA) so-called “Bluewater Navy” mortgage loan fees as an offset to pay for other critical veterans’ benefits, Congress has finally let those excessive VA mortgage loan fees expire. Mortgage loan fees should not be higher than needed to safely run government-backed lending.

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Housing Wire

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

Adrian Gastelum, a vice president and branch manager at Nova Home Loans, recently had a prospective borrower apply for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage. FHA guidelines require a two-year work history and allow for a gap of one month or longer in employment with a letter of explanation.

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