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.

Loans

Housing Wire

JULY 21, 2025

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans , which jumped 428% from a year ago after a moratorium expired in December 2024. The increase was largely driven a surge in foreclosures involving properties backed by U.S.

VA loan

Housing Wire

JUNE 10, 2025

Rocket Pro is partnering with Vetted VA , which provides education to veterans and training to loan officers to give veterans better access to home loan benefits. “They know more about VA loans than anybody else,” Sweeney told HousingWire in an interview. That was a lot for loan officers.

VA loan

Housing Wire

MARCH 5, 2025

The move in government refinances was driven by a 75% increase in VA loans, which have been prone to large changes in recent months, he shared. Conventional refinance applications rose 34% and government refinance applications increased by 42% over the week. ” The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 43.8%

Fixed-rate mortgage

Housing Wire

JUNE 18, 2025

VA applications, however, bucked the trend with a 2% increase in purchase applications and a slight increase in refinance applications. Additionally, the overall average loan size at $380,200 was the lowest since January 2025.” Added Kan, “Refinance activity declined for both conventional and government borrowers. from 18.0%

VA loan

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. “Conventional and VA purchase applications drove this week’s increase in purchase activity on a weekly and annual basis,” Kan added.

VA loan

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.

FHA loan

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%

FHA loan

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 11, 2024

Data at HousingWire ‘s Mortgage Rates Center showed an average rate of 6.85% for 30-year conforming loans on Wednesday, a slight decrease from the week ending Dec. Government loan activity saw a slight jump. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans followed suit, jumping 270 bps to 16.3% of all applications.

As-is

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.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JULY 1, 2025

A press release from Rocket also announced Rocket Preferred Pricing, which allows homebuyers who use Rocket Mortgage for financing and either purchase a Redfin-listed home or work with a Redfin agent to receive a one-percentage-point interest rate reduction for the first year of their loan or a lender credit of up to $6,000 at closing.

VA loan

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.

VA loan

Housing Wire

JUNE 30, 2025

Financing options, misplaced guidance Conventional loans remain the most common path to homeownership , but many first-time buyers also turn to government financing. Nearly 29% of first-time buyers used Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans , which require a minimum down payment of 3.5%. Another 9% used U.S.

VA loan

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%

VA loan

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.

FHA loan

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.”

Loans

Housing Wire

JULY 11, 2025

But not all loans are built the same in these scenarios. Government-backed loans like those from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) come with tighter margins. Serious delinquencies for VA loans are 3.5 times higher than conventional alternatives.

Mortgages

Real Estate News

JUNE 16, 2025

Dave Gallagher June 16, 2025 3 mins Homebuyer down payments have started to dip, a sign that those who are using loans to help finance their purchases are shifting their focus to less expensive homes. There has also been an uptick in buyers using FHA and VA loans, which require lower down payments. Redfin found that 15.3%

VA loan

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 3, 2024

Global analytics software leader FICO on Tuesday announced the launch of the first-ever government-issued mortgage-backed security (MBS) with loans originated using FICO Score 10 T. The MBS pool was issued by Cardinal Financial and included loans from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

VA loan

Housing Wire

JULY 11, 2025

My job as a loan officer is to help people prep and plan to buy a house. The Federal Reserve’s Q1 report on Household Debt and Credit shows that, on average, each American household has over $8980 in credit card debt, $12,480 in auto loans, $12,404 in student loans, and $4110 in retail cards and personal loans.

Debt-to-income ratio

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. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The percentage of loans entering foreclosure also edged higher rising by 5 bps to represent 0.2%

VA loan

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.

Mortgages

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.

Loans

Housing Wire

APRIL 9, 2025

” Continued Kan, “Refinance applications rose by 35% to the highest level in six months, as borrowers with larger loan sizes tend to be more sensitive to rate changes. The average refinance loan size jumped to its second highest in the survey at $399,600. The VA share of total applications increased to 15.7%

Fixed-rate mortgage

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.,

Lending

Housing Wire

APRIL 18, 2025

By product type, conventional loans composed 49.0% of loan applications, FHA loans composed 37.0%, RHS/ USDA loans composed 0.9% and VA loans composed 13%. The average loan size for new homes decreased from $397,516 in February to $381,921 in March. compared to a year ago.

VA loan

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

But for first-time and other cash-strapped buyers—those who are not relying on the proceeds of a home sale, who may be using a 100% financed VA loan, whose agents may be layering forms of assistance to put together enough cash for closing—knowing in advance about the seller’s contribution to their agent costs may be essential.

Debt-to-income ratio

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

Sears cited the trade group’s efforts in advocating for changes in VA loan procedures. Department of Veterans Affairs can still use their loan benefit when working with a buyer’s agent regardless of how their agent is being compensated. “So, as I look to 2025 and where we want to go, it is to stick to the basics.

VA loan

Housing Wire

APRIL 2, 2025

Assumable mortgages let buyers take over a sellers loan, with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans Affairs (VA) loans about one-third of all U.S. Roam gives Americans the tools to save themselves from the increasing disconnect between what families can afford and what the median home sells for in this market.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JUNE 10, 2025

Credit supply increased to its highest level since August 2022, driven by growth in the supply of both conventional and government loans, as lenders offered a greater variety of loan types to support the spring homebuying season,” Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, said in a statement.

VA loan

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 10, 2024

ICE data also showed that technologically adept lenders were ready to meet higher refinance demand, with average closing times among all loan types hitting their lowest levels for the month of October in the five years the company has been tracking the metric. ICE tracks loans before and after a refinance or other prepayment.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

The average loan size for refinance borrowers increased, as these borrowers tend to be more responsive for a given change in rates. The average loan size for a purchase application increased to its highest level since March 2022 at $456,100, partially driven by fewer FHA purchase applications but more VA loans compared to the previous week.

Fixed-rate mortgage

Housing Wire

MAY 15, 2025

In terms of loan types: Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan review share grew in Q4, with associated defect rates declining. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loan defect rates remained largely unchanged, while U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loan defect rates remained largely unchanged, while U.S.

VA loan

Real Estate News

JULY 7, 2025

Most first-time buyers (69%) rely on savings to fund their down payments, and 1 in 4 use gifts or loans from family members or friends. Majorities of both groups use conventional loans, and many (29% of first-time buyers and 10% of repeat buyers) use FHA loans, which offer down payments as low as 3.5%. Write to Meghan Roos.

VA loan

Housing Wire

MAY 2, 2025

When industry experts think about what could lead to a significant departure of loan officers and real estate agents, two main things come to mind: AI and market conditions. More and more loan officers and real estate agents have realized they can positively impact their community by educating instead of selling.

Agents

Housing Wire

APRIL 28, 2025

Activity increased across all loan types except those backed by the U.S. Loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) saw the sharpest jump, with auction volume more than doubling year over year after the expiration of a VA foreclosure moratorium at the end of 2024. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Loans

Housing Wire

JULY 9, 2025

The average loan size on a purchase application, at $432,600, was at its lowest since January 2025. The refinance index also increased over the week, with VA refinances in particular up 32%.” Mortgage rates for several loan products saw decreases from the week before.

Fixed-rate mortgage