The credit window for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac single-family mortgages opened a little wider during the third quarter of 2018 as competition intensified in the primary market. A new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of mortgage-backed securities issued by the government-sponsored enterprises during the third quarter revealed modest increases in the shares of purchase mortgages with low credit scores, although trends in loan-to-value ratios were mixed ... [Includes two data charts]
Cash-out refinancing is on the rise again, driven by rising interest rates and strong home-price appreciation, but there is no cause for alarm, according to the Urban Institute. Using Freddie Mac’s quarterly numbers on the refi market, UI found that the share of refi loans where borrowers tapped into their home equity has reached 77 percent of total refis in the second quarter of 2018. That was the market’s highest point since 2008, just as housing valuations began to tank ...
Redwood CEO Chris Abate: “Our game plan in the third quarter was a bit unconventional – we ran an up-tempo offense, squarely in the face of mortgage market headwinds.”
The modest decline in total first-lien mortgage originations during the third quarter affected most sectors of the market, but it hit a little harder at the prime-jumbo space, according to an exclusive new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. (Includes two data charts.)
Lenders that predominantly originate purchase mortgages might have been better prepared for the shift away from refinances but they’re not immune to the tighter margins that have accompanied increased competition for volume in recent months.
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