Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $360.0 billion of first-lien home loans during the first three months of 2015, lifting the market to its strongest quarterly volume since the third quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. The first-quarter total originations estimate does not include home-equity lending, which many lenders consider a separate business from traditional mortgage lending. In the past, Inside Mortgage Finance included home-equity in total originations, and those market estimates are not being revised. In 2014, about 5.7 percent of total originations ($71.0 billion) were home-equity loans. A number of survey participants have reported...[Includes two data charts]
In the first quarter, the top sequential gainers were all nonbanks: loanDepot (up 50.6 percent), Caliber Home Loans (46.2 percent) and Stearns Lending (22.6 percent.)
Few in the industry believe Quicken will actually bolt the FHA program, noting that similar saber-rattling was done by JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon last year...
But not to worry: the FHFA said the projections were mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act, cautioning that its estimate is just that, and not an expected outcome….
Mortgage brokers accounted for almost 13 percent of originations packaged into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities in the first quarter of 2015, one of the highest readings in quite some time, according to loan-level data compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance. In the fourth quarter, the broker market share was 10.0 percent, a figure that includes originations of all loan types and not just ones packaged into securities. Over the past several quarters, there has been...
The Blackstone Group is on the hunt to buy mortgage companies, including both lenders and servicers, according to industry advisors and others who have been briefed on the company’s plans. Blackstone, without disclosure, recently purchased Gateway Funding in Horsham, PA, and is in negotiations to buy PMAC Lending Services, sources contend. It also is talking to a company that goes by the name of Pinnacle, though there are several firms with that name, and at press time it was unclear which one. Observers describe...
The share of non-homeowners that expect to purchase a home in the foreseeable future is down significantly compared with two years ago, according to a new poll by Gallup. However, a survey commissioned by JPMorgan Chase suggests that potential homebuyers are ready to “get off the sidelines” before interest rates increase. In April 2013, Gallup found that 31 percent of non-homeowners didn’t expect to purchase a home in the foreseeable future. In a survey conducted this month, the share of non-homeowners that don’t expect to buy a house in the foreseeable future increased to 41 percent. Art Swift, managing editor at Gallup, noted...
It’s likely that provisions to automatically designate residential loans held in portfolio as qualified mortgages will be included in a legislative package...