Combined FHA/VA forward mortgage volume declined by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. For the full year, volume was down 19.9%. (Includes three data tables.)
VA processed 2,244 loan assumptions in 2023, compared with just 308 in the previous year. Under a VA loan assumption, a buyer takes over the seller’s mortgage at its existing terms.
Loans to communities ranked with a high social vulnerability index made up roughly 22% of Rural Housing Service-guaranteed single-family home loans in the fourth quarter of 2023. (Includes data table.)
Reverse mortgage lenders funded $3.95 billion in new home equity conversion mortgages in the third quarter, a 17.9% increase from the previous period. Year to date, though, HECM endorsements lagged.
Endorsements of FHA and VA insured loans increased by 9.2% in the third quarter while total first-lien originations declined. (Includes three data tables.)
The broker share of the government-insured market declined to 20.4% in the third quarter, down from 21.2% in the second quarter. (Includes data table.)
Large bank correspondent aggregators of FHA mortgages looked to firm guidelines on credit scores and LTV ratios while Fed researchers found that smaller nonbank lenders were willing to go down in credit and loan performance didn’t suffer.