Declining interest rates lifted refi lending in the third quarter but couldn’t help the seasonal slowdown in purchase-mortgage originations. Nine months into the year, refi business was up nearly 50% on an annual basis. (Includes five data tables.)

Refi activity at United Wholesale Mortgage and Rocket Mortgage in the third quarter overshadowed any competing lenders.

FICO is confident the mortgage market will continue to use its credit scores even as FHFA and credit bureaus push the adoption of VantageScore.

Compared with a year ago, applications for purchase mortgages were up more than 30%.

“Many prospective homebuyers are watching the news of weakness in the economy and are carefully monitoring their own economic situations,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.

The nonbank is marketing a $341.2 million non-agency MBS in which 41.0% of the dollar volume is mortgages eligible for sale to the GSEs, with jumbos accounting for the rest.

“This would be great for consumers and the safety of the mortgage market, to have both FICO 10T Score and Vantage Score 4.0,” FHFA Director Bill Pulte wrote on X.

Well below 1.0% of mortgages originated in 2024 had 40-year terms.

Primis Bank, SmartBank, Bank7 and other smaller banks are touting efforts to increase their mortgage lending. Meanwhile, some banks continue to pull back from the sector.

Rithm puts off potential spin-off of Newrez; Robinhood partners with Sage Home Loans for mortgage perks; AngelAi touts valuation; Bilt to allow mortgage payments via Venmo; PartnerOne to acquire Mortgage Cadence.