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Inside Mortgage Trends

February 16, 2018

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GSE Credit Trends Continued Easing In 2017, Not So Much in Fourth Quarter

The credit box in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lending continued to widen – at a glacial rate – during 2017, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of mortgage-backed securities disclosure data. The easing trend seemed to lose momentum slightly in the fourth quarter, as more government-sponsored enterprise business landed in the middle-risk categories. For the full year, 12.13 percent of GSE purchase loans were in the highest-risk ... [Includes two data charts] Read More

Mortgage Origination M&A Expected to Increase

Look for more sales of mortgage-origination platforms this year, said Jeffrey Levine, a managing director at Houlihan Lokey and co-head of the firm’s financial institutions group. He noted that in recent years, merger-and-acquisition activity has been concentrated on transfers of legacy mortgage servicing rights. But as interest rates have risen, buyers and sellers are focused on origination franchises. Independent companies that have origination assets and servicing also look to be in play ... Read More

High (Interest Rate) Anxiety Starts to Seep In

Residential lenders and servicers alike are keeping a close eye on rising interest rates these days but for decidedly different reasons: Originators are feeling the pain of lower application volumes, while servicers are trying to figure out when they should cash in. For the shops that both lend and service, they’re hoping that the boom in mortgage servicing rights valuations will offset reduced income from loan closings. “I would say the mood is for caution,” said executive recruiter Rick Glass ... Read More

Homeownership Rate on Track for Gradual Growth

The homeownership rate went up in 2017 on an annual basis for the first time since 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. After falling to the lowest level on record during 2016, the homeownership rate will likely continue to climb gradually, according to industry analysts. As of the end of 2017, the homeownership rate was 64.2 percent, up from 63.7 percent the prior year. When measured at year-end, the rate peaked at 69.2 percent in 2004. “After bouncing around near 50-year lows ... Read More

Underwriting Standards, Loan Demand Unchanged

Lending standards for most categories of residential real estate loans generally held steady in the third quarter of 2017, even as demand weakened, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest senior loan officer opinion survey. One big exception: Mortgages eligible to be securitized by government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, where some easing of underwriting was detected. Banks generally “reported that standards for residential home purchase mortgage ... Read More

Mortgage Banking Income Down in 4Q17

Banks and thrifts reported a total of $3.12 billion in income on their mortgage-banking operations during the fourth quarter of 2017, a 12.6 percent downturn from the previous period, according to an Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call reports. The final lap of 2017 generated the weakest quarterly profit figure for the industry since the disastrous second quarter of 2011, when banks booked a massive $9.37 billion loss on mortgage banking. Most of that loss ... [Includes one data chart] Read More

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