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Inside Mortgage Trends

May 10, 2013

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Earnings Boost in Production Activity Offset Downturn in Servicing in 1Q13

A jump in production income during the first quarter spurred a sharp increase in profitability that more than made up for a downturn in servicing earnings for a group of 10 lenders, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of earnings reports. The 10 companies, which accounted for nearly half of the mortgages originated in the first three months of 2013 and over 60 percent of capitalized servicing rights, reported a hefty $4.29 billion in production-related income ... [Includes one data chart] Read More

Forecasters See Originations Swoon in 2013

Mortgage industry economists widely agree that loan origination volume is going to drop sharply in 2013 – and again next year – although there is some variation in when they expect the downturn to take hold. The consensus view of economists at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association is that new originations in 2013 will drop 13.6 percent from last year’s level, falling to $1.635 trillion. The consensus – a simple average calculated by Inside Mortgage Trends – predicts ... [Includes one data chart] Read More

Is PennyMac the New Countrywide?

When Countrywide Financial Corp. chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo gave then company president Stanford Kurland the heave-ho in the fall of 2006, little did Kurland know at the time that it would be the best thing to ever happen to him professionally. Six years later, Kurland sits atop a growing mortgage empire fueled by the activities of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust with a market capitalization rate just north of $1.5 billion. To boot ... Read More

Delinquencies, Foreclosures Continue to Improve

The overall picture for mortgage delinquency and foreclosure activity generally is continuing to improve, despite some bumps in the road in a number of states. The mortgage delinquency rate increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 7.25 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2013 – up 16 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2013, but down 15 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest National Delinquency Survey, released late this week ... Read More

AIG Reenters Market as Whole Loan Investor

AIG and its mortgage insurance subsidiary United Guaranty Corp. are combining their investment expertise and knowledge of the mortgage market to purchase residential whole loan mortgages as investments. The initiative is in a pilot phase and limited in scope, according to UGC executives. Closed loans will be purchased individually from correspondent lenders and held in portfolio. There are no plans for direct lending or securitization, executives added. Loans targeted for purchase will be subject to ... Read More

Investor Rental Recovery Has New Beneficiaries

One of the things that is unusual about this housing recovery is the extent to which it has been supported by investors – and not just individuals looking for rental property. Institutional investors have jumped into the rental home market in a way not seen before, and that is benefitting some industries you might not expect, or in ways you may not have anticipated. “In traditional housing recoveries, individuals and households provide the bulk of the demand the market needs to rebound,” said ... Read More

Ocwen Slams Competition’s Accounting

Officials at Ocwen Financial were highly critical of the accounting methods used by other servicers that have acquired significant holdings of mortgage servicing rights recently. Ocwen might also soon have more cash than necessary for its planned acquisition opportunities, with officials considering initiating a stock buyback. William Erbey, Ocwen’s chairman, said his company is considerably less leveraged than other servicers. He noted that Ocwen carries most of its MSRs at market value rather than ... Read More

Real Estate Agents Seek Useful Mobile Apps

Sixty-five percent of real estate agents would be more willing to recommend a lender if they were provided a mobile “app” to track the status of scheduled mortgage closings, according to a new survey by Campbell Surveys and Inside Mortgage Finance Publications. “Most lenders today are not keeping us advised of the status of the loan and, more frustrating, they are requiring additional documents piecemeal,” according to one real estate agent that responded to the survey. “Instead of a ... Read More

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