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Inside Mortgage Trends

October 23, 2015

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2016 Forecast: Strong Purchase-Mortgage Market Won’t Offset Sharp Drop in Refi

The good news is that mortgage industry forecasters now see a much stronger originations market in 2016 than they did just a few months ago. But loan production is still expected to drop from 2015 levels. The consensus projection from economists at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association is that single-family mortgage originations will total $1.376 trillion next year. Back in May, the average forecast was $1.208 trillion. Estimates have ... [Includes one data chart] Read More

Nonbanks Consider Name Changes

Walter Investment Management recently reorganized its servicing operation, formerly known as Green Tree, and its production unit as Ditech Mortgage, and other nonbanks may be looking for a new identity as well. Nationstar recently trademarked the name “Mr. Cooper,” but the company isn’t giving out much information on the topic. According to a spokesman, Nationstar has trademarked “a couple of names” for “non-specific possible future uses.” However, one source close to ... Read More

Correspondents Up, Brokers Down in 3Q15

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae securitized $119.7 billion of correspondent-originated loans during the third quarter of 2015, a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis reveals. That was up 8.6 percent from the second quarter. Meanwhile, broker production fell 10.6 percent during the third quarter. Brokered loans accounted for just 11.5 percent of agency mortgage-backed securities issued during the third quarter, down from 12.9 percent in ... [Includes one data chart] Read More

Strategic Mortgage Defaults Seen as Rare

A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that strategic defaults on mortgages are much less common than previously believed. The researchers with the Federal Reserve and two universities suggest that their findings have significant implications for servicers’ loss-mitigation techniques. The researchers used expansive data from the University of Michigan’s Panel Study of Income Dynamics survey from 2009 through 2011 ... Read More

Even with Resets, HELOC Losses May Be Low

New research from FICO suggests that broader economic conditions have helped limit losses on home-equity lines of credit originated before the financial crisis. For years, analysts have warned about the risks posed by HELOCs after the loans hit 10-year reset periods, prompting payment shock for some borrowers as principal and interest is due as opposed to the interest-only payments that were initially allowed. The risk to banks is seen as particularly harsh because ... Read More

Consolidation Puts Market Share Up for Grabs

Ongoing economic conditions and increasing regulatory scrutiny are creating challenges and opportunities for different players and segments, industry observers say, with the most successful opportunists likely able to snag greater market share while others get gobbled up by larger or stronger rivals. The current market environment of increased regulation is putting significant pressure on the largest banks and has created a growing opportunity for mainstream mortgage bankers ... Read More

Investors, Distressed Properties Gain Market Share

The start of fall marked a reversal of trends in the housing market, according to results from the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. In September, investors gained market share from current homeowners and first-time homebuyers, and the distressed property share of home sales increased. The gains in market share were part of a seasonal pattern. And while the trends aren’t necessarily positive for mortgage-industry participants ... Read More

California Refi Market Stayed Hot in 2014

Purchase mortgages accounted for 60.2 percent of originations in 2014, but California remained a hotbed of refinance activity, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data for last year. Some 52.8 percent of mortgage originations in the Golden State last year were refi loans, the highest such concentration anywhere in the U.S. House prices and loan amounts are significantly higher in many California markets ... [Includes one data chart] Read More

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