Housing Wire

MARCH 31, 2025

Homeowners 62 and older saw their collective home equity levels drop by 1% in Q4 2024 to a total of $13.95 That’s according to the latest edition of the Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI), a quarterly report compiled by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) in conjunction with data analytics firm RiskSpan.

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Home Value Finance Mortgage Marketing 331

Housing Wire

JANUARY 17, 2025

Todays housing starts data exceeded estimates; however, a closer examination of the report with the builder confidence reveals that the recent rise in mortgage rates , approaching 7.25%, has negatively affected builder sentiment. Since late 2022, our analysis indicates that mortgage rates in the 6%-6.5% While rates in the 6-6.5%

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Mortgage Housing Market Construction Marketing 488

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 19, 2024

Its late December so all the 2025 mortgage rate forecasts have been published. Most housing market analysts expect mortgage rates to spend the year with a 6 handle. The most optimistic predictions assume 2025 will see mostly low 6s for the 30-year fixed rate mortgage. And yet at the end of 2024, thats exactly where rates are.

Mortgage 488

Mortgage Housing Market Marketing Realtors 488

Housing Wire

MARCH 12, 2025

Reverse mortgage leader Finance of America (FOA) recorded a quarter-over-quarter loss in the fourth quarter of 2024, but still notched a full-year profit. The companys dedication to expanding the availability of its proprietary closed-end second-lien reverse mortgage, HomeSafe Second, also saw a sharp increase to its distribution.

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Finance Retail Tools Mortgage 393

Housing Wire

JANUARY 30, 2025

High mortgage rates have not significantly dented housing demand due to greater numbers of cash transactions. According to Bright MLS chief economist Lisa Sturtevant, 2024 marked a 30-year low for pending home sales. However, with mortgage rates rising in December and pushing above 7% in January, buyers and sellers are hesitant.

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Contracts Housing Market Buyers Realtors 443

Housing Wire

MARCH 5, 2025

Mortgage applications increased 20.4% from one week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis as buyers pounced on lower rates , according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Feb. ” The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 43.8%

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Mortgage Government Contracts Buyers 505

Housing Wire

MARCH 8, 2025

Mortgage rates are declining, and recent purchase application data shows a promising 9% week-to-week increase and a 2% rise compared to the previous year. I’ve noticed that housing data tends to improve when mortgage rates drop from 6.64% to 6%, especially when I adjust for seasonal demand.

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Mortgage Inventory New Listings Housing Market 437

Housing Wire

MARCH 19, 2025

An analysis by SFR Analytics , which tracks nationwide real estate transactions, found that the threshold to rank among the top 10 buyers in 2024 was nearly 80% lower than it was in 2021, when institutional firms routinely acquired 5000-plus homes annually. Even among active buyers, net acquisitions were low.

Investors 357

Investors Real Estate Buyers Marketing 357

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 8, 2025

Another jobs week has come to an end, and amid the chaotic headlines about job numbers, tariffs , and the leadership of the Treasury , mortgage rates remained calm. Better mortgage spreads are limiting how high rates can rise in 2025. Mortgage spreads refer to the difference between the 10-year yield and the 30-year mortgage rate.

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Mortgage Inventory New Listings Contracts 491

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

metropolitan areas analyzed experienced annualized home-price gains in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to data published Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR found that 201 of 226 metro areas (89%) saw sale prices for single-family homes rise on a yearly basis in Q4 2024, up from 87% in the prior quarter.

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Realtors Buyers Marketing Mortgage 414

Housing Wire

MARCH 12, 2025

Mortgage applications increased 11.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from last week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending March 7, 2025. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 45.6% of total applications from 43.8% from 16.7%

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Mortgage Contracts Government Housing Market 435

Appraisal Buzz

JANUARY 22, 2025

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its monthly Loan Monitoring Survey , the final report for 2024, revealing that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by three basis points from 0.50% of servicers portfolio volume in the prior month to 0.47% as of December 31, 2024. The remaining 12.7%

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Mortgage Appraisal 412

Housing Wire

MARCH 20, 2025

fell in 2024, continuing a downward trend as real estate investors grapple with tight profit margins. According to Attom s 2024 U.S. The home-flipping industry saw investors shy away even more in 2024 amid the extended period of languishing profits. in 2023 to 72% in 2024. The number of home flips across the U.S.

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Investors Finance Renovations Buyers 328

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

Rithm Capital , which owns multichannel mortgage lender Newrez , built upon its success in 2023 with net income of $835 million in 2024. In its fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings report released Thursday, New York-based Rithm posted GAAP net income of $263.2 according to Inside Mortgage Finance (IMF).

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Business Mortgage Investors Finance 408

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

Homebuyers faced worsening affordability conditions in January as the median monthly mortgage payment for purchase applicants increased to $2,205, a 3.7% jump from Decembers $2,127, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). in December, signaling that mortgage payments have risen at a faster pace than rental costs.

Mortgage 396

Mortgage Buyers Housing Market Marketing 396

Housing Wire

MARCH 3, 2025

Annual property insurance costs for mortgaged single-family homes rose by a record $276 (or 14%) to $2,290 in 2024, per the latest Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Mortgage Monitor Report released Monday. Locations that saw the largest percentage increases in 2024 were Seattle (+22%), Salt Lake City (+22%) and Los Angeles (+20%).

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Insurance Mortgage Housing Market Marketing 312

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

Traditionally, home prices soften in the second half of the year and I had counted on this for my price forecast , which predicted 2.33% home-price growth for 2024. As part of our tracker, we focus on purchase application data, and I am always looking to see what level of mortgage rates gives us growth in purchase apps.

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Mortgage Housing Market Inventory Contracts 493

Housing Wire

MARCH 12, 2025

loanDepot on Wednesday released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024. The earnings report showcased a mixed picture for the Irvine, California -based mortgage lender. In Q3 2024, the company returned to a state of profitability after an 11-quarter streak of financial losses.

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Investing Mortgage Marketing 324

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 30, 2024

Lower mortgage rates in September had a measurable impact on home sales. However, with rates pushing back to 7%, the rebound in pending activity is likely short lived and is unlikely to be enough to help 2024 home sales exceed 2023 levels.” compared to August and 2.6% year over year. NAR’s index reading of 75.8 In the U.S.

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Mortgage Realtors Housing Market Finance 476

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 30, 2024

A 60 basis point increase in mortgage rates in October has strangled mortgage demand, particularly for refinancings , according to the latest survey data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage applications overall decreased 0.1% The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 43.1% the previous week.

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Mortgage Government Inventory Marketing 468

Housing Wire

JANUARY 16, 2025

The 10-year yield and mortgage rates have been on a wild ride lately, even testing my top-end forecast at 7.25%, but today, the 10-year yield fell after remarks by Fed President Chris Waller about whether the Fed would do even more rate cuts than the market was anticipating. However, we know that this is unlikely to happen.

Mortgage 511

Mortgage Construction Marketing Government 511

Housing Wire

MARCH 4, 2025

The pace of home sales remains near a 30-year low point as home prices and mortgage rates keep potential borrowers in wait-and-see mode. But mortgage rates have posted an unusually large decline in the past week. Mortgage pricing should be down a tad today, he said. This would be a clear headwind to any further rate cuts.

Mortgage 482

Mortgage Contracts Buyers Housing Market 482

Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

As mortgage rates continue to climb past the 7% mark, applications continued to take a step back following the New Year’s Day holiday. from the week prior, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported in its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Jan. Demand decreased by 3.7% the previous week.

Mortgage 448

Mortgage Government Buyers Marketing 448

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

The labor market is showing signs of softness but is not breaking down yet, which has kept mortgage rates higher for longer. Since 2022, my guiding principle has been that the labor market is more important than inflation in determining mortgage rates. This is the reason mortgage rates are around 7% and not around 6% today.

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Marketing Mortgage Government Retail 462

Housing Wire

MARCH 17, 2025

At the end of 2024, I wrote that the homebuilding sector could be a potential wildcard for 2025 and that was before the new tariffs on building materials and firing of federal workers. If mortgage rates don’t drop, we may see this sector facing supply issues and shrinking profit margins. Why is this important?

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Mortgage Government Development Business 466

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 17, 2024

Mortgage applications for new-home purchases increased 7.2% year over year in November, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association ‘s (MBA) builder application survey that was released Tuesday. Applications decreased by 12% from October 2024. That estimate is down 4.6% from the October pace of 747,000 units.

Mortgage 397

Mortgage Marketing Inventory 397

Appraisal Buzz

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), approximately 20% ($957 billion) of $4.8 trillion of outstanding commercial mortgages held by lenders and investors will mature in 2025, a 3% increase from the $929 billion that matured in 2024. The post What Percentage of Commercial Mortgage Balances Will Mature in 2025?

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Mortgage Real Estate Investors Retail 351

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

Mortgage rates continued their ascent this week after Fridays jobs report showed that employers added more positions than expected in December, which is likely to cement a pause on interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve later this month. This is also the highest rate since June 2024.

Mortgage 418

Mortgage Housing Market Tools Marketing 418

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

As low inventory levels, elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices keep the housing industry stagnant, short-term real estate investors — aka fix-and-flippers — faced market turmoil during the third quarter of 2024. The average interest rate for a fix-and-flip loan also rose in Q3 2024 to 10%, according to Kiavi.

Investors 433

Investors Mortgage Property Taxes Inventory 433

Housing Wire

MARCH 27, 2025

homebuyers continued making historically large down payments in late 2024, responding to a year of record-high upfront housing costs , according to a Realtor.com report. For all of 2024, buyers put down an average of $29,900, or 14.4% in 2024, while transactions below that threshold fell 9.3%.

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Buyers Inventory Housing Market Government 232

Housing Wire

MARCH 27, 2025

Mortgage affordability remained flat in February as the national median monthly payment for purchase loan applicants remained unchanged at $2,205. By product type, the median mortgage payment for conventional loan applicants was $2,226, up from $2,225 in January and up from $2,194 in February 2024. The national PAPI increased 0.1%

Mortgage 346

Mortgage Housing Market Inventory Marketing 346

Appraisal Buzz

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

As 2025 draws near, mortgage rates are once again in the news. Buying a home in 2024 was surprisingly competitive given how high the affordability hurdle became,” said Skylar Olsen, Zillow Chief Economist. million existing home sales in 2024, a little increase over 2023’s 4.1 million and 2024’s anticipated 4 million.

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Housing Market Tenants Marketing Mortgage 396

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 23, 2025

If this happens, will we see lower mortgage rates this spring? However, last week saw a decline in mortgage rates due to softer economic data, which led to an influx of money into the bond market as stocks sold off on Friday. If we were experiencing the worst mortgage spreads of 2023, mortgage rates would be 0.77% higher today.

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Government Mortgage Inventory New Listings 466

Housing Wire

APRIL 2, 2025

Since we believe in the close relationship between the 10-year yield and mortgage rates , we expect mortgage rates to decrease tomorrow if bond yields continue to decline. Well, lower mortgage rates in 2025 have created the first positive spring run in demand in purchase apps in years. Housing data!

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Mortgage Housing Market Marketing 436

Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

California -based direct lender AmeriTrust Mortgage announced a new addition to its leadership team. The company welcomed veteran mortgage executive Jett Farrington this week as its new chief operating officer. billion in loans in 2024, according to an Instagram post on the company’s website.

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Mortgage Retail Business Lending 397

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Economists pointed to lower mortgage rates as the reason for slower growth. According to Bright MLS, it’s the slowest annual gain in 2024 thus far and the first monthly decline since December 2022. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the national home price index posted a 4.2% gain year over year, less than the 4.8% gain from July.

Mortgage 487

Mortgage Sellers Buyers Housing Market 487

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

million in the third quarter of 2024 during an earnings call on Tuesday. million in Q2 2024 and $353.9 million in Q2 2024 related to mark-to-market impacts on its lock pipeline. Better reported that it ended Q3 2024 with $480.1 Better Home & Finance Holding Co., By comparison, the company lost $41.4

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Retail Mortgage Loan Officers Technology 370