Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for the ‘Mortgages’ Category

Mortgage Delinquencies Grow in First Quarter, Still Near Record Lows

Americans fell behind on their mortgage loans at a slightly higher rate in the first quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, but rates remained near all-time lows. The delinquency rate climbed to 4.42% in the first quarter of 2019, up from the 18-year low of 4.06% in the previous quarter, but still down from […]

Auto Lenders Take on More Subprime Borrowers

While the majority of car loan borrowers continue to have high credit scores, lenders have increased their loans to subprime borrowers over the past year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The New York Fed’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the 2019 first quarter found that those with credit […]

Mortgage Originations Tumble to 5-Year Lows

Even though mortgage interest rates have remained near record lows, total new mortgage originations fell to a 5-year low during the first quarter of 2019, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Total originations dropped $60 billion from the previous quarter to $344 billion, the lowest level since the third quarter […]

Home Purchase Requests Jump to 9-Year Record High

Even as interest rates continued to climb, the number of applications for home purchases rose to the highest level since April 2010, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Total mortgage application volume decreased 3.5% during the week ended April 17, 2019, but was up 14% from the previous year. Home purchase requests rose 1% in […]

FHA Cracks Down on Riskier Loans

After noticing worrisome trends in its loan portfolio, the Federal Housing Administration is tightening requirements on its mortgage loans. Starting with loans assigned a case number as of March 18, the FHA will start flagging high-risk loan applications and put them through a manual underwriting process. The rest of its applications will continue to be […]

Mortgage Credit Availability Rises in February

Lenders made mortgage credit slightly easier to obtain in February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, being led by a loosening of jumbo loan standards. The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) inched to 180.1, up 0.6% from January. Increases in the index indicate loosening of mortgage standards while decreases signal tighter underwriting. The MCAI […]

Mortgage Delinquency Rate Falls to 18-Year Low

U.S. mortgage borrowers kept up with their payments so well in the 2018 fourth quarter that the national mortgage delinquency rate fell to an 18-year low, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate on mortgages for one-to-four unit residential properties decreased to 4.06% of all home loans, down from 4.47% in […]

Household Debt Tops Pre-Recession High

Americans owed $13.54 trillion in household debt as of the 2018 fourth quarter, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a 0.2% increase from the third quarter and the 18th straight quarterly gain. Total household debt has surpassed even the pre-recession peak of $12.68 trillion and is 21% higher than the […]

Mortgage Applications Fall Despite Interest Rate Drop

Mortgage application volume fell for the third consecutive week, even as interest rates took a dive, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s seasonally adjusted index saw mortgage application requests fall by 2.5% in the latest week and almost 10% from the previous year. Most of that decrease came from a 5% drop in […]

Credit Card and Mortgage Delinquencies Rise in Latest Quarter

While still well below historical averages, several categories of consumer credit delinquencies rose in the 2018 third quarter, including credit cards and home equity loans. According to data from the American Bankers Association, delinquencies increased in six of the 11 categories tracked in the ABA Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. The composite ratio – a measure […]