Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for the ‘Mortgages’ Category

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 […]

Falling Interest Rates Spur Mortgage Application Rebound

The number of U.S. mortgage applications soared in the latest week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, a result of a sharp drop in long-term interest rates. The MBA’s Market Composite Index – a measure of mortgage application volume – rose 23.5% on an unadjusted basis during the week ended Jan. 4, 2019. “Mortgage rates […]

Home Price Appreciation Stalls for Third Month

While home prices continue to rise compared with last year, they are slowing in their gains, according to the latest Case-Shiller Home Price Index produced by S&P Dow Jones Indices and CoreLogic, a result of mortgage rates and home prices outpacing growth and income. U.S. home prices rose 5.5% in October over the previous year, […]

Mortgage Loan Limits Raised for 2019

In response to the rise in home prices this year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is increasing loan limits on conforming mortgage loans for 2019. The new maximum conforming loan limit will be $484,350, a 6.9% jump from 2018’s limit of $453,100. The increase roughly matches the rate of home price inflation – according to […]

Mortgage Foreclosures and Delinquencies Fall in Latest Year

Mortgage borrowers did better at keeping up with their loan payments in the past year, according to new data from CoreLogic. They did so much better, in fact, that the rate of 30-day delinquencies dropped to its lowest level in almost 13 years. CoreLogic’s Loan Performance Insights report found that the percentage of home mortgage […]

Student Loan Defaults Could Reach 40% by 2023

U.S. student loan borrowers are defaulting at such a steep rate that on the current trajectory as many as 40% of all borrowers could be in default within the next five years, according to a report from the Urban Institute. Student loans now make up the second-largest consumer debt category. Today there are more than […]

Nervous Investors Push Mortgage Rates Down

Average rates on long-term mortgage loans fell in the latest week, dampened by investors’ flight to the safety of bonds after the recent stock market declines. According to mortgage guarantor Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) dropped to 4.83 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week of […]

1/3 of Americans Use Credit Cards for Home Renovations

Even though Americans now have more home equity collectively than ever before, very few are tapping into that equity to pay for their home renovations, with more than a third charging their home expenses to a credit card. According to a study conducted by web site Houzz and Synchrony Financial, 36.4% of all renovation purchases […]

Mortgage Rates Top 5%, Loan Applications Slip

As long-term U.S. mortgage interest rates rose to their highest level in over 7 years, fewer potential buyers and refinance borrowers applied for home loans this week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The average rate on a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 5.05%, with 0.51 points, up from 4.96% and 0.49 […]

Homeowner Equity Tops All-Time High

U.S. homeowners collectively experienced a historic milestone in the 2018 second quarter – total ‘tappable’ home equity grew to a record high, according to Black Knight Inc. Black Knight’s Mortgage Monitor Report found that U.S. tappable equity jumped up to $6 trillion, a gain of $636 billion since the beginning of 2018 and triple the amount […]