I think that we can all agree that in 2017 not a single interviewee got the answer correct to, “Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?” Heck, projections and forecasts in the first few months of 2020 didn’t foresee the drop in interest rates and rise in home values. But there some ways to influence residential lending, and have the inside track on changes coming our way, and that is through the MBA’s membership. (And no, this is not a paid ad.) The MBA is currently offering a deal: 2022 dues rate to enjoy member benefits through the close of the 2023 membership year. That is 19 months for the cost of 12 months. “Your MBA membership grants you access to education, research, committees, informational webinars, and so much more.” If you’re interested reach out to Laura Hopkins. Meanwhile, regardless of lending policies and pricing, the available inventory of homes for sale continues to be a topic of conversation. Land, lumber, and perm
As packages of mortgage servicing rights continue to hit the market, and some wonder at the high multiples, know that the percentage of borrowers current on their mortgage payments increased to almost 95 percent, 350 basis points higher than one year ago. Other stats show that foreclosure starts jumped in February. The MBA’s monthly Loan Monitoring Survey also revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 12 basis points to 1.18 percent of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior month as of February 28, leaving 590k homeowners in forbearance plans. That marks the 21st consecutive month that percentage of borrowers in forbearance has declined. Finally, the percentage of borrowers with existing loan workouts who were current on their mortgage payments improved for the first time since June 2021. Marina Walsh, MBA’s VP of Industry Analysis, said, “These three results (the lower forbearance rates and higher performance rates for bo
Let’s face it, women spend more time worrying about what men are actually thinking than men actually spend thinking. While capital markets staffs are checking out graphs of the Fed Funds Rate, and a steepening yield curve, MLOs of both sexes are thinking about bolstering their referral base: Realtors are for rookies. In the last several weeks, my travels around the country (currently in Tennessee for the TNBA educational luncheon… Did someone mention “Walking in Memphis?”) have resulted in mentions of tax advisors, wedding planners, dog sitters, vets, local gym owners, developers, plumbers, house cleaners, dentists & orthodontists, car dealers, and estate planners. Lenders and originators of every shape and size are aware of the demographics of their area, rents heading higher, so figured this might be of use: 61% of renters can’t afford to buy a home in their city. Put another way, the study showed that renters are now priced out of hom
Yes, it’s March 4th… the only day that is a command for us humans. We thought it was our ability to love that made us human, but it turns out that it is actually our ability to select each image that contains a traffic light. (Put another way, to prove to a robot that we are not a robot.) Underwriters know a thing or two about human nature, and about collateral. This morning I leave San Diego, recently in the press for “de-throning” San Francisco as the least affordable city in the United States. Do your underwriters care if the loan is on a townhome? (Think single-family dwellings with at least two floors that share a wall with another house, each individually owned.) If they do, you should know that townhome construction has surged in the last year or so. By the most recent numbers, townhomes now make up nearly 13% of all single-family starts and have notched a 38% uptick in just a single year. Why? Follow the money. Oh, and larger homes are coming your wa
Greetings from Little Rock, Arkansas (home of cheese dip, 1935)! George Thorogood’s music is alive and well here, and a happy 72nd birthday to he who wrote the lending anthem, “When I Do a Loan, I Prefer to be by Myself.” While George is busy celebrating his birthday week, apps plunged to their lowest level in two years, and the CFPB released a factsheet on the interest rate that is used for calculating prepaid interest under the price-based General QM APR calculation rule for certain ARMs and step-rate loans. Switching gears… Zoomed out? Me too. In person is so much better, although companies seem to be keeping pieces of technology from the work-from-home environment. For the past couple years, many of us have spent a portion of our workdays staring at screens featuring grids of their colleague’s faces. Teamflow offers an alternative. (Nope, this is not a paid endorsement.) The remote-work platform allows companies to create virtual offices with desk