If you see me talking to myself, just move along. I'm self-employed, and we're having a staff meeting. Self-employed borrowers are certainly a target of non-QM lenders around the nation. Non-bank lenders continue to grapple with 2nd mortgage program availability and the HELOC edge that some portfolio lenders have, everyone is watching the housing market. And even traditional depository lenders are trying to adapt… like this headline about Wells Fargo possibly scaling back its mortgage business. (No, I don’t have a subscription.) All real estate is local, of course, but the rate of appreciation we’ve seen is unsustainable. “For sale” listings are up; eBuyers are on the run. The FHFA, whose numbers are used for conforming loan limits, tells us that U.S. house prices rose 18.7 percent over the last year, and up 4.6 percent from the fourth quarter. Certainly, the increase in mortgage rates have had an impact and changed buyer behavior. Las
I recently opened my slang dictionary to the page that defined the origin of, “Different ways to skin a cat” and left it near my cat Myrtle’s water bowl. She didn’t seem interested. Which is fine. Lenders probably interested in that either, instead more intent on programs, pricing, and the general movement of interest rates. The Federal Reserve is interested in global events, and global events have been important to our economy. The war in Ukraine is something that has upset the global commodity picture, while also threatening the global world more broadly. Fed Chair Powell gave us the roadmap last week. “We are raising rates expeditiously to what we have been seeing is a more normal level, which is something that we will reach maybe in the fourth quarter. But it is not a stopping point… Monetary policy works through expectations." There is a growing belief, however, that despite what happens with the overnight Fed Funds rate, 30-year
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
Walking around Memphis yesterday got me to thinking, “I wonder what the part of my brain that used to store people’s phone numbers is doing now.” Maybe being used to store cool ads like the one in the joke section below, or lyrics of old songs? Thank you to VanDyk Mortgage’s Steve Richman who reminded me of Mott The Hoople’s “All The way From Memphis.” In 1973, when that song was released, the Fed Funds rate hit a high of 11.22 percent. Inflation can be harsh. Are you thinking about the price of food and gas a few months ahead of summer vacation season? You’re not alone. Millions of families are wondering what vacations are going to set them back this year, and possibly reconfiguring plans to spend less. Dramatic inflation can have that affect. I bring this up because, as was widely expected given the constant attempt to keep the U.S. economy stable, and battle against runaway prices, the FOMC raised the target range for the fed f