What am I hearing out there? I am hearing, not officially, that wholesale reps are having trouble drumming up business from brokers. Total industry production estimates for 2011 are down 30% from 2010’s levels, but applications are holding in pretty well – maybe loans are coming in through retail channels. In fact the MBA reported
MBAA
Robert Shiller Defends Fannie/Freddie Are we really better off winding down Freddie and Fannie entirely? Most, including Robert Shiller of S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index fame, of the mortgage and real estate professionals in the US would suggest that we’re better off with those agencies staying around in one form or another. Core Logic:
Robert Shiller Defends Fannie/Freddie Are we really better off winding down Freddie and Fannie entirely? Most, including Robert Shiller of S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index fame, of the mortgage and real estate professionals in the US would suggest that we’re better off with those agencies staying around in one form or another. Core Logic:
A team of scientists from Japan, Russia and the United States hopes to clone a mammoth, a symbol of Earth’s ice age that ended 12,000 years ago. The researchers say they hope to produce a baby mammoth before Freddie and Fannie get restructured. The Financial Times reports that Freddie and Fannie have been quietly lobbying
The Mortgage Bankers Association of America 2011 rate forecast calls for 30yr conforming conventional fixed rates at 5.5% by year end, and $966 billion total single family originations in 2011. Here’s all of their predictions.
MBA Outlook: Mortgage Activity Down 30% In 2011 The Mortgage Banker’s Association thinks loan production volume will drop almost 30% from about $1.4 trillion this year to about $1 trillion in 2011. Their rationale is a sluggish economy, tough credit guidelines, and expectations that rates will creep higher during 2011. Yesterday’s loan application data suggests
2011 Mortgage Rate Outlook The Mortgage Bankers Association released their mortgage rate predictions yesterday. They expect rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will average 4.4% in the fourth quarter of 2010, increasing to a 4.7% average in the first quarter of 2011, and climbing to 5.1% by the end of next year. Most late-2009, early-2010
Loan Apps At 9 Month High The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that apps were up almost 7% last week, hitting a 9-month high mostly due to refinancing. And as one would expect, purchase apps sunk to a 13-year low. Refi’s were up over 9% last week, but purchase apps fell 2%. Dividend vs. Bond Yields:
Clever Chase Business Loan Promo There are some pretty creative folks out there, even in banking. Every once in a while someone will suggest a reward to residential borrowers for making their payment, instead of (what some would say) a reward for not making their payments. In some news out yesterday, Chase announced an incentive
Subprime Investment Comeback? As an investor would you rather own IBM or Pepsi stock, or subprime loans? Think hard… and buy them while you can? Apparently, subprime loans are making a comeback (investing, not originating). Remember that these older subprime loans are like old cars: the new ones are better, but the old ones that
Can We Learn Anything From Europe’s Problems? With all the talk of European debt problems, it’s useful to know how Europe is structured. The European Union is made up of 27 countries, though it may be 28 soon with Croatia. But only 16 countries use the euro, and those 16 make up the “euro zone”.
Are Your Sure Home Prices Don’t Always Rise? According to a study released by the MBA (or the MBAA, depending on if you use “Mortgage Bankers Association of America”), multiple factors including poor data, incomplete performance metrics, and, short-term focus and unrealistic optimism among senior business managers contributed to the collapse in the US housing
Interpreting Latest Existing Home Sales Data Everyone has an opinion about home sales. But most agree that new home sales are at record lows and will be slow to recover until inventory of existing homes and the foreclosure overhang are worked off in many locations around the US. Some indicators for existing home sales, however,
How Credit Scores Are Calculated FICO, like Band-Aid or Kleenex, has become a generic symbol of credit worthiness. Scores can range from 300-850 and is a statistical calculation which is based upon payment history (35%), credit utilization (30%), length of history (15%), credit type (10%), and recent credit checks (10%). Items stick around for seven
Mortgage Applications Drop Last Week, Loan Profitability OK The MBAA reported that mortgage applications in the U.S. declined 11% last week. Refinancing dropped 17% but purchases increased .2%. In fact, the share of applicants seeking to refinance fell to 58.7%, the lowest since August, from 63.2% the week before. Those loans are still profitable, however,
Author Tattoos ‘NYT Bestseller’ On Chest When was the last time that you got a tattoo? Longtime mortgage and marketing expert Kevin Daum actually committed to his book ROAR!’s success by tattooing “New York Times Best Seller” on his chest backwards so he could see it every morning. We should all be that committed to
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