Marketing & Statistics

Mortgage applications increased 0.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 6, 2016.

While the Federal Housing Administration’s overhaul of its Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook last year offered loan originators more clarity on lending policies and loan underwriting standards, some changes made to the property valuation policies are causing confusion and delays, according to speakers at a real property valuation forum yesterday at the 2016 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.

With more than 61 percent of households headed by an adult aged 60+ carrying some form of debt, economic security is a real and pressing issue for millions of older Americans, even those with retirement savings.

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), a leading global provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions, today released the second annual First American Homeownership Progress Index, which measures the level of homeownership and the underlying demographic and economic factors that influence the probability of homeownership over time and geography based on IPUMS Census Data. It’s available as an interactive tool that can be tailored to showcase how trends in employment, education, income, marital status, minority status, children per household and poverty impact homeownership rates over time across the United States at national, state and metropolitan area levels.

Mortgage applications decreased 3.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 29, 2016

Whole house remodels and additions are regaining market share according to a survey of remodelers released by NAHB Remodelers, the remodeling arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The survey, released today to kick off National Home Remodeling Month in May, revealed the most common remodeling projects in 2016, compared to historical results of the survey

As part of her effort to raise awareness of the need for increased affordable housing resources, and in particular an expansion of Housing Credit authority, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is collecting personal stories of individuals and families who have struggled to find affordable housing and/or experienced homelessness. Senator Cantwell intends to use these stories to help promote legislation she soon will introduce to increase the Housing Credit cap by 50 percent and make other policy changes to strengthen the program.

Steady job growth, affordable home prices, attractive mortgage interest rates and pent-up demand will help the housing market continue on a gradual upward trajectory in the year ahead, according to economists who participated in yesterday’s National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Spring Construction Forecast Webinar. However, supply side headwinds led by a shortage of construction lots and labor, along with tight access to acquisition, construction and development (AD&C) loans, continue to hamper a more robust recovery

First quarter 2016 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations overall were essentially flat compared to the same period last year and first quarter originations were thirty-eight percent lower than the fourth quarter of 2015 in line with the seasonality of market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations

Pending home sales increased slightly in March for the second consecutive month and reached their highest level in almost a year, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Only the West region saw a decline in contract activity last month

Mortgage applications decreased 4.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 22, 2016.

Nationwide housing starts fell 8.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.089 million units in March, according to newly released data from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. Overall permit issuance was also down 7.7 percent.

Bolstered by big gains in the Northeast and Midwest, existing-home sales bounced back in March and remained slightly up from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Mortgage applications increased 1.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 15, 2016

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for March 2016: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,086,000. This is 7.7 percent (±1.2%) below the revised February rate of 1,177,000, but is 4.6 percent (±0.9%) above the March 2015 estimate of 1,038,000.  Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of 727,000; this is 1.2 percent (±1.1%) below the revised February figure of 736,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 324,000 in March.

California and Hawaii Add Most Jobs for the Year, North Dakota Has Biggest Actual and Percentage Declines; West Virginia and Pennsylvania Top Monthly List of Gainers, Arkansas and California Have Largest One-Month Decreases

Mortgage applications increased 10 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 8, 2016.

Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks made an average profit of $1,189 on each loan they originated in 2015, up from $747 per loan in 2014, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today in its Annual Mortgage Bankers Performance Report

Despite a growing economy, when asked to choose their most important financial goal, more people cite paying day-to-day bills than other choices, including saving for retirement, according to a national survey. Twenty-six percent of people cited paying bills as their top financial priority, compared to 21 percent who placed saving for retirement as their number one financial goal.

Mortgage credit availability slightly decreased in March according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) which analyzes data from Ellie Mae's AllRegs® Market Clarity® business information tool.