CNBC, Feb. 8, 2017–Diana OlickMortgage rates have been wavering in a tight range, but a slight decrease last week helped put some energy back into the mortgage market. “Since reaching a recent peak of almost 4.5 percent toward the end of December, rates have bounced around the 4.3 percent mark for the past six weeks,” said MBA economist Joel Kan.
Category: Top National News
Mortgage Interest Tax Deductions May Get Extra Scrutiny This Year
Kiplinger, Feb. 8, 2017–Benway, CharlesA newly designed Form 1098 gives the IRS more information, so be prepared to defend the deduction.
Report: Mortgages Easier To Get Than Any Time This Decade
The Mortgage Reports, Feb. 8, 2017–Tim LucasThe Mortgage Bankers Association said lenders are loosening standards for every loan type, including popular government-backed mortgages like FHA and the USDA home loan. Even jumbo financing is getting easier.
DOJ Probing People Who Worked in DB’s Mortgage Unit
Reuters, Feb. 8, 2017–Joy WiltermuthThe Department of Justice is investigating potential wrongdoing by individuals who worked in Deutsche Bank’s mortgage unit in the run-up to the financial crisis.
Millennial Women More Likely to Get FHA Loans Than Men
National Mortgage News, Feb. 8, 2017–Jacob PassyA greater share of millennial women leveraged Federal Housing Administration loans than millennial men, Ellie Mae found in its latest Millennial Tracker report.
Banks Are Finally Sprouting Anew in America
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 8, 2017–Rachel WitkowskiEight groups have filed applications in recent months with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to open new banks, spurred by an improving economy and an expected deregulatory push by Republicans in Washington.
A Mismatch of Home Buyers and Sellers Points to Pain This Year
Wall Street Journal, Feb. 8, 2017–Laura KusistoThe divide between the prices of homes Americans want to buy and the inventory of such homes is growing, suggesting first-time home buyers and high-end sellers might have a difficult year ahead of them.
More Unmarried Young Couples Buying Homes Together
National Mortgage Professional, Feb. 8, 2017–Phil HallThe intersection of marriage and homeownership is growing wider, as a new data study from Zillow has found almost 15 percent of all homebuyers between the ages of 24 and 35 during 2015 were unmarried couples, up from 11 percent in 2005.
Low Rates Drive 42% Increase in Genworth’s MI Volume
National Mortgage News, Feb. 8, 2017–Brad FinkelsteinGenworth Financial’s U.S. mortgage insurance business had adjusted operating income of $61 million in the fourth quarter, up over 50% from the same period in 2015, as its new insurance written grew by 42% year over year.
House Reintroduces Bill to End ‘FICO Monopoly’ at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
HousingWire, Feb. 8, 2017–Brena SwansonThis week Reps. Ed Royce, R-Calif., Kyrsten Sinema, D-Az., and Terri Sewell, D-Al., introduced H.R. 898, the Credit Score Competition Act, which enables the GSEs to consider alternative credit scoring models when making mortgage purchasing decisions.