Industry Briefs, Jan. 23, 2024

Industry news from Dark Matter, NRL Mortgage, Calque, Optimal Blue, Ncontracts, BluePoint Mortgage, OptifiNow and Ginnie Mae.

Black Knight: Purchase Locks Down 22% Despite Lower Rates

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., reported despite a nearly half-percentage-point decrease in mortgage interest rates, overall lock volumes dropped by 21.5% in November and are down 39% over the past three months and 68% off last year.

Cash-Outs, Purchase Locks Decline Amid Record-Low Affordability

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said cash-out refinances fell significantly in September, by 26.2 percent from August alone and by 78 percent from a year ago. A similar report from MCT, San Diego, also found a sharp drop in loan lock volume in September.

Rate Locks Fall Across All Loan Types

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said despite a leveling off in interest rates, lock volumes fell another 4.8% from April, with monthly declines seen across both rate/term (-23.6%) and cash-out (-11.9%) refinances.

Black Knight: Rate Lock Activity Falls as Interest Rates Climb

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said amid rising interest rates, rate-lock production fell by nearly 20 percent in March, led by a sharp drop—more than 50 percent—in rate/term refinance activity.