While foreclosures fell nationally in the second quarter of 2011, delinquencies are on the rise thanks to a meager labor market, according to the Mortgage Delinquency Survey released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Foreclosure start rates fell to their lowest levels since the fourth quarter of 2007 at 0.96 percent, according to the survey, and the percentage of loans in the foreclosure process dropped to 4.43 percent in the second quarter from 4.52 percent in the first quarter and 4.57 percent in the prior-year quarter. But the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one- to four-unit residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.44 percent from 8.32 percent in the first quarter. It’s still far below the 9.85 percent experienced in the second quarter of 2010. – Adam Fusfeld
[more]

Picture a mortgage program that seems to defy many of the
lessons of the housing bust:

– 91 percent of its borrowers make zero down payments.
– Loan amounts go well into the jumbo range — to $1 million
and sometimes above, even with little or nothing down.
– Credit standards are flexible and generous. Underwriting
rules encourage loan officers to look for ways to approve
applications rather than to reject them.

– Mortgage originations are up — almost triple what they were
just three years ago and are on track this year to exceed 2010′s
volume. The rest of the loan industry, by contrast, is down by
anywhere from 25 percent to 30 percent. [more]

Mortgage applications decreased 5 percent for the week ending July 22, according to weekly data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinancing also decreased 5.5 percent from the previous week.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 69.6 percent of total applications from 70.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 6.1 percent from 5.8 percent of total applications from the previous week.
— Miranda Neubauer [more]

Mortgage Bankers Association President David Stevens switched positions today, advocating for a continuation of higher federal loan limits for another year, CNBC reported.

Earlier this month, the federal government laid out plans to slowly pull out of the mortgage market, by lowering the maximum loan that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA can issue. During the downturn the limit was lifted to $729,750 so that residents of the country’s most expensive housing markets, including New York, could continue to obtain financing even as private lenders were skittish. The government plans on decreasing the maximum to $625,500 Oct. 1. [more]

Homeownership rates (source: MBA)

While some bemoan falling homeownership rates as another symptom of the flailing economy, research released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows the fall is merely a correction back to historical norms. “The question of why homeownership rates are falling now is really a question of why they were so high during the middle of the last decade,” said Stuart Gabriel, a UCLA business school professor and one of two head researchers on the project. For three decades, from the late-1960s to the mid-1990s, homeownership rates remained stable between 64 and 65 percent. But in 2004 it reached an all-time high of 69.2 percent, thanks to a combination of loosening mortgage credit standards and an inclination among Americans less than 35 years old to take on more risk compared to their forefathers. — Adam Fusfeld
[more]

Mortgage applications increased 13 percent nationwide in the week ending June 10, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, released today. Refinance applications also jumped 16.5 percent from the previous week.

“Mortgage rates have declined for eight of the past nine weeks. Coming off of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, refinance application volume increased significantly, as borrowers jumped to lock in the lowest mortgage rates since last November,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics. TRD [more]

In the first quarter of 2011, the delinquency rate for loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities reached the highest level since Mortgage Bankers Association began tracking figures in 1997, the association said today, but the climb was slower than in recent quarters.

Delinquency rates among different commercial, multifamily mortgage investor groups were mixed for the quarter and rates for other groups remain below levels seen in the last major real estate downturn during the early 1990s — some by large margins. TRD [more]

Fewer Americans sought to refinance their mortgages last week, even as interest rates fell to seven-month lows, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, which suggested that many homeowners probably have too little equity in their homes to qualify. For the week that ended May 27, data from the MBA shows that refinance applications declined by 5.7 percent from the week prior, while purchase applications remained flat. Meanwhile, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages declined to 4.58 percent — its lowest rate since November 2010 — from 4.69 percent one week ago. TRD Comments

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Mortgage activity rose across the U.S. last week as mortgage rates continued along their downward trend.

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, released today, mortgage loan application volume rose by 8.2 percent during the week that ended May 6.

Refinance applications were up 9 percent week-over-week, though they are still more than 50 percent below levels seen last fall. Meanwhile, purchase applications rose by 7.1 percent last week, but are down 25.8 percent from their level during same week last year. TRD [more]

Refinancing activity rose by 4 percent last week as interest rates dropped to their lowest levels in five months, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association for the week that ended April 29. While mortgage applications for refinancing rose week-over-week, though, purchase applications remained relatively steady, up only 0.3 percent from last week and still 36.9 percent below their level one year ago. The average contract interest rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 4.76 percent, down from 4.8 percent one week ago, for its third straight weekly decline. Interest rates for the 15-year mortgage also fell to 3.96 percent from 4.03 percent week-over-week. TRD