Originations

The Federal Housing Administration could increase the limits for loans it insures in this market, a congressional oversight agency said in a new report.

A continued slowdown in refinances, though, drove overall loan-application volumes lower last week, even as the Government Index posted a small gain, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Overall rate locks dropped 1.5% on a month-to-month basis; the drop in purchase volume was higher at 1.9%, Black Knight said.

Both purchases and refinance volumes climbed higher, as interest rates flattened following earlier volatility, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The lender was accused in a recent lawsuit of failing to meet its obligations to underserved borrowers in lieu of wealthy clients.

The program is even lower than Freddie Mac's best of 3%, with Zillow offering to pay 2% of the down payment at closing, according to a statement Thursday.

The average for a 30-year home loan marked the fourth straight week of increases, according to Freddie Mac.

But a Zillow economist argues that there's plenty of evidence suggesting strong GDP and job growth had more to do with the increase than what Fitch did.

Critics of the Federal Home Loan banks fundamentally misunderstand the purpose and necessity of the system.

Gateway First Bank, a former nonbank home lender, rode the pandemic era's mortgage wave to No. 1 on American Banker's latest list of top-performing banks based on full-year 2022 data. Now it has to cope with the housing market slowdown.