-
Wells Fargo and Citigroup are laying off hundreds of employees in their mortgage units as rising interest rates cause home loan refinances to plummet. More layoffs by banks with heavy exposure to mortgages are expected this year.
July 19 -
With interest rates rising, lenders are pushing hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages again. Lenders say borrowers like the lower monthly payments and the loans no longer have the onerous interest-only or balloon features that contributed to the housing crisis.
August 19 -
Mortgage servicing issues continue to be a significant problem despite a renewed focus on the area in the wake of the foreclosure crisis, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
August 21
Rising interest rates slowed refinancing demand and whet homebuyers' appetites for adjustable-rate mortgages in July, according to Ellie Mae's monthly survey of mortgage loan applications.
The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 4.4% in July from 3.9% the previous month, the survey reported Wednesday. That drove down
Higher interest rates helped boost the popularity of adjustable-rate mortgages, Ellie Mae president and chief operating officer Jonathan Corr said in a press release. ARMs made up 5.2% of loan applications in July, compared to 4% in June and 3.1% a year ago.
"Banks are definitely doing more ARMs because they're selling the consumer what they're asking for, which is a lower monthly payment," Bob Caruso, an executive managing director at Lender Processing Services, told
Lenders also appear to be easing credit standards for prospective homebuyers. Approved applicants' average FICO credit scores fell to 737, down from 742 in June. That's the lowest average credit score since the survey began in August 2011. "Lenders are willing to accept slightly more risk to maintain volume," Corr said in the press release.
Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report samples about 44% of the roughly three million loan applications that run through its mortgage management software.