Inflation news will drive mortgage rates higher, Freddie Mac says

Even with the uptick in inflation, most observers are expecting the Federal Open Market Committee not to raise short-term rates at its next meeting. But that doesn't mean mortgage rates this week were immune to the report. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis in August, compared with a 0.2% increase in July. Unadjusted, the index was up 3.7% on an annual basis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. If this report was a weather forecast, the outlook for the home lending business would be partly cloudy, said Marty Green, principal at mortgage law firm Polunsky Beitel Green, in a statement.

READ MORE: Inflation news will drive mortgage rates higher, Freddie Mac says

Time is running out!  Register today to join us at the Digital Mortgage Conference Sept. 26-28 at the Wynn Las Vegas. 

Homeowners want to use cash, not credit, to pay for renovations, survey finds

Most of the substantial percentage of homeowners that have done or are planning renovations will primarily use savings or current cash flow, instead of debt, to fund their activities, LendingTree found. Looking backward, 68% of the almost 2,200 homeowners participating in the LendingTree survey performed in May, did some sort of home improvement project in the prior 12 months. On a forward basis, 62% are looking to start some form of renovation in the next 12 months. Even though cash is being used to pay for most of these projects, it is not coming from pandemic-related savings.

Lack of existing inventory drives new-home mortgages up by over 20%

Scarce supply of existing single-family homes pushed originations for new constructions higher on an annual basis for the seventh month in a row, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. Purchase loans for newly built homes leaped 20.6% in August compared to one year earlier and 4% month-over-month on an unadjusted basis, according to the MBA's builder application survey. While still a substantial upswing, the latest figures are down from a 35.5% annual surge in July, but headed up from that period's 0.2% monthly uptick. Despite interest-rate and other affordability challenges, many aspiring buyers have continued their search for housing this year, looking to the new-home market for opportunities. 

Judge extends Change Lending's recertification for non-QM loans

A federal judge has reversed the U.S. Treasury Department's decertification of Change Lending, allowing the non-bank originator to resume its non-qualified mortgages to underserved borrowers now through at least early December. U.S. District Judge James V. Selna earlier this month issued a temporary restraining order against the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which revoked Change's status earlier this month. The certification grants lenders more flexible underwriting if they meet specific underserved lending thresholds. The Treasury Department reached an agreement with Change to postpone its formal opposition to the TRO, and Selna on Tuesday reset a hearing on the matter to Dec. 11.

Think you could be one of 2024’s Best Mortgage Companies to Work for? Apply here.

20 banks with the largest retail mortgage volume in Q2

The top five lenders in our ranking have a combined retail volume of more than $22 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2023. Most lenders saw an increase in business between Q1 and Q2, with one seeing a rise of 94.81%. The data was sourced from National Mortgage News' MortgageStats site, which pulls from quarterly call reports available from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. Read on to see which residential lenders are in the top 20 and how they fared in Q2.

Republicans hint at procedural challenge to Basel III endgame proposal

Banking trade groups continued their onslaught of criticism of federal regulators' plan to increase capital requirements on banks with at least $100 billion of assets, and seem to have found allies in that criticism in Republican lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy, criticized regulators for not releasing an economic analysis of the Basel III endgame proposal, echoing industry complaints. Barr's comments follow a Tuesday letter from several top banking and financial industry groups — including the Mortgage Bankers Association — asking the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to issue a new proposal. 

Sign up here to receive the National Mortgage News complete newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily.