Category Archives for "Analysis and Data"

“Exploring the Current Trends and Future Prospects in the Mortgage Industry: An In-depth Analysis”

Could it be merely a figment of my imagination or have eateries ceased to provide salt and pepper shakers on their tables in the aftermath of COVID? Similarly, do entities whose acronyms start with ‘N’ find it challenging to maintain consistent leadership? Back in August 2023, NAR had a change in headship, followed by the NRA last week, and now again NAR is facing a similar situation with Tracy Kasper stepping down due to blackmail allegations. Meanwhile, in real estate developments, it’s intriguing to observe how Zillow, the conglomerate also managing Zillow Home Loans, is filing a lawsuit against its competitors over property-viewing scheduling software – a stark reminder that anybody can be sued. Switching over to agency updates, Freddie Mac (FHLMC) and Fannie Mae (FNMA) continue to be the leading recipients of applications from loaners. So what’s new regarding their standard conforming commodities? Fannie Mae’s SVC-2023-06 December Servicing Guide sheds light on the periodic amendments to financial reporting rules for significant non-depository vendors/service providers and other varied updates. To equip financers with the latest tools, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are rolling out updates for Uniform Loan Delivery Dataset (ULDD) Phase 5, replete with an enhanced extension schema and updated FAQs. The December Appraiser Quality Monitoring (AQM) list has been released by Fannie Mae. Pennymac’s 23-89 announcement addresses Fannie Mae’s SEL-2023-09, which is pertinent to updates on Rental Income and Self-Employed Borrowers.

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“Insights from the National Housing Survey: The Evolving Trends and Outlook for U.S. Real Estate Market”

While consumer attitudes towards the housing market had generally been gloomy, an altered outlook on the trajectory of mortgage interest rates brought about a more positive consumer response in Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey. Based on this survey, the Home Purchase Sentiment Index increased by 2.9 points in December, reaching its highest record since spring of 2022 at 67.2. This was a notable leap of 6.2 points compared to December of the previous year.

The surge was mainly attributed to consumers’ anticipation of a decline in interest rates over the forthcoming 12 months. These rates had already fallen more than a point since November. According to the survey, 31% anticipated a decrease, 31% predicted a rise and 36% expected the rates to remain the same. This indicated a void of 0% net response, marking a significant 22-point leap from November and a dramatic 37-point increase year on year.

This anticipation of rate decline also mildly boosted the consumer sentiment about purchasing a home. The question of whether it was an appropriate time to buy a house had been eliciting a net negative response, hovering around a survey low of 70% over the preceding three months. However, this figure increased 5 points in December, reducing the negative net to 66%. Conversely, 57% of respondents thought it was a suitable time to sell, compared to 42% who disagreed. This resulted in a net positive of 17%, albeit a 5-point reduction from the previous month’s figure.

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