The decline in mortgage rates prompted an uptick in refinancing, with government refinances increasing more than 20% over the week, MBA associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting Joel Kan said in a press release.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced its 2022 conforming loan limits (CLL) for conventional loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

“Despite higher mortgage rates, purchase applications had a strong week, mostly driven by a 6% increase in conventional loan applications.” — MBA associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting Joel Kan

Banosian has funded $2 billion in total loan volume this year, becoming the company’s first loan originator to reach that milestone.

Company officials say the organizational changes will support the company’s record-setting growth.

“Mortgage rates decreased for the first time since August, as concerns about supply-chain bottlenecks, waning consumer confidence, weaker economic growth and rising inflation pushed Treasury yields lower.” — MBA associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting Joel Kan

At the same time, the increase in interest rates drove fewer borrowers to refinance their loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Low-Income First Time Homebuyers Act (LIFT) establishes a program to sponsor 20-year mortgages that would build equity at twice the rate of a conventional 30-year mortgage.

“The net result for housing is that these low and stable rates allow consumers more time to find the homes they are looking to purchase,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said.

Two of the largest leaders in the real estate market are joining forces to form a new mortgage origination company.

Homebuyers lucky enough to win a bidding war these days are increasingly running headlong into appraisals that don’t match — or even come close to — the agreed sales price, leaving them with limited ways to close the sale.

“Demand is robust throughout the country, but homebuyers continue to be held back by the lack of homes for sale and rapidly increasing home prices.” — MBA Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting Joel Kan

“Don’t give up, no matter what!” — Teala Smith, residential mortgage lender, Certainty Home Loans

The new technology streamlines workflow in the mortgage industry.

The increase follows a decline earlier in February that cut the number of homeowners in forbearance plans to less than 2.7 million, the first dip below that threshold since April 2020.

“The consistent decline in serious delinquency since August is a sign of growing financial stability for families,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic.