mortgage – Impact Lab

Banking, Housing, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

Mortgage refinancings set to surge to a 17-year high

May 31, 2020

Lenders probably will originate $1.5 trillion in refis, a 51% jump from 2019, Fannie Mae says

If you’re in the mortgage business, fasten your seatbelts. Refinance volume is set to spike to a 17-year high this year as mortgage rates fall to the lowest levels ever recorded, Fannie Mae said.

Even as other parts of the economy tank, lenders will originate $1.5 trillion in refis in 2020, a 51% jump from 2019, according to the forecast. That would be the highest level since 2003 when $2.5 trillion of mortgages were refinanced, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The lowest interest rates on record will bolster refis after the Federal Reserve began buying mortgage-backed securities to stimulate bond demand and grease the wheels of the credit markets. The average U.S. rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to an all-time low of 3.23% at the end of April, according to Freddie Mac.

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Housing, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

Startup plans to allow consumers to purchase homes without a mortgage. Innovative, or risky?

December 22, 2019

Innovative, or risky?

One new Los Angeles-based investor-backed startup is claiming it will get Americans into homes without requiring a mortgage.

Fleq will launch next month in Pittsburgh, and instead of originating mortgages, its plan is to simply buy the home a purchaser wants and sell it back to them, bit by bit, in shares. The buyer can choose the length of time that they want to pay for the home.

“We didn’t think that [mortgages] were the appropriate and fair approach to homeownership, and we didn’t think it resonated with Millennials and Gen Zers, who saw their parents wiped out by the financial crisis,” said founder and CEO Todd Sherer, whose background is in real estate finance.

Continue reading… “Startup plans to allow consumers to purchase homes without a mortgage. Innovative, or risky?”

Housing, Latest Trend, New Viewpoints

Are real estate agents still relevant in the age of tech?

August 2, 2018

Technology has forever changed how Americans shop for homes. Thanks to sites like Zillow, Trulia and the dozens of others like them, buyers can now brown se listings, find homes and narrow their search all on their own—without ever calling in an agent.

And with online mortgage lenders cropping up left and right, they can even take it a step further, getting pre-qualified for a loan long before they’ve honed in on that dream home.

But though tech has allowed homebuyers to do all this legwork themselves, in most cases, they’re still forced to go through agents to finalize the transaction. And those agents? They get the same 3% commission they did decades ago—for seemingly doing a fraction of the work.

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Analysis, Business, Money Talk, Science & Technology News

Nine times when it makes sense not to pay off debt

November 2, 2015

You really shouldn’t rush out and take on debt, but there are times when it actually makes sense not to pay it off. All debt is not alike. Some of the worst kinds, such as unsecured credit card debt, can wreck your budget, but even there, you have cases where it won’t, and it could even work to your advantage. Other kinds of debt might seem imposing with those big red “Past Due” stamps but pose less of a threat to your financial future.

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Analysis, Business, Money Talk

How long will you need to save for a down payment on a home in your city?

August 30, 2012

The average down payment for a house is 20%.

How long will it take you to save in order to afford a home? We calculated how many years it takes to save enough for a down payment in the 100 largest U.S. metro areas, factoring in both local average wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages and local housing prices based on the median asking price per square foot of homes listed on Trulia.

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Analysis, Economy, Latest Trend

48% of homeowners younger than 40 are underwater on their mortgages

August 28, 2012

Because of a trend toward smaller urban living, a bad economy and high debt, the Millennials will likely be a generation of renters for years to come. But there’s a group of young adults we don’t talk about that deserves some attention: Those who are already homeowners.

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Analysis, Business, Economy, Latest Trend

31.4% of homeowners in the U.S. are underwater on mortgages

May 25, 2012

American homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages actually are only running a “paper loss.”

According to real estate site Zillow, nearly 16 million homeowners – not quite a third of people with mortgages – owe more on their home loans than their properties are worth.

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Analysis, Economy

6 reasons why renting is better than buying a home

January 2, 2012

Renters have flexibility that homeowners don’t.

Buying a home is seen by most people as part of the “American Dream”, but for most it’s become a nightmare. Buying a home is pretty much the best way to throw your money away and here’s why.

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Business, Economy, Latest Trend

Delinquent borrowers keep homes without paying

December 29, 2011

Nationwide, the average time it takes to process a foreclosure climbed to 674 days from 253 days just four years ago.

Delinquent borrowers facing foreclosure are learning that they can stay in their homes for years, as long as they’re willing to put up a fight.

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Analysis, Business, Economy, Latest Trend

Mortgage default warnings surge setting stage for new foreclosure wave

September 15, 2011

The increase in the number of foreclosure actions could be the beginning of a new trend.

Banks are stepping up their actions against homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments and setting the stage for a fresh wave of foreclosures.

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Analysis, Economy, Latest Trend, Money Talk

People Who Default Only on Their Mortgages May be Safe Credit Risks: Study

May 24, 2011

Mortgage-only defaulters are less likely to then default later on new car loans or credit cards.

People who have defaulted only on their mortgages and no other debts are not as risky as expected, according to a new study from credit monitor TransUnion.

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