The approval rate for purchase mortgages hit new heights in October as more than two thirds (66.1 percent) of all applications for loans to buy a home were approved. The approval rate for October was the highest recorded by the four-year old  Ellie Mae Originations Insight report; the previous high was 65.1 percent in August.  Last year the average approval … Read More »

Approvals of applications to refinance hit seven month lows and closing rates for all mortgages took a 3 percent dip in September, just three weeks before FHFA Director promised lenders he would to take steps to loosen standards. The September 2014 report also found the closing rate on mortgage refinancings fell nearly 6 percent to 48.3 percent in September, the … Read More »

The share of homeowners who are refinancing to cash out some of their equity has doubled over the past year as appreciating prices have driven up home values broadly in hundreds of markets across the nation, according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly refinance report. In the second quarter, an estimated $8.0 billion in net home equity was cashed out during a … Read More »

  Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke found out the hard way what millions of average American families are dealing with. Speaking at a recent conference in Chicago, Bernanke said that the lending standards are so tight that he was unable to refinance his own home loan recently. When the audience laughed, Bernanke said, “I’m not making that up. I think … Read More »

In the first quarter, Texas had the highest percentage of mortgaged residential properties in an equity position at 96.7 percent, followed by Montana (96.3 percent), Alaska (95.7 percent), North Dakota (95.7 percent) and Hawaii (95.6 percent) according to the latest report from CoreLogic. CoreLogic said more than 300,000 homes returned to positive equity in the first quarter of 2014, bringing … Read More »

It’s nothing to cheer about, but the latest data from Ellie Mae’s March data gave home buyers reasons to smile slightly.  Median FICO scores for FHA purchase loans have steadily risen over the quarter and closing rates for all mortgages took a big step upward. Some 58% of mortgage applications were approved in March, a significant improvement over February (55.3%) … Read More »