According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, for the week ending August 14th, 2020, the Market Composite Index decreased -3.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
News in end use
Canadian Home Sales Surge 26% in July
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is reporting that pent up demand due to the recent pandemic lockdowns sent home sales soaring in July.
Mortgage Delinquencies Rate Reaches New High Level
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) recent National Delinquency Survey the overall delinquency rate for mortgages on one-to-four-unit residential properties soared by nearly 4 percentage points (386 basis points) during the second quarter of 2020, and by June 30 reached 8.22% (seasonally adjusted), the highest in nine years.
Demand for Rural Homes Leads to 11.3% Price Increase in July
Redfin, the Seattle-based real estate brokerage firm is reporting that demand for rural homes, which suddenly started to increase in April, has continued to grow through the month of July
Housing Starts, Permits and Completions all Moved Higher in July
The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that privately‐owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,496,000.
Builders Confidence in Newly Built Single-Family Homes Matches Record High Set in 1988
According to the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) \ Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) builder’s confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes increased by six points in August to a reading of 78.
Construction Input Prices Rise Again in July
A deeper dive into the recently released Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Producer Price Index (PPI) by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reveals that construction input prices rose 1.9% in July when compared to those in June.
COVID-19 Pandemic Resulted in Elevated Loan Qualification Standards in the Second Quarter.
The latest release of the Federal Reserve’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion survey reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic and its widespread economic hardship caused many banks to elevate their qualification standards across all credit classes of household and business loans.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Adds New 0.5% Fee to Refinance Mortgages Effective September 1st
On Thursday, August 13th, 2020, The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), along with the two governmental sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that effective September 1st, that any refinance mortgage loan sold Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac will include a new adverse-market refinance fee of 0.5%.
Respondents to FEA’s Weekly Order Survey are Reporting Slightly Slower Sales
Dealers responding to the Weekly Order Survey are reporting that while their businesses remain steady to strong, the pace was slightly slower than in previous weeks.