Are Mortgage Applications Up?

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Scott Li

Per the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for the week ending the 5th of July, mortgage applications are up – and significantly so. The Market Composite Index measures the volume of loan applications coming in through lenders across the country, and per this index, there was a tremendous increase in applications in the first week of 2018.

Statistics

Per the Market Composite Index, loan application volume went up 8.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis. On an unadjusted basis, that number is even higher and represents a 46% increase. Of course, the results have been adjusted to account for New Year’s Day, when lenders were unavailable to take application. On top of this, there was an 11% increase in the Refinance Index, and the Purchase Index rose, as well, by 44% on an unadjusted basis and 5% when seasonally adjusted. Though mortgage applications are up, the Purchase Index declined by 1% from the same week in 2017. read more

Mortgage Applications are Up-That’s a Good Thing!

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Scott Li

The number of people applying for a mortgage has increased, leaving many economists excited about the future of real estate. What is driving this increase and how long will it last? Here’s what the latest data is showing.

Data from July 2017

Figures from the first week of July 2017 show us that interest rates had their biggest five-day increase since just after the 2016 presidential election. During that week, the average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage of $424,100 or less was 4.20%. This figure was up from the previous 4.13%, and was the highest interest rate in a two-month period. At the same time, points (including the origination fee) dropped from 0.32 to 0.31. read more

5 Mortgage Origination Fees to Keep an Eye on before you Sign

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Scott Li

In most cases, purchasing a home is an exciting process, especially if you are a first time buyer. However, amidst all the excitement and anticipation, there are many different mortgage origination fees that you will need to look out for if you want to ensure that you don’t pay more than you have to.

Application Fee

Many lenders and mortgage companies will tell you that they need to charge an application fee so that they can cover the cost of obtaining your credit history report and ‘any other paperwork’ that is needed to process your loan application. However, in many instances, they are in fact able to obtain these reports free of charge. Charging anywhere between $50 and $150 for an ‘application fee’ is just another way for lenders to increase their profits. read more