Author: Eric C. Peck

After a steady five-week march upward toward the 7% mark, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) fell for the second straight week, as Freddie Mac reported it falling from 6.60% to 6.42% this week in its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS). “Mortgage rates continued to slide down as financial market concerns came to the forefront over the last two weeks,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “However, on the homebuyer front, the news is more positive with improved purchase demand and stabilizing home prices. If mortgage rates continue to slide over the next few weeks, look for a continued rebound during the first weeks of the spring homebuying season.” Also this week, Freddie Mac reported the 15-year FRM averaged 5.68%, down from last week when it averaged 5.90%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.63%. The slide in rates comes at an opportune time as the spring homebuyer season begins. “Ongoing affordability challenges weigh on buyers and sellers preparing for the spring housing market,” said Realtor.com Economic Data Analyst Hannah Jones. “Each downward tick in mortgage rates is met with increased buyer demand, as many eager home shoppers take advantage of the slightly lower cost of financing a home. Home prices were up 7.8% compared to last February, but price growth continues to slow and price reductions continue to climb. Home shoppers are looking to find the optimal combination of prices and mortgage rates before entering the market. However, elevated rates and high prices mean that point doesn’t yet exist in the market for many would-be buyers. At the current price and mortgage rate level, the typical housing payment on a median-priced home is still 36.4% higher than one year ago.” The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that overall application volume rose for the third consecutive week in its Weekly...

Brookstone Management, a mortgage field services provider with a focus on preserving and maintaining vacant, pre-foreclosure, and REO assets nationwide, announced this week that it has added Wells Fargo industry veteran Patrick Pannkuk to its team in the role of SVP of Business Development. Pannkuk joins Brookstone Management bringing nearly 14 years of experience and tenure in the financial services industry from multiple senior leadership positions held at Wells Fargo. Most of that time was spent in the mortgage default servicing sector with a heavy emphasis on relationship management. Over the course of his more than a decade with Wells Fargo, Pannkuk served in roles spanning from Asset Recovery Manager and REO Supervisor to, most recently, SVP - Third Party Engagement & Oversight Leader. He holds a bachelor's degree in marketing from Iowa State University's Ivy College of Business. According to Brookstone, Pannkuk's focus on building trust and rapport with a myriad of contacts from across the spectrum will allow him to build confidence throughout those relationships and help spotlight the value of the services that Brookstone provides to its partners. His education and experience in business marketing and management will also lend themselves to fostering, growing, and maintaining those strong relationships. Brookstone notes that Pannkuk's experience in leading large groups of people and processes also positions Pannkuk to be both strategic and risk-minded in his approach. This will allow him to care for the needs of existing clients but also carry a trajectory forward into new opportunities and endeavors where Brookstone’s services and capabilities can further be leveraged and scaled into the future. Sam Ingber, CEO of Brookstone Management, said, "Pat's guidance, strong business acumen, and ability to build and grow relationships will allow us to carry forward our mission to continue to scale into the future with existing clients but also...

According to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, following three weeks of dwindling mortgage application volume, mortgage apps rose 3% week-over-week for the third consecutive week amid continued dwindling mortgage rates. The MBA’s Refinance Index increased 5% over the previous week, yet was 68% lower than the same week just one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3% compared with the previous week, and was 36% lower than the same week one year ago. "Treasury yields declined last week, driven by uncertainty over the health of the banking sector and worries about the broader impact on the economy. Mortgage rates declined for the second week in a row, with the 30-year fixed rate dropping to 6.48%, the lowest level in a month,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s VP and Deputy Chief Economist. “However, mortgage rates have not dropped as much as Treasury rates due to increased MBS market volatility. The spread between the 30-year fixed and 10-year Treasury remained wide at around 300 basis points, compared to a more typical spread of 180 basis points.” By loan type, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 12.3% from 12.9% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 11.7% from 11.9% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5% from the week prior. As Kan mentioned, uncertainty in the banking sector has forced the Fed to raise the nominal interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 4.75% to 5.00% at the conclusion of the March meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Approximately 10 days ago, Signature Bank was closed by the New York State Department of Financial Services, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation...

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo has announced new data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury through December 31, 2022 shows that nearly 10.8 million Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) payments were made to households at risk of eviction, while investing in projects to support long-term housing stability. “This new Emergency Rental Assistance data reflects an intentional effort to make sure that rental assistance got into the hands of those who needed it most, and those who might otherwise have faced the devastating consequences of eviction,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo during remarks at the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2023 Housing Policy Forum. “Today's data illustrates how ERA funds have kept millions of families in their homes. But beyond that, it underscores that we must build on the legacy of the ERA program and help communities make long-term, durable investments in eviction prevention, homeowner assistance, and the construction and preservation of affordable housing.” Combined, ERA has made $46.55 billion available to promote housing stability. In addition, a report the Treasury Department released earlier this month found that state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments have also used $15.9 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) for more than 2,100 projects to meet housing needs, including over $5.4 billion committed to affordable housing development and preservation. “The Emergency Rental Assistance Program along with the federal eviction moratorium formed the most important federal housing policy in the last decade,” said Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted, and founder of Princeton University’s Eviction Lab. “These combined initiatives were the deepest investment in low-income renters the federal government has made since the nation launched its public housing system.” ERA grantees nationwide have successfully used housing stability services to support outreach to various communities, to fund eviction prevention and diversion efforts, and to...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights that reports on unlawful junk fees uncovered in the mortgage servicing space, student loans, payday lending, and in financial institutions via deposit accounts. As described in the Supervisory Highlights, the CFPB continues rooting unlawful fees out of consumer financial markets. “For years, junk fees have been creeping across the economy,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Our report describes a host of illegal junk fee practices that the CFPB has uncovered across the financial services sector.” The CFPB publishes Supervisory Highlights reports to promote transparency and to stop potentially unlawful practices, as well as to help educate families, advocacy groups, and other law enforcement agencies about these practices. The CFPB’s prior supervision work led the agency to issue guidance in October 2022, on the longstanding problem of surprise overdraft fees. As of today, after the CFPB’s focus on surprise overdrafts, at least 20 of the largest banks in the United States, which hold 62% of the volume of consumer deposit accounts subject to the CFPB’s supervisory authority, do not charge surprise overdraft fees. Additionally, banks that the CFPB has examined thus far will refund roughly $30 million to about 170,000 account holders who were assessed surprise overdraft fees. In the mortgage loan servicing sector, the CFPB recently identified illegal fees being charged in the mortgage servicing market, and, in November 2022, took action against a mortgage servicer for cheating homeowners out of CARES Act rights. CFPB examiners have identified old and new ways that mortgage servicers attempt to run-up unlawful fees that are charged to homeowners. Specifically, CFPB examiners found that some mortgage servicers charged: Excessive late fee amounts: Mortgage servicers charged the top late fee amount allowed by relevant state laws, even when homeowners’ mortgage contracts capped late fee...