Originations
Mortgage rates are at historical lows. But Americans aren’t buying homes. Many current homeowners are unable to refinance existing mortgages because they owe more on the loan that the property is worth.
After peaking at $1.2 trillion in the third quarter of 2003, mortgage originations cratered to $297.16 billion in the third quarter of 2008, and have sputtered along the bottom since.
HWfocus Origination gathers perspectives from lenders, venders and servicers to see what lies ahead for home loan underwriting.
In this issue:
- FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT: In 1990, lenders originated $458 billion worth of mortgages. In the final three months of 2010, banks wrote about $500 billion worth of home loans. What once took a year, now takes a quarter.
- LONG ROAD AHEAD: Cloudy regulation hinders a return to stability in the housing economy.
- REVERSING COURSE: The biggest banks in mortgage underwriting stopped extended reverse mortgages to homeowners at least 62 years old, as other issues take precedence.
