The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has released its 16th Annual Survey of Credit Underwriting Practices and reported that the trend of tightening underwriting standards has continued for the last three years. However, the OCC is beginning to see some easing of standards in response to competition, and a slight improvement in credit market liquidity. “Credit performance remains a concern despite several years of tightening,” said Deputy Comptroller for Credit and Market Risk Dave Wilson.Read more

Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), and for yet another week, fixed-rate mortgages reached record lows, as did the five-year adjustable rate in this survey. The 30-year fixed-rate survey began in 1971, the 15-year began in 1991, and the five-year adjustable in 2005.Read more

Delinquency rates were mixed in the second quarter for commercial/multifamily mortgage investor groups, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report. The delinquency rate for loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) is the highest since the series began in 1997. Delinquency rates for other groups remain below levels seen in the early 1990s, some by large margins.Read more

An online poll conducted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) in August has revealed that as a result of the economic crisis, 51 percent of the 3,201 respondents took steps to reduce their debt. The NFCC’s August Financial Literacy Opinion Index was conducted via the homepage of the NFCC Web site (www.DebtAdvice.org) from Aug. 1-31, 2010 and answered by 3,201 individuals.Read more

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan has announced an agreement with the nation’s top mortgage lenders to offer selected state and local governments, and non-profit organizations a “first look” or right of first refusal to purchase foreclosed homes before making these properties available to private investors. The National First Look Program is a first-ever public-private partnership agreement between HUD and the National Community Stabilization Trust (Stabilization Trust).Read more

The aggregate value of Commercial Real Estate (CRE) loans priced by DebtX that collateralize commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) increased to 79.4 percent as of July 30, 2010, up from 77.4 percent as of June 30, 2010. Loan values were 71.1 percent as of July 31, 2009. "Despite weak CRE fundamentals and increasing levels of delinquencies and defaults, 90 percent of CMBS loans are still performing," said DebtX Chief Executive Officer Kingsley Greenland.Read more

During a wide ranging interview with WNBC news anchor Chuck Scarborough, Charles Wimer, chairman of the New York State Title Economic and Research Committee, stated that the New York real estate market has bottomed out and bargain hunters will start looking for deals in both residential and commercial sectors. While noting that real estate prices remain substantially down Wimer told Scarborough that commercial activity exceeds residential sales.Read more

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Aug. 27, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 2.3 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 2.8 percent from the previous week and is at its highest level since May 1, 2009. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1.8 percent from one week earlier.Read more

I want to begin by saying that I support all channels of loan origination if they are operated with integrity and are ethically compliant. To say our industry has gone through change is a severe understatement. While these changes have made a quick impact on how we operate, it’s not over yet. More changes are coming, and in the next several days, we will have an idea on how the final draft of this new bill will impact our business on all channels as financial reform will happen in one way or another. Is that bad? Depends on who you ask …Read more

A new analysis from Market Rates Insight (MRI) reveals that consumers are exhibiting one-third less (36 index points) confidence in the economy during the current downturn in deposit rates compare to the previous deposit-rate dip in January of 2004. In January of 2004, which was the previous downturn in deposit rates, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (MCSI) stood at 103.8, and the national average rate for deposits was 1.88 percent. In July 2010, the MCIS stood at 67.8, and the national average rate for deposit hit a new record low of 0.99 percent.Read more