Mortgage Applications, Delinquencies Take a Fall

Last week was not a great time for mortgage applications, but last month saw great strides in fighting loan delinquencies, according to a pair of new data reports.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 18 reported that the Market Composite Index fell 3.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis and three percent on an unadjusted basis from the previous week. Both the seasonally adjusted and unadjusted Purchase Index decreased one percent from the previous week, although the latter was 25 percent higher than the same week one year ago. And the Refinance Index decreased five percent from the previous week while the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 53.9 percent of total applications from 55 percent one week earlier.

On the government loan program front, there were increases recorded for the share of total applications relating to the FHA (11.8 percent, a 0.1 percent uptick), the VA (12.6 percent, a 0.3 percent rise) and the USDA (0.9 percent, up by 0.1 percent).

“The recent strength in single-family housing starts is a sign that homebuilders are experiencing strong demand for existing models," said Genworth Mortgage Insurance Chief Economist Tian Liu. "This will lead to a virtuous circle where increased production gives buyers more choice, leading to further sales growth.”

Separately, new data from Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS) found the national mortgage delinquency rate at its lowest level since April 2007. The total loan delinquency rate for February was 4.45 percent, a 12.57 percent month-over-month change and a 15.93 percent year-over-year fall. The total U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate last month came in at​ 1.30 percent, down a mild 0.64 percent from February but down a staggering 24.59 percent plummet from February 2015.