Fairfax County Refi Volume Slows

The refinance volume for Fairfax County, VA has slowed this summer even though rates remain low. Take a look at the chart below:

After reaching highs between October through March, things have slowed in the summer months. It will be interesting to see if this continues through the Fall.

Las Vegas Sales Improve

Last December I wrote a blog post about the continuing bad news on home sales in the Las Vegas market from 2008 through 2010. There is finally some good news to report - take a look at the chart below for the twelve months of September 2010 through August 2011:

The number and dollar amounts for purchase mortgages have been trending upward for the last 12 months. Click on the image above for a larger view.

Conventional Mortgage Originations Drop!

The title of my blog post today is not necessarily a big surprise but the magnitude of this drop may be surprising to you. My chart below shows the monthly Conventional loan originations (Purchase and Refinance combined) from January 2009 to April 2010. When comparing January 2009 to January 2010, you can really see how drastic the drop has been in Conventional loan originations.

In January 2009, there was 389,460 Conventional loans as compared with January 2010 at 260,326 loans. See the chart below.

We will monitor this and see what happens over the summer.

Down Goes Conventional Purchase Mortgages!

We are tallying up thee totals for 2009 conventional mortgages.  The chart below shows the mortgage data we collected.  The total number of conventional purchase mortgages continues to reach new lows.  You are feeling it in your sales but hang on!  This year will be a bottom and an up tick should be visible soon!.

Click on Chart for Large Image and More Statistics

Later posting will identify emerging mortgage markets in the U.S. hopefully it is a market near you!.

Wells Wipes Out the Mortgage Competition in Colorado!

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Wells Fargo Mortgage, with more than a 17 percent share, is the conventional mortgage origination leader in Colorado for 2009.  No other lender appears to come close.  The combined mortgage originations of  Bank of America and Countrywide hardly read 7 percent of the market.  Two local lenders, namely Cherry Creek and Megastrar Financial, both from Denver, have accumulated an impressive share of mortgage sales in Colorado up against the large national lenders.

Top Conventional Mortgage Lenders for 2009

Click on Report for Larger Image and Chart Options

The report  above shows the leading conventional mortgage originators for 2009. The data includes mortgage recordings collected as of January 20, 2010.  More mortgage data will be added for 2009 however the leading lender in the nation, Wells Fargo, is likley to be sustained after all data is collected and tabulated.

MetLife Bank and Quicken Loans have moved into the TOP ten leading lenders in 2009.  Wachovia (who was aquired by Wells) and Natonal City were former members of the elite TOP ten mortgage lenders.

Later will shall publish the leading Conventional mortgage lenders for 2009 in the state of Colorado.

Mortgage Refinance Boom! Is 2003 Here Again?

Today's Wall Street Journal, Amy Hoak talks about MBA's survey of mortgage applications for the prior week.  The survey showed a 12.8% rise mostly from mortgage refinance applications.

Recordings of mortgage deeds confirm a steady month over month rise in the number of refinance mortgage originations during 2009.  With fixed mortgage rates falling below 5 percent,  interest rates are below the rates of the 2003 refi boom.  We do not expect mortgage originations in this current refi boom to approach the levels seen in 2003.  During 2003 the refinances included large equity extractions.  This time around, most  mortgage refinances are used to replace existing mortgage debt at lower cost. Less "cash out" refinancing is taking place as compared with 2003. In other words. these refinances are real mortgage refinances. Homeowners who refinance are improving their cash flow and their net worth.

Using recordings of mortgage deeds of trust at county court houses, MortgageDataWeb ranked the top conventional refinance mortgage lenders and the top FHAVA (Government Insured) mortgage refinance lenders based upon data collected through July for 2009.

Conventional Refinance Mortgage Leading Lenders

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FHAVA Refinance Mortgage Leading Lenders

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It must be great to be a mortgage lender still standing in 2009!

In Oregon Wells Fargo Gets More Mortgage Market Share

Wells Fargo has more than doubled their market share for conventional mortgage originations in Oregon. Their market share approached 24 percent in July. Last year, during a very weak mortgage market, Wells Fargo had roughly 12 percent of conventional mortgages in Oregon. The chart above show the market share growth of Wells Fargo.

Now you can view Wells Fargo’s mortgage origination performance and the market share performance of other leading mortgage lenders using MortgageDataWeb. The Test Drive feature includes current mortgage data for selected areas. At MortgageDataWeb's Test Drive site, users can obtain up to date market share reports by metropolitan area, county, or town. Mortgage types include conventional, FHA, and VA mortgages. This week the test drive areas include Illinois and Oregon.

Mortgage lenders, marketing managers, housing finance researches, or anyone requiring mortgage origination data in geographic area markets will find this site informative, useful, and easy to use. The geographic areas included in the test drive are limited subject to change. The test drive allows you to observe the quality of mortgage data and reports, and the ease of use of MortgageDataWeb's mortgage market share data and reporting features.

http://mortgagedataweb.com/MDWelcome/TestDrive.aspx

Are Mortgage Markets Concentrated or Competitive? Look at Virginia

This weeks' National Mortgage News (September 7, 2009) top residential originator summaries suggest that Wells Fargo and Bank of America accounted for 44% of all residential funding. If this is true then where is the Justice Department on antitrust law enforcement? These types of market shares potentially give these lenders pricing and service powers to squeeze out the competitors. Well not so fast!


We used mortgage data for Virginia (later this can be extended too many more markets) and compared the competitive landscape today to the Virginia mortgage market in 2006. Virginia is a typical mortgage market for this experiment. 2006 was a good year to compare because the major turmoil in mortgage markets showed their ugly face in 2007. We calculated the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) as a statistic to measure mortgage market concentration. Conventional purchase and refinance mortgage recordings for the first six months of 2006 was compared to 2009.

In 2006 the HHI value was 235 indicated a very competitive mortgage market having dozens of mortgage lender participants. In 2009, HHI climbed to 552. This is hardly a concentrated mortgage market and values of 552 would not be possible with 2 lenders having 44 percent of the market. No way Jose!

Even with mega mergers of Countrywide / Bank of America and Wachovia/ Wells Fargo, we still have competitive mortgage markets. It is true that the markets are much less competitive than they were just a few years ago but they are still competitive.

Where to capture Taylor, Bean & Whitaker's Mortgage Market Share

Now that Taylor Bean Whitaker Mortgage has been knocked down, which mortgage companies are going to capture their market share? It helps to know which markets Taylor, Bean, and Whitaker were strong in. See the reports below to find out where Talyor, Bean, Whitaker, originated most of their mortgage loans in 2009.

The following report shows the top ten counties in the country where Taylor, Bean, and Whitaker originated conventional mortgages during the first six months of 2009.

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The following table shows the top ten counties in the nation where Taylor, Bean, and Whitaker originated FHA mortgages during the first six months of 2009

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The following table shows the top ten counties in the nation where Taylor, Bean, and Whitaker originated VA mortgages during the first six months of 2009.

Click on Image for Larger View

Yup, we have the data to show you where Taylor, Bean, Whitaker (or anyone else) stands in your market area as well. Contact us if you need to know more.

Average Purchase Mortgages Are Rising

One of the signs that we are looking for to see if the housing market is starting to recover is the Average Purchase Mortgage Amounts. This may point to sign that housing prices are starting rise again. The chart belows shows the Average Conventional Mortgage Amount for 2009 Nationally.



Click on the image below for a larger view of the chart.


This is something we will definitely be watching in the coming months.

Mortgage Nostalgia, Miami Style

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Looking back four years ago, the market share data report shown above describes conventional purchase mortgages in Miami metropolitan area from April 2005 through June 2005. This was a peak time in the housing boom and a peak time for sub prime. It was a great time to be a mortgage originator.

The lender names in the report are almost a list of who headed to the graveyard. Eight of these companies are no longer in business. Two of the four leading lenders merged into mega lenders.

Note some ratios such as adjustable rate mortgages to total originations or the proportion of high loan to value mortgages. Today, most mortgage markets rarely show high incidences of adjustable rate mortgages or high loan to value ratios.

Fairfax Virginia New Home Owners Carry Less Mortgage Debt

In Fairfax County, VA., the average mortgage amount for $conforming (non jumbo) mortgages declined to $272,000 during the first quarter of 2009. This is more than a 16% decrease from the average mortgage loan amount of $conforming mortgages in Fairfax County Virginia during the first quarter of 2008 when the average loan was $317,000.

Click on Chart for Larger View and More Statistics

The chart above shows the monthly average mortgage amount for conventional purchase money mortgages on properties in Fairfax County Virginia. Only conventional mortgages having mortgage amount below the conforming limit are included ($417,000 for mortgages with closing dates in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 and $360,000 for mortgages having closing dates in 2005).

Home purchasers are able to obtain lower first lien mortgages to purchase homes in Fairfax as a result of decreases in home prices.

The savings to Fairfax home owners has its costs to mortgage lenders. Not only are mortgage lenders originating fewer mortgages, the reduced loan amounts result in reduced loan origination fees. Mortgage lenders typically charge 1 percent of the mortgage amount for their compensation in originating the mortgage.

Gulf Coast B & T is the New Mortgage Origination Leader in New Orleans

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The New Orleans mortgage market use to be dominated by the large national bank holding companies. You would need to look back a long time ago to not see mortgage lenders such as Countrywide, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo as the leaders of the New Orleans mortgage market.

Things are different in 2009. Banks and mortgage lenders headquartered here in New Orleans metro are out performing the national companies. The report above provides mortgage market share of mortgage lenders who originated conventional purchase mortgages in New Orleans for the first quarter of 2009. Gulf Coast Bank and Trust is the leader. Standard Mortgage and Whitney National Bank are near the top in conventional mortgages.

The market share report below describes FHA mortgage market share. Gulf Coast Bank and Trust leads the New Orleans mortgage market originating the most FHA purchase mortgages in 2007. Eustis Mortgage and Standard Mortgage are second and third in FHA mortgages in New Orleans.

Click Chart for Larger Image and More Statistics

Higher Average Loan Amounts on Conventional Refinance Mortgages

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There has been a spike in the average mortgage loan amount for conventional refinance mortgages. This makes sense based upon the record low interest rates for new mortgages and the need for homeowners having variable rate mortgages to replace them with less risky fixed rate mortgages. More home owner debt refinanced at current interest rates results in significant savings for the borrowers. Based upon data collected from municipal recordings from more than 500 counties nationwide, the average conventional refinance mortgage jumped passed $210,000 in 2009 from below $200,000 in 2008. Because of stricter underwriting requirements and depressed home values, fewer conventional refinance mortgages were originated than previous time periods during the past 10 years.

Conventional Purchase Mortgages Continue to Trend Down

Conventional Purchase Mortgages continued to trend downward in March. The chart below shows the trend over the last two years of monthly Conventional Purchase Mortgages nationwide.

Click on the image below to get a larger view.

The March 2009 numbers are nearly two-thirds lower than March 2008. It will be interesting to compare the numbers later on this Spring to see if there is any improvement.

First Quarter Conventional Purchase Mortgage Originations Real Slow!

We hear a lot about sales of existing homes stabilizing. The conventional mortgage data has yet to confirm that trend. The chart above shows monthly conventional mortgage originations for home purchases. New lows are seen for the first quarter of 2009.

Since a large proportion of home purchases are distress sales (foreclosed real estate owned by banks and short sales), purchasers of homes might be using their own cash or non conventional sources for home purchases.

Jumbo Mortgages Disappearing

The Great Loan Blog: Why can't I get a 5% 30Y Fixed Jumbo?

The link above from The Great Loan Blog, provides excellent insight about today's lack of jumbo conventional mortgage availability.

The chart below describes the monthly trend of the proportion of jumbo purchase mortgages relative to all conventional purchase mortgages since 2004.

Click chart for a larger image

Notice that the percentage of jumbos drops stepwise after December in years 2004 and 2005. The reason for these sudden drops for jumbos was that conforming loan limits on single family residences were increased in the following month. Conforming loan limits were increased in January 2005 from $333,700 to $359,650. Conforming loan limits were increased again in January 2006 to $417,000. This enabled $conforming mortgages to meet the demands for high priced home purchases. The irrational exuberance of home price increases in 2005 and 2006 eat away the purchasing power of conforming loans. The result created greater demand for the jumbo mortgages in 2005 and 2006. In 2007 there was no increase in the conforming loan limit, which is why you do not see the typical stepwise decrease in proportion of conventional mortgages that are jumbo. Also housing demand was slowing down by early 2007. By June - July 2007 the chart shows a mid year sudden drop in proportions of jumbo mortgages. This reflects the meltdowns in the secondary mortgage markets for these products. Investors lost interest in jumbo mortgages. That lack of a secondary market for jumbo mortgages persist to the present day.

If you are a mortgage originator, please feel free to post your product descriptions of jumbo level mortgage financing and the terms. Alternatively you can send your product availability to us by email to mortgageinfo@cbmiweb.com. Thanks!

Obama Visits Mesa Arizona. Its Bad Out There!

Today, President Obama, unveils the Homeowner Affordability and Stabilization Plan in Mesa, AZ. Mesa and the entire Phoenix metropolitan area is experiencing rapidly deteriorating home values and high rates of home foreclosures.

The chart below shows the monthly median home price trend for Phoenix Metro over the past six years. The median home prices in Phoenix have fallen 40% from a high of $275,000 in May 2006 to roughly $179,000 in December 2008.

Click on chart for full screen view

The report below describes conventional purchase money mortgage data for Phoenix Metro for years 2005 and 2006. These two years cover the time period of irrational exuberance in real estate.

Notice that more than one-third of the purchase money mortgages had loan-to-value (LTV) ratios above 85 percent. Also note the average purchase mortgage in Phoenix Metro for those years ($237,954) is significantly higher than current median home price values ($179,000). These statistics provide hard evidence of how vast the "home owners are under water" problem is in Phoenix. Many more homeowners obtained piggy back home purchase mortgages and cash out refinance mortgages, making a bad problem worse.

Click on report for full screen view

The report above on conventional purchase money mortgages includes the mortgage lender origination volume and market share for the top 15 mortgage lenders in Phoenix Metro in 2005 and 2006. Can you identify how many dead lenders there are in the report above and the impact those mortgage lenders had on the homeowners of Phoenix?

Provident Funding: The New Mortgage Top Ten Originator!

MortgageDataWeb's national ranking of conventional mortgage top ten originators now includes Provident Funding Associates of Burlingame, California. This ranking is based upon the total dollar of mortgage originations in 2008. Provident Funding currently ranks ninth in the nation. 2008 is the first year that MortgageDataWeb found Provident Funding on this distinguished list.


MortgageDataWeb uses data collected from municipal recordings to rank mortgage lenders in geographic locations. The top ten ranking of conventional mortgage originators is based upon purchase and refinance mortgages recorded and collected from over 700 counties across the U.S.



Serve the sales staff wine and host them at five star hotels in Vegas! Or do you think they desire cash?