The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending on February 7, 2020, reveals that mortgage applications increased 1.1% from the prior week. 

Growing up during a recession has not discouraged Generation Z customers away from credit products, including mortgages, according to a study from TransUnion. Gen Z, or those born after 1995, have been influenced not just by favorable economic conditions, but technological advancements, TransUnion notes.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released its 2020 priced out estimates report and it casts an ominous shadow over the future fate of home prices. Data shows that if the average price for a new home raises by just $1,000, at least 158,857 homeowners would be entirely priced out of the housing market. 

According to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, mortgage applications increased 30.2%. This report reveals statistics from the week ending on January 10 compared to the prior week. 

An editorial by the Los Angeles Times looks at the possibility of the housing market being derailed by the Baby Boomer generation. 

The National Association of Realtors announced that its Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose 1.2% in November 2019, reaching 108.5 (An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001). Year-over-year contract signings increased by 7.4% during November.

Today’s release of Fitch Ratings’ Global Housing and Mortgage Outlook for 2020 offers an if not overwhelmingly optimistic forecast for both Canadian and American mortgages, at least an assurance that mortgage performance will maintain a stable stasis in the coming year. 

One of our favorite parts of attending New England Mortgage Bankers Conference (NEMBC) hosted by the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association (MMBA) is having the opportunity to support good causes via the NEMBC Gives Back program.

Housing supported the larger economy in Q3 2019, but despite this growth, global political uncertainty poses a risk to the forecast tipping to the downside. The Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group expects one more rate cut from the Federal Reserve in early 2020 before pausing for the remainder of the year, leading to an upgraded 2020 forecast for real GDP growth of 1.9%. Housing added to growth in Q3 into the Q4 and the first half of 2020.

Joe Mellman is the SVP and the mortgage business leader at TransUnion, overseeing the development and execution of the company's mortgage strategy and product suite. This includes a focus on helping mortgage and HELOC lenders improve their new customer acquisition, retention, cross-sell, loan product creation and refresh, origination, servicing, and capital markets functions.