Private mortgage insurers wrote just 2% more new business on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter, but market share shifts widened the spread between the six underwriters. The industry-wide market share gap was 1.7 percentage points for both the second quarter 2024 and first quarter of 2025, according to data from Keefe, Bruyette & […]
Private MI market share gaps widen in Q2 Read More »
Some loosening in mortgage underwriting contributed to the 8-basis-point quarter-to-quarter increase in the Milliman Mortgage Default Index. This measurement is an estimate of the lifetime serious delinquency rate, which Milliman defines as loans for which the borrower is 180 or more days late on their payments. It looks at loans acquired by the government-sponsored enterprises
Looser underwriting boosts serious default risk in 1Q25 Read More »
While Attom’s recent quarterly numbers for the share of underwater mortgages show improvement in the near term, the percentage is running higher than it was a year ago, revealing regions with stress. The share of seriously underwater loans relative to all outstanding mortgages stood at 2.7% at the close of the second quarter, according to
Underwater mortgages post uptick from year-ago levels Read More »
Foreclosures in 2025 are exceeding last year’s pace, but servicers are also managing to turn around the process more rapidly, according to a new report. Total filings, including default notices, auctions and bank repossessions, surged to 187,659 properties by midyear, up 5.8% compared to the first six months of 2024, according to the latest report
Foreclosures exceed last year’s pace by 6% Read More »
Fears of falling behind on mortgage payments are driving a growing number of homeowners to seek legal help, with foreclosure concerns fueling the spike. Foreclosure-related legal inquiries rose 13.3% from the first to the second quarter of 2025, according to data from legal services provider LegalShield. Year over year, those inquiries surged 28.9% compared to
Mortgage strain pushes foreclosure inquiries up Read More »
Even though Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has downgraded the stock rating on three of the five private mortgage insurers it covers, its analysts are still relatively bullish on the segment. Radian, Essent and NMI Holdings have all been dropped to a market perform rating from outperform in large measure because of their strong performance year-to-date,
KBW cuts ratings on mortgage insurers Read More »
Americans are largely keeping up with their mortgage payments, but new data shows that cracks are forming beneath the surface, which should raise red flags for borrowers and lenders alike. The nationwide delinquency rate stood at 3.2% in May, according to ICE’s July mortgage monitor report, two basis points down from April but 5.2% higher
FHA borrowers face mounting mortgage pressure Read More »
New reports show that the strategies used by three major government-backed mortgage agencies to help delinquent borrowers keep their homes make financial sense for the entities themselves. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration save billions of dollars over time by giving loans a chance to reperform, Housing Risk and Policy Advisors found
Home retention saves Fannie, Freddie and FHA billions Read More »
Early- and mid-stage mortgage delinquencies saw the biggest yearly increases among all credit products, a development Vantagescore deemed a “surprise”, which “may be demonstrating early signs of borrower financial stress.” The share of mortgages 30-to-59 days behind on payments jumped to 1.03% in May from 0.92% during the same month a year earlier. Among all
Researchers find ‘surprise’ in new mortgage delinquency data Read More »
Mortgage modifications surged in the first quarter at the nation’s largest banks, reversing a yearlong decline, while foreclosure activity also saw a marked uptick, according to a new government report. The data suggests rising financial stress is hitting certain borrower segments, even as conditions for the mortgage market overall appear relatively strong, based on numbers
Banking giants see surge in loan modifications Read More »