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Why does a bank sell your mortgage?

Feb 6, 2024
Most are sold into the secondary market, which increases liquidity and makes it easier to get a mortgage at a lower interest rate.
Today, upward of 70% of mortgages are sold into the secondary market, typically bundled with others to create a mortgage-back security. It can be annoying, though, when your servicer changes.
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Loan applications are down, rejections are up. This could be good for taming inflation.

Nov 20, 2023
The application rate for any kind of credit dropped to just over 41% this year from nearly 45% in 2022, according to a Fed survey.
The rejection rate for auto loans is at 11% — the highest it’s been since the survey started asking about it a decade ago.
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Mortgage demand is up, but lenders are more cautious

Jun 14, 2023
Mortgage applications rose last week, thanks in part to a dip in mortgage rates, according to a new report. But credit availability has been falling.
Mortgage demand and mortgage supply are moving in different directions.
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It's getting more expensive to build a house

May 18, 2021
The land, labor, supplies, and permits add up.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase promises $30 billion to address racial wealth gap

Some of the initiative is philanthropic, but most of it is lending with an expected return for the bank.
"We can do more and do better to break down systems that have propagated racism and widespread economic inequality, especially for Black and Latinx people," JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said.
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With unemployment rising, millions could fall behind on their mortgages

Apr 3, 2020
Homeowners with federally backed mortgages can pause their monthly bill for up to a year. But they may get hit with a balloon payment at the end.
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For public good, not for profit.

Could falling interest rates mean a pick-up in hiring by mortgage lenders?

Apr 3, 2019
It looks like refinancing is making a comeback in the housing market. Dropping interest rates have brought a spike in applications to refinance mortgage loans. According to a report from financial analysts Black Knight, about 5 million homeowners in the US could benefit, saving hundreds of dollars a month. But is it a boon for […]
Pedestrians pass by a sign advertising low refinance rates at a US Bank office in San Francisco, Calif.
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FHA tightens standards on insuring home loans

Mar 25, 2019
The Federal Housing Administration is growing concerned that lenders are allowing some first-time home buyers to take on too much risk. Earlier this month, the FHA told lenders that it will flag more loans as high risk, and raise the hurdle some borrowers must jump for FHA-backed loans. Click the audio player above to hear […]
The reflection of blue skies and palm trees are seen in the window of a Countrywide banking and home loans location offering reverse mortgages in Sun City, Arizona.
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Home buyers navigate sluggish housing market

Oct 24, 2018
Sales of new and existing homes haven't been this slow for years, so what's a buyer to do?
 A 'For Sale' sign sits in front of a new home May 27, 2004 in Miami, Florida. 
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