NAR surveyed a panel of mortgage originators about their experiences in the 4th quarter of 2015. Participants were queried on current trends in lending, their willingness to originate certain products, the outlook, and the impact of recent policy and regulatory changes.
Key Findings
- Non‐QM lending made a modest comeback in the 4th quarter led by banks, while mortgage bankers spurred demand for rebuttable presumption loans.
- Investor demand for non‐QM loans slumped, but is expected to improve modestly over the next six months.
- Credit access in general is expected to rise over the coming six months as is investor demand for most categories.
- Lenders report that 8.3% of settlements were delayed and 1.5% cancelled due to TRID. Mid‐sized originators reported the most issues.
- More than 60% of respondents advised clients for longer rate locks, but nearly half of this group indicated that they could complete settlement without the buffer on at least some transactions.
- Less than 30% of lenders were willing to share the closing documents (CD) with REALTORS®.
- The majority of lenders expect operations to normalize within 9 months
- 70% of respondents think the FHA's revised condo rules will help with access to credit.