- The Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices showed 30-year
conforming rates dipping below 6.25% in the first week of April
before finishing at 6.45%, for an average of 6.38% for the month,
17 basis points lower than March's average
- The 10-year Treasury yield ended April at 3.44%, pushing the
spread with mortgage rates back above 3%, nearing its high point
since the Fed began raising rates last year
- Rate lock volumes fell 22% month over month, with half the
change attributable to March having three additional business days;
adjusted for these calendar effects, April volumes dropped just
10%
- Month-over-month changes were similar across all loan purposes,
with purchase locks down 21.8%, cash-out refinances declining 20.6%
and rate/term refis down 27.6%
- The refi share of lock volume dipped below 13% to 12.8%,
setting a new floor for refi production
- Conforming loans took share from all other loan products in
April, while FHA saw the biggest drop – a rare pullback since FHA
began regaining share in late 2021 when it held 10% of total
volume
- Purchase lock counts were down 45% year over year; 38% below
those in pre-pandemic April 2019
- Average loan amount remained flat at $355K, while the average purchase price rose
slightly from $445K to $447K
- Credit quality ticked higher across the board with purchase,
cash-outs and rate/term refis all picking up 2 points on
average
- ARM share dropped to 7.8% of all lock volume, down from 8.8% in
March
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 8, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) announced
the release of its latest Originations Market Monitor report,
looking at mortgage origination data through April 2023 month-end. Leveraging daily rate lock
data from the Black Knight Optimal Blue PPE, the Originations
Market Monitor provides the industry's earliest and most
comprehensive view of origination activity.
"Despite the fact that mortgage rates on average were lower in
April, rate lock volumes took a hit," said Andy Walden, vice president of enterprise
research and strategy at Black Knight. "From March to April,
volumes were down 22%, even though the average rate in April was 17
basis points lower than that of March. While half the decline can
be explained by the fact that there were three fewer business days
in April than in March, we clearly saw additional cooling in rate
lock volumes this month."
The month's pipeline data showed locks down across the board,
with purchase locks down 22%, cash-out refinance locks declining
21% and rate/term refinance locks down 28%. Purchase locks
accounted for more than 87% of locks in April, the highest share on
record. Even so, purchase lock counts were down 45% year over year
and 38% below April 2019.
"After seeing purchase rate locks pull to within 15% of
pre-pandemic levels in mid-January and again in mid-March on easing
rates, we've seen that deficit eclipse 30% again in recent weeks,"
Walden continued. "The cause is likely multifaceted. In addition to
fewer business days in April than in March, another component may
be potential homebuyers waiting on the sidelines for more favorable
rates before locking. We saw a similar phenomenon on the rate dips
in March. Inventory challenges are surely playing a role as well.
New listing volumes remain well below pre-pandemic levels and
active for-sale inventory fell for the sixth consecutive month on a
seasonally adjusted basis. Lock volumes will be worth watching
closely in coming weeks to see if this trend continues."
Each month's Originations Market Monitor provides high-level
origination metrics for the U.S. and the top 20 metropolitan
statistical areas by share of total origination volume. Much more
detail on April's origination activity can be found in the full
Black Knight Originations Market Monitor report.
About Black Knight
Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI) is an
award-winning software, data and analytics company that drives
innovation in the mortgage lending and servicing and real estate
industries, as well as the capital and secondary markets.
Businesses leverage our robust, integrated solutions across the
entire homeownership life cycle to help retain existing customers,
gain new customers, mitigate risk and operate more effectively.
Our clients rely on our proven, comprehensive, scalable products
and our unwavering commitment to delivering superior client support
to achieve their strategic goals and better serving their
customers. For more information on Black Knight, please visit
www.blackknightinc.com/.
For more
information:
|
|
Michelle Kersch
|
Mitch Cohen
|
904.854.5043
|
704.890.8158
|
michelle.kersch@bkfs.com
|
mitch.cohen@bkfs.com
|
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SOURCE Black Knight, Inc.