Buy lock counts drop to 9-year low

The Federal Reserve‘s alerts indicating additional fee hikes for 2023 seem to have scared consumers away from the market in December. Final month tallied the fewest buy lock counts in a single month since early 2014 as rates of interest and affordability pressures challenged the market. 

Mortgage origination exercise dropped 19.4% from November to December, marking 9 consecutive months of declines. The drop was led by buy locks, which declined 20.5%, in line with Black Knight‘s originations market monitor report. Charge/time period refis dropped 11.2% and cash-out refis had been down 14.1%, with whole refinance locks making up 16% of total exercise in December. 

The final month of 2022 additionally marked the fewest total fee lock counts on document since January 2000, when Black Knight started reporting origination metrics. 

“The variety of mortgage holders locking in a fee to refinance their current mortgage additionally set a brand new document low for the fourth consecutive month,” Kevin McMahon, president of Optimum Blue, a division of Black Knight, stated. 

The variety of buy mortgage lock counts in December — which excludes the influence of document dwelling value adjustments on volumes — dropped 47% from the identical month in 2021 and declined 33% in comparison with pre-pandemic ranges in 2019. Total fee lock counts had been down a whopping 70% from final yr’s ranges, knowledge confirmed. 

Mortgage charges peaked previous the 7% ranges in October earlier than retreating as a result of slowing inflation numbers. Charges have continued to creep up following the Fed’s continued sign concerning further fee hikes in 2023. Freddie Mac‘s newest weekly survey confirmed 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at 6.48% as of January 5 — six foundation factors increased than the earlier week.

Minutes launched from the central financial institution’s December assembly abstract stated that “a restrictive coverage stance would should be maintained till the incoming knowledge offered confidence that inflation was on a sustained downward path to 2 %, which was more likely to take a while.”

“Mortgage charges declined by way of the primary half of December however reversed course because the Fed doubled down on their stance of further tightening in 2023,” McMahon stated. 

The labor market knowledge has grow to be key for the tempo of the Fed’s fee hikes amid the inflation development fee’s gradual decline. 

Employers added 223,000 jobs in December, marking two consecutive years of sturdy development. Final month’s unemployment fee ticked down to three.5%, and the common hourly earnings inched up 4.6%, in comparison with the earlier yr. 

“The unfold between mortgage charges and the 10-year Treasury yield narrowed one other 22 foundation factors in December to 264 foundation factors, 40 foundation factors off the latest excessive, however continues to be up 81 foundation factors for the yr.”