Housing market problems are masked by high annual price growth

Home prices in July declined on a month-to-month basis for the first time in over two-and-a-half years but the impact is masked by strong annual growth, Black Knight said. As a result of the slide, the amount of home equity an owner can tap could drop from quarter-to-quarter for the first time in three years. The typical homeowner's tappable equity peaked in May, but has been on the downswing since. "Tappable equity is now down 5% in the last two months, setting up Q3 to likely see the first quarterly decline in tappable equity since 2019," Ben Graboske, Black Knight president of data and analytics, said. "Some of the nation's most equity-rich markets have seen significant pullbacks, most notably among key West Coast metros."

READ MORE: Housing market problems are masked by high annual price growth

Tech, data, regulation — find your competitive edge: Join us at DigMo in September?

Rent reporting expands as more influential players advance the cause

Efforts to use rental payment records to build or improve credit histories gained some additional momentum on Wednesday. Experian, one of the "Big 3" credit bureaus, began testing a feed of rent data into FICO Score 8. Also Berkadia — a top multifamily lender — announced a new multiyear agreement with Esusu, a high-profile fintech that is working with government-sponsored enterprise Freddie Mac to report on-time rental payments to Equifax, Transunion, and Experian. The two initiatives could help to make more consumers who lack a traditional credit history eligible for loans. The Experian test may also provide another reason for the GSEs to use more advanced scores in their underwriting systems.

With crypto-secured cash-out refis Milo aims to 'play the long game'

Milo Credit has introduced a cash-out refinance mortgage product that allows borrowers to access 100% of their home's equity by pledging their crypto assets and the property to secure the loan. Milo is bringing this product to market during what some experts deem as a "crypto winter," an extended period where currency values are at low levels. Back in May, Terraform Labs saw its Terra currency collapse. That was followed by three more well-publicized failures in the DeFi world this summer: Voyager, Celsius and Three Arrows Capital. But many people that have invested in cryptocurrency are also in the millennial and Gen Z demographics, who are now more desirous of owning a home, Josip Rupena, CEO of Milo said.

Nominate your firm to be considered for 2023 ranking of the Best Mortgage Companies to Work for

Mortgage volumes hold steady over pre-holiday week

Mortgage volumes came in relatively flat over the last unofficial week of summer, with a slight decline that continued a downward path from multi-decade lows reached in August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA's Market Composite Index, a measure of weekly loan volume based on surveys of association members, dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.8% for the seven-day period ending Sept. 2. It was the fourth consecutive decrease for the index, which is now 63% lower than its level of a year ago. "With the 30-year fixed rate rising to the highest level since mid-June, application volumes for both purchase and refinance loans dropped," Mike Fratantoni, MBA's senior vice president and chief economist, said.

Sign up here to receive the National Mortgage News complete newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily.