Rising rates had a pronounced impact on one category of loans

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported both purchase and refinance applications receding last week, continuing a slide after an end-of-summer surge. The effective contract interest rate for all loan types tracked by the MBA rose on a weekly basis, led by the 30-year fixed rate mortgage jumping to 6.36% from 6.14%. "Conventional loan refinances, which tend to have larger balances than government loans and hence are more responsive for a given change in mortgage rates, fell to a greater extent over the week," said Mike Fratantoni, the MBA's senior vice president and chief economist, in a press release.?

READ MORE: Rising rates had a pronounced impact on one category of loans

Why one measurement of mortgage costs rose amid lower rates

Mortgage rates have seen some declines recently but other rising costs of housing keep outweighing their impact, according to a new report by Intercontinental Exchange. The company's earlier First Look report found rates fell enough to incentivize significant refinancing in August, but later analysis done in the subsequent Mortgage Monitor report found it didn't do much to improve overall affordability. The average mortgage payment for all outstanding borrowers was $2,070 during the month. A combination of higher home prices, corresponding increases in loan sizes, taxes, insurance and other factors have contributed to this.

Corelogic rolls out AI analytics platform

The real estate data services provider’s release is the latest in a string of AI-related upgrades and offerings announced by home finance businesses over the past month. Corelogic’s AI tool aims to serve as a one-stop platform that contains information about nearly 100% of U.S. properties, the company claimed. Dubbed Araya, the company expects it to tap into the information and solutions available to housing stakeholders across its various lines of business. The tool should serve as many as 5 million professionals across the housing industry spectrum.?

Mortgage groups take aim at homeownership gap

Building on an existing program, the Mortgage Bankers Association is spearheading 14 housing industry players, including other trade associations and the government-sponsored enterprises, in a three-year initiative to close the racial homeownership gap. The program is called the Convergence Collaborative, using the same name MBA has for its work in three cities— Memphis, Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio; and Philadelphia. Plans are for the partnership to spend over $1 million per year during that time.

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