Total rate lock volume was down double-digits thanks to a big drop in purchases to close out the the year, according to the latest data from Black Knight…(BK)
- M-O-M: Total rate lock volume was down 18.3% month-over-month in December 2021.
- Y-O-Y: Total rate lock volume was down 35% when compared to December 2020.
Purchase locks saw the biggest decline with a 22.5% drop month-over-month and falling to their lowest level in two years…
- RATE/TERM locks saw a 17% drop to also reach their lowest level for such lending in two years.
- CASH-OUT locks were also down with a 10% drop for the month. However, they are still up nearly 18% from last year.
Credit scores for rate/term refis were the highest on average at 735 which was one point lower from last month and down 17 points from the same time last year…
- PURCHASES saw their average score fall one point to 730 which is also one point lower from December 2020.
- CASH-OUTS were unchanged with an average of 726 which is 19 points lower than one year ago.
The confirming 30-yr fixed rate was 8 bips higher from November at 3.35%, this is 58 basis points higher than one year ago.
Scott Happ, president of Black Knight Secondary Marketing Technologies, said while the drop was big, it was not surprising…
- “Seen in the light of the normal seasonal slowdown in home sales as well as our current rate environment, December’s more than 20% drop in purchase loan locks isn’t all that surprising…Neither was the continued decline in rate/term refinance lending, though the size of the annual decline is noteworthy, if not sobering…”