Fewer Homes Being Flipped, But Profits Are Up

One out of every 15 home sales in the second quarter of the year were defined as "flips" by ATTOM Data Solutions.  A flip is any arms-length transaction that occurred in the quarter where a previous arms-length transaction on the same property had occurred within the last 12 months.

ATTOM's second quarter report on flipping says 53,621 single-family homes and condos were flipped in the second quarter, 6.7 percent of total transactions. This is down slightly from 7.5 percent or one of every 13 transactions in the first quarter, but up from 6.1 percent or one in 17 in the second quarter of last year.

While flipping declined slightly last quarter, both profits and profit margins were up. The median sales price of second quarter flips was $232,402 and the median paid by the investor was $164,500. This resulted in a gross profit on the typical home flip nationwide of $67,902. This 41.3 percent return on investment (ROI) was the highest since...

Forbearance Plan Count Continues to Shrink

There was a fourth straight decline in the number of mortgage loans in forbearance during the week ended September 15. Black Knight says the total dropped by 26,000 or 0.7 percent to an estimated 3.7 million loans. That is down 22 percent from the peak of over 4.7 million in late May. Volumes have declined in 10 of the last 12 weeks. The remaining forborne loans represent 7 percent of all active mortgages and $781 billion in unpaid principal. Black Knight says there are 1.7 million plans set to expire in September so there could be significant numbers of plan extensions as well as plans ending over the next few weeks.

Refis Increased Slightly in August, FICO Scores Highest This Year

The refinance share of loans originated in August rebounded slightly from July levels as interest rates fell to the lowest in Ellie Mae's history. The company's Origination Insight Report says the average rate on all loans fell to 3.09 percent during the month, down from 3.24 percent in July. The 30-year note rate VA loans fell below 3 percent to 2.86 percent from 3.02 percent in July. The 30-year note rate on conventional loans dropped to 3.12 percent from 3.26 percent in July. Similarly, the 30-year rate on FHA loans fell from 3.26 percent to 3.10 percent. As a result of these rates, the refinance share grew to 56 percent of all loans, up from 54 percent in July. The purchase mortgages share dipped to 44 percent from 46 percent.