May 2013 worst month for mortgage applications since 2009, mass layoffs last week of mortgage bankers

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6/5/13, "Worst Month For Mortgage Applications Since 2009 Driving Mass Layoffs," Zero Hedge

"This morning's 11.5% week-over-week plunge in mortgage applications is the fourth week of fading demand in a row as it appears the bloom is very much off the rose of the second-coming of the housing bubble. This makes it the worst plunge in mortgage applications since June 2009 and the lowest level of activity since December 2011. Wondering how this is possible? We explained in detail here but this collapse in mortgage demand fits perfectly with Mark Hanson's insights that
a number of "large private mortgage bankers had mass layoffs last Friday to the tune of 25% to 50% of their operations staff." This all feels very deja vu all over again.

As Mark Hanson notes,

"This morning I was made aware that three large private mortgage bankers I follow closely for trends in mortgage finance ALL had mass layoffs last Friday and yesterday to the tune of 25% to 50% of their operations staff (intake, processing, underwriting, document drawing, funding, post-closing).

This obviously means that my reports of refi apps being down 65% to 90% in the past 3 weeks are far more accurate than the lagging MBA index, which is likely on its' way to print multi-year lows in the next month."

So if the fast 'dumb-chasing-fast' money is leaving the building (as we explained here), then given this plunge in 'real' mortgage apps, it is not a stretch to expect the new home sales to fill that gap..."

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6/5/13, "Weekly Mortgage Application Survey Shows 11.5% Decrease," loansafe.org, Ferreras

"Mortgage applications decreased 11.5 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 31, 2013. This week’s results include an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 11.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 20 percent compared with the previous week.  The Refinance Index decreased 15 percent from the previous week and is at its lowest level since the end of November 2011.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 13 percent compared with the previous week and was 14 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 68 percent of total applications from 71 percent the previous week, the lowest level since early July 2011. This is the fourth straight weekly decline for the refinance share. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6 percent of total applications. The HARP share of refinance applications has been unchanged at 32 percent for the past three weeks."...



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