Cool end of year gives way to hot 2016?

Business was down in to end the year but it may be on its way up – at least according to one industry veteran

Business was down in at the end of last year but it may be on its way up – at least according to one industry veteran.

“January is usually a slower time but it’s been very good this year,” Roger Steur, senior loan officer with Principal Mortgage, told Mortgage Professional America. “I think folks are finally able to see their previous homes and are looking to move up; many figure now is a good time to buy.”

Indeed, with many markets rebounding and the housing crisis in the rear-view mirror – yet not yet far behind us – many are calling for that recovery to continue into 2016.

This, despite the fact that the end of 2015 was a cool one for originators.

Mortgage applications for new homes fell 5% in December, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

"The BAS showed mixed-results last month with some lenders seeing steady or slightly increasing application levels while others saw declines,” Lynn Fisher, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a release.  On net, we estimate that new single-family home sales were down by about 8 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis relative to November, but remain 17 percent above a year ago"

And it wasn’t just new homes that took a hit at the end of 2015.

Sales of previously owned homes fell 10.5% on a seasonally adjusted annual rate in November, according to Trading Economics.

That dip was attributed to the TRID regulation changes. It may be too early to tell if the worst of TRID is also in the rear-view mirror, but anecdotal evidence is positive.