St Casimirs Mortgage Minute

Survey: QM Rules Continue to Tighten Credit Availability

Eighty percent of bankers expect that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s mortgage rules will continue to constrict mortgage credit, according to the results of ABA’s latest Real Estate Lending Survey released today. Of those 80 percent, nearly one-fifth characterized the impact as severe.

“As expected, the ability-to-repay and QM rules have dampened the housing market recovery,” said ABA EVP Bob Davis. “Combine that with new mortgage disclosures, which are just around the corner, and we’ll continue to see a slowdown in what should be the ideal time to buy a home.”

In more positive news, the survey found that the foreclosure rate dropped from 0.78 percent in 2013 to 0.57 percent in 2013, while the single-family home delinquency rate fell from 2.16 percent to 1.76 percent. The percentage of single family mortgage loans made to first time homebuyers increased in 2014 to 14 percent -- its highest since the survey’s inception -- from 13 percent in 2013. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dominated the housing market, remaining over the 50 percent mark for 2014.



---ABA Daily Newsbytes