Handy compilation via http://www.thenorrisgroup.com:

Today’s News Synopsis:

Realty Trac reported that of the 3.3 million Home Equity Lines of Credit set to be reset, 56% of them are on seriously underwater homes.  Mortgage rates are at their lowest in 21 months according to Freddie Mac with 30-year rates now at 3.75% and 15-year rates at 3.03%.  In other mortgage news, the amount of mortgage credit available increased last month by 0.7% to 118.6.

In The News:

Bloomberg – “Home-Equity Borrowers Face Higher Payments as Loans Reset” (3-4-15)

“Owners of about 3.3 million U.S. homes face higher payments on home-equity lines of credit over the next four years as interest-only periods expire on loans originated during the bubble era, RealtyTrac reported.”

Housing Wire – “Initial jobless claims jump dramatically” (3-5-15)

“Initial jobless claims rose 7,000 to a much higher-than-expected level of 320,000 in the February 28 week.  The increase lifts the 4-week average by a steep 10,250 to 304,750. The average is trending roughly 5,000 higher than a month ago in a comparison that does not point to improvement for the labor market.”

Mortgage Professional America – “Redfin: 2015 could be the biggest year for housing since the bust” (3-5-15)

“This year is poised to be the biggest year for housing since the bust, according to recent data from Redfin.  Redfin customers requesting home tours, an early indicator of housing market performance, jumped nearly 50% from a year ago and the number of newly listed homes for sale rose to the highest level since mid-2013, setting the stage for accelerating growth in the housing market in 2015, according to a Redfin analysis that tracks thousands of homebuyers across the country.”

Mortgage Bankers Association – “Mortgage Credit Availability Increases Slightly in February” (3-5-15)

“Mortgage credit availability increased slightly in February according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) which analyzes data from the AllRegs® Market Clarity® product.”

Housing Wire – “Realtor.com: Housing inventory increased in February” (3-5-15)

“An early look at realtor.com’s national monthly housing data shows a clear change in market trend in February, pointing to an increase in listings going forward.”

Mortgage Professional America – “Death by regulation: One picture equals 1,000 mortgage rules” (3-5-15)

“In an effort to show how heavily regulated the financial industry is, SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher has created an overwhelming diagram to show all the new regulations that have been imposed on U.S. financial services firms since enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010.”

Housing Wire – “Freddie Mac: Mortgage rates at 21-month low” (3-5-15)

“Average fixed mortgage rates moved lower for the first time in four weeks and remaining near late May, 2013 lows, according to the weekly Freddie Mac survey.  It seemed to have little impact on mortgage applications.  The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.75% with an average 0.6 point for the week ending March 5, 2015, down from last week when it averaged 3.80%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.28%.”

Realty Trac – “56 Percent of 3.3 Million HELOCs Scheduled to Reset With Higher Rates in Next Four Years Are on Underwater Homes” (3-5-15)

“RealtyTrac^® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation’s leading source for comprehensive housing data, today released its first-ever U.S. HELOC Resetting Report, which found that 56 percent of the 3.3 million Home Equity Lines of Credit potentially resetting with higher, fully amortizing monthly payments from 2015 to 2018 are on properties that are seriously underwater.”

Housing Wire – “Housing’s critical problems are ‘intrinsic to the GSE charters’” (3-5-15)

“Private capital is the cornerstone of the housing reform movement, as the U.S. Treasury and other housing regulators push for more reform to ensure that the financial crisis will never occur again, at least not at the same level.”

OC Housing News – “The housing headwind nobody saw coming” (3-5-15)

“During the housing bubble, many astute observers of the market outlined the various reasons housing was going to crash: mortgage resets, delinquencies and foreclosures, and an economic contraction caused by the collapse of mortgage equity withdrawal spending.”

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