RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 16,
2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Genworth Mortgage Insurance, an operating
segment of Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE: GNW), today released the
results of its survey of 200 mortgage industry professionals
conducted at this year's Mortgage Bankers Association Annual
Convention and Expo in Denver,
Colorado. The survey addressed several topics, including a
focus on impediments to achieving homeownership for the first-time
homebuyer market. The analysis shows a majority of industry
executives believe that saving for a sufficient down payment (46
percent) and a lack of affordable housing inventory (35 percent)
are the biggest hurdles. Additional responses included student debt
(14 percent) and the ability to qualify for a mortgage (5
percent).
"Despite their emergence as today's fastest-growing homebuying
demographic, first-time homebuyers still face many headwinds. While
some of these, such as shortages in affordable inventory, are
environment-driven, others can be addressed via improved awareness
on the various low-down-payment solutions available in today's
market," said Rohit Gupta, President
and CEO, Genworth Mortgage Insurance. "Ensuring that the right
tools from both a product and educational standpoint are in place
is imperative to supporting the continued positive trajectory for
these buyers."
Respondents still anticipate strong first-time homebuyer growth
in 2018, with over half (57 percent) believing that the first-time
homebuyer market will grow at a faster pace than the overall
housing market in 2018. Thirty-one percent thought this group would
continue to grow at the same rate as the overall housing market,
while only 12 percent thought the population's growth would slow.
Additional findings from the survey are included below and
highlight the industry's perspectives on credit expansion and the
strength of various loan offerings:
Industry expects demand for 97 LTV products to strengthen
in 2018
When asked about expectations for the growth of
97 LTV products in 2018, nearly two-thirds of respondents (63
percent) believe demand will increase for these products. An
additional 35 percent of respondents thought that demand for these
products would remain at their current levels, while two percent
forecasted a decline in demand.
High LTV, low-FICO loans expected to surge in
demand
Industry professionals were divided on what they
viewed as the most likely source of credit expansion in 2018, with
a higher mix of above-80 LTV loans (45 percent) and a higher mix of
borrowers with below-700 FICO scores (38 percent) as the most
heavily cited. Seventeen percent of respondents believed that a
higher mix of borrowers with above-41 DTIs would be the most likely
source of credit expansion.
Non-QM loan growth expected to remain stable or increase
in 2018
Forty-nine percent of respondents believe there
will be a strong appetite among lenders for originating non-QM
loans in 2018, suggesting that the housing industry is on a strong
upward trajectory. An additional 41 percent believe that the
current appetite will be average, not expecting a significant
change as the housing recovery has been steady. Nine percent of
professionals thought that this demand would be weak, while only
one percent thought the appetite was non-existent among
lenders.
About Genworth Financial
Genworth Financial,
Inc. (NYSE: GNW) is a Fortune 500 insurance holding company
committed to helping families achieve the dream of homeownership
and address the financial challenges of aging through its
leadership positions in mortgage insurance and long term care
insurance. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Genworth traces its roots
back to 1871 and became a public company in 2004. For more
information, visit genworth.com.
From time to time, Genworth releases important information via
postings on its corporate website. Accordingly, investors and other
interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic
email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding
new postings. Enrollment information is found under the "Investors"
section of genworth.com. From time to time, Genworth's
publicly traded subsidiaries, Genworth MI Canada Inc. and Genworth
Mortgage Insurance Australia Limited, separately release financial
and other information about their operations. This information can
be found at http://genworth.ca and
http://www.genworth.com.au.
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SOURCE Genworth Mortgage Insurance