FHFA, CFPB Release Updated Mortgage Data
Written By: Joel Palmer, Op-Ed Writer
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has published updated aggregate statistics from the National Mortgage Database (NMDB®) and launched the NMDB Aggregate Statistics Dashboard—a new data visualization tool for the NMDB Outstanding Residential Mortgage Statistics.
“The release of updated data will allow stakeholders to better understand emerging mortgage and housing market trends,” said Director Sandra L. Thompson. “Additionally, the new dashboard will ensure that information about the volume and characteristics of mortgages held by U.S. households is more easily accessible and available to the public.”
The dashboard enables users to see:
Quarterly data on all mortgages, as well as enterprise acquisitions, and government vs non-conventional mortgages.
Mortgage statistics based on state and region.
Comparison data on market segments and geography.
The early July release describes outstanding residential mortgage debt at the end of the first quarter of 2024. Highlights include:
There were 50.8 million outstanding mortgages with unpaid balances totaling $11.7 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2024.
21.9 percent of outstanding mortgages have interest rates below 3 percent, down slightly from a high of 24.6 percent in the first quarter of 2022. 14.3 percent of outstanding mortgages have interest rates of 6 percent or higher.
Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) account for 3.5 percent of outstanding mortgages, down from 9.6 percent one decade ago.
The median monthly payment among outstanding mortgages is $1,520. That’s $100 more per month than in the first quarter of 2023.
The average monthly mortgage payment has increased from $1,687 to $1,817 between the first quarter of 2023 and 2024.
The average credit score among borrowers with an active loan is 743.
In the last year, the average age of a mortgage loan increased from 63 months to 69 months.
NMDB Aggregate Statistics include summary statistics derived by aggregating data in the NMDB. The NMDB is a de-identified database of closed-end first-lien residential mortgages, containing a nationally representative sample of mortgages in the United States.
In addition to these statistics, FHFA also teamed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to publish updated loan-level data on mortgage performance and credit information for a nationally representative sample of mortgage borrowers from 2013 to 2021.
This release features data on three new survey questions first asked of mortgage borrowers in 2021:
When asked about appraisal satisfaction, 70 percent of respondents reported being very satisfied with their property appraisal, 23 percent reported being somewhat satisfied, and 6 percent were not at all satisfied.
When questioned on their willingness to move from their primary residence, 50 percent of respondents reported being unwilling to move, 20 percent were unsure about moving, 25 percent were willing and able to move, and 5 percent were willing but unable to move.
When prompted to select from a list of factors important to borrowers choosing a mortgage lender/broker, 8 percent of respondents selected accommodations for people with disabilities as an important factor in their choice.
“This year’s survey provides new insights into appraisal satisfaction and willingness to move for borrowers with new mortgages," said Jason Brown, CFPB Assistant Director for Research. “With the release of the public use file, we invite researchers to help us understand the challenges facing consumers and help us to find ways to improve the market for consumers.”
Since 2014, FHFA and CFPB have sent quarterly surveys to borrowers who recently obtained mortgages. These surveys gather feedback on borrowers’ experiences during the mortgage process, their perceptions of the mortgage market, and their future expectations.
Publication of aggregate statistics from NMDB is designed to fulfill the statutory requirements of section 1324(c) of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The statute requires FHFA to conduct a monthly mortgage market survey to collect data on the characteristics of individual mortgages, both enterprise and non-enterprise, and to make the data available to the public while protecting the privacy of the borrowers.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act also mandated that CFPB monitor the primary mortgage market, in part through the use of the survey data.
About the Author
As an NAMP® Opinion Editorial Contributor, Joel Palmer is a freelance writer who spent 10 years as a business and financial reporter and another 10 years in marketing for the insurance and financial services industries. He regularly writes about the mortgage industry, as well as residential and commercial real estate, investments, and retirement income planning. He has also ghostwritten books on starting a business, marketing, and retirement income planning.
