The new year started with lower interest rates across the board, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey from Freddie Mac.

“Mortgage rates declined to start the new year with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipping to 4.51 percent,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Low mortgage rates combined with decelerating home price growth should get prospective homebuyers excited to buy. However, it will be interesting to see how the recent turmoil in the stock market will affect homebuying activity in the coming months.”

Some additional rate information is as follows:

• The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.51 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending Jan. 3, 2019, down from last week when it averaged 4.55 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.95 percent.
• The 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.99 percent with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.01 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.38 percent.
• The 5-year Treasury indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage  averaged 3.98 percent with an average 0.2 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.00 percent. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.45 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage.

Property appreciation is slowing, a sign that the U.S. is nearing the peak of the current housing cycle. Housing prices are 7.3 percent above their long-term pricing trend, with minimal downward pressure on the demand for homeownership, according to "Where Are We Now with Housing: A Report," a study from Florida Atlantic University College of Business.

"All evidence is suggesting that the national housing market is peaking," said Ken Johnson, a real estate economist at Florida Atlantic University College of Business and author of the study. "However, this time around from a national perspective, things should turn out quite differently. "It looks like we're in for more of a very high tide, as opposed to a tsunami, as residential prices peak in this latest cycle. At a minimum, we can expect flatter housing price growth. At worst, we could experience price declines slightly below the long-term pricing trend."

For comparison, at the peak of the last housing cycle, prices were 31 percent above their long-term pricing trend. Johnson's BH&J Index was nearing a score of 1, the highest possible score, in the summer of 2006, indicating extreme downward pressure on the demand for home ownership. Today, that score stands at 0.04.

The study compares the U.S. housing market of 2018 with the housing peak at the end of last cycle in July 2006. The  results of the survey are based on scores from the Beracha, Hardin & Johnson Buy vs. Rent Index, and data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20 City Composite Home Price NSA Index.

United Community Banks Inc. has deployed CompenSafe to automate loan originator and processor commissions.

The community bank has been using CompenSafe to automate commissions for its 80 loan officers and loan processors in an efficient, compliant manner since August. CompenSafe’s built-in integrations with the bank’s payroll provider and Ellie Mae Encompass loan origination system helped make the bank’s transition away from spreadsheets fairly straightforward.

“Before CompenSafe, our commissions process was arduous and ate up a lot of man-hours,” said Mike Davies, president of United Community. “We wanted a more efficient process, something that would stand up to audits and that could be monitored, managed and scaled for growth. (CompenSafe) simplified the commissions process and given our HR, accounting and audit departments a high degree of confidence that everything is done with exactness and thoroughly documented.”

United Community gained the flexibility to control its own compensation schedules, including the ability to specify multiple key-performance indicators and payout tiers. For example, while the bank’s loan originators earn commissions based on the number and volume of loans closed, its processors receive a bonus based on speed and quality metrics. Commission projections are automated in CompenSafe as loans close and are available to loan originators and processors on-demand to help motivate performance.

“CompenSafe helps producers stay motivated and banks can say goodbye to manual, spreadsheet-driven processes without missing a beat when it comes to maintaining a compliant audit trail,” said Lori Brewer, CEO of LBA Ware.