Showing posts with label MICA Data. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MICA Data. Show all posts

Friday, April 29, 2011

Monthly MICA Data Posts Record Cure Rate

Data released today for the month of March posted a 143.9% cure rate, the highest ever posted in available monthly data (compiled here) reaching back to December 1999.  The YTD rate of 106.15% is also the highest and only above 100% reading since 1999, though full year cure rates above 100% were posted years 1989-1994. The highest full year rate of 110.8% was posted in 1992. Full year data goes back to 1989.


March comes in the strongest season of the year for cures and defaults which has been attributed to tax refunds, the beginning of housing's spring selling season, and weather-related employment amongst other things.

New policies issued increased 20% MoM (YoY data is not comparable), far outstripping home purchase activity. That increase also came before another FHA insurance price increase which will drive more high quality business into arms of private MI. This trend and continued pressure to reprivatize the mortgage market will likely help the industry write its way back to good health.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

MICA Release; MGIC, Radian Data Compiled

MICA cure rate of 112% for February data landed squarely between rates reported earlier by MGIC and Radian of 115% and 109% respectively.

Compared to the same month in 2010, defaults dropped 30% from 68,675 to 48,086 reflecting credit burnout and an improving economy. Over the same time, cures dropped by 33% from 80,758 to 53,944 reflecting the expiration of federal modification programs and an aged delinquency inventory.

While this month shows near peak seasonal benefits, the last two years have not been so good for delinquency inventories. Since peaking in 2010 for most MIs, delinquency inventories have not aged like milk nor wine. Rather it has progressed more like Earl Gray tea; it certainly has not improved but at least it isn't rancid. The uncertainty surrounding this inventory remains extreme. Despite a slower start this year, we think this year will look better than last as portrayed in not only company loss developments but also cure rates.

On another note, both MGIC and Radian having reported several quarters of operating data so The Dragon has compiled that information. The links below have also been pasted on the "Links and Models" page. As always, we take no responsibility for our sloppy work.

MGIC Data: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AlFMaAd3v9o0dGdRWVBMVmIzVzJvbjMtdHdZM2NFb3c&hl=en_GB

Radian: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AlFMaAd3v9o0dFU1a0pFNXlEZmhZN2FORWU3RjM2bUE&hl=en_GB

MICA: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AlFMaAd3v9o0dGRjSGlrZ2NDNmlxU0VMNnNJYWliUXc&hl=en_GB&pli=1#gid=0

Monday, February 28, 2011

January MICA Data Review

The most recent MICA data release points to continued improvement in the distressed mortgagor credit. The improvement in the January cure rate of 78.6% versus 68.1% a year ago was driven by a steep decrease in new defaults, partially offset by fewer cures. In our view, this represents a stabilized housing market and improved economy on the default side and the inevitable digestion of the foreclosure glut and expiration of HAMP on the cure side.

While uncertainty remains extreme regarding the ultimate sorting out of the shadow inventory, data points like this show that positive developments are more than possible. The potential for positive developments has also been highlighted by the recent rumors of foreclosure settlement talks between government authorities and securitization servicers.

January applications for private mortgage insurance were also up 32.7% versus a year earlier. Among other things, this reflects the price increase implemented by the HFA. Continued high quality market share growth will help insurers write themselves into better financial health. For that reason, The Blue Dragon plans to make a spreadsheet to track applications and policies issued in a similar manner to how we already track defaults and cures.

But for now, the most recent default and cure data has been added to the existing spreadsheet here.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

MICA Data - 2010 Locked In

It's official!

The Mortgage Insurance Companies of America reported a cure rate of 93.1% for 2010, just over 30 percentage points better than 2009's rate of 62.9%. It is also the highest rate since 1999.

See all the data compiled here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AlFMaAd3v9o0dGRjSGlrZ2NDNmlxU0VMNnNJYWliUXc&hl=en#gid=0

Monday, January 3, 2011

YTD Private MI Cure Data

A follow up to the data posted earlier.

Month             Cures     Defaults    Monthly Rate        YTD Cures    YTD Defaults    YTD Rate
January            61,195    98,685    62.0%                     61,195            98,685               62.01%
February          80,758    68,675    117.6%                   141,953         167,360              84.82%
March              77,909    63,126    123.4%                   219,862         230,486              95.39%
April                66,170    60,656    109.1%                   286,032         291,142              98.24%
May                 65,436    60,346    108.4%                   351,468         351,488              99.99%
June                 60,337    65,792    91.7%                     411,805         417,280              98.69%
July                 56,086    68,862    81.4%                      467,891         486,142             96.25%
August            58,094    63,882    90.9%                      525,985         550,024             95.63%
Sept.                57,720    65,481    88.1%                      583,705         615,505             94.83%
October           56,887    64,450    88.3%                       640,592        679,955             94.21%
Nov                58,015    61,262    94.7%                      698,607         741,217              94.25%
December       

Earlier post: http://tapleysbluedragon.blogspot.com/2010/12/private-mi-cure-rate.html

Friday, December 31, 2010

Private MI Cure Rate

There is an ominous being, creator of all in my world. Call him my Boz. Or -by no means after the fashion of men in their projection of themselves onto their ideas of greater power, which only a heretic would attribute to a nature that makes it difficult to conceive of anything better than one's self- I'll just call him Tapley.

Tapley -since we are done with philosophy- spoke with Steve Smith -head muckity muck at PMI- for a handful or two of minutes in early March. At that time, he told the CEO of PMI he had compiled MICA cure rates since 1989 and noticed that the late 80's and early 90's were all above 100 percent as interest rates came down (until 94) and the economy and real estate markets rebounded. He then asked Mr. Smith if such rates could be repeated. Mr. Smith said -off cuff- that a repeat of such rate performance would require an unemployment rate 1 percentage point lower than consensus projections.

Here's the data Tapley referenced:

Period    Cures    Defaults    Ratio
1989    231,505    218,693    105.9%
1990    237,408    219,983    107.9%
1991    232,598    223,442    104.1%
1992    229,647    207,352    110.8%
1993    212,944    200,776    106.1%
1994    251,182    249,292    100.8%
1995    257,201    285,265    90.2%
1996    297,950    327,629    90.9%
1997    337,067    360,038    93.6%
1998    351,438    383,041    91.7%
1999    207,313    218,565    94.9%
2000    298,534    374,754    79.7%
2001    399,003    471,159    84.7%
2002    499,719    562,860    88.8%
2003    512,127    568,315    90.1%
2004    433,657    517,560    83.8%
2005    408,189    517,900    78.8%
2006    415,101    519,834    79.9%
2007    411,845    624,076    66.0%
2008    516,838    884,231    58.5%
2009    686,353    1,091,960    62.9%

Well, here we are at the end of 2010. Unemployment has done anything but outperform this year and the MICA data virtually guaranty a better than 90% full year number. YTD the rate is 94.25%. Given the state of the labor and other markets, that's pretty darn good. And though it isn't above 100% I don't think Smith or many others would have expected such a high number given the backdrop.

I didn't post the Smith interview to question his expertise. He is an expert. And looking back at all the costly capital raising by his counterparts in the industry, they probably wouldn't have expected this good of performance either. Rather this is a great example of how pessimistic leaders, analysts, and investors have become. Pessimism and optimism play a big part in cycles. Our expectations determine the prices we will pay for assets as well as the earning power of those assets. Could they also reflected loss reserves? I think so. Who cares? Its all an interesting observation of human nature but otherwise I could give a shit. Until I consider the how that is just one factor that is a symptom and cause of the magnified pessimism focused on the private MI industry (and for that matter financial guarantee industry more broadly). That makes me care.

Update: YTD through Nov. here: http://tapleysbluedragon.blogspot.com/2011/01/ytd-privat-mi-cure-data.html