Mortgage insurers wrote more policies on a monthly basis, but the dollar volume was down. Defaults, meanwhile, were lower.
Members of the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America issued 38,908 policies for $8.710 billion during October, according to monthly operational data released Friday.
The number of policies written was up from 37,501 a month earlier, but the dollar volume of activity declined from $9.575 billion.
Business tumbled from a year earlier, when MICA members insured 42,833 home loans for $11.473 billion.
From Jan. 1 through the end of October, 434,120 policies were written for $108.392 billion.
Radian Guaranty Inc.previously reported that it wrote $3.5 billion in new business during October, while MGIC Guaranty Insurance Corp. said it issued $2.4 billion. The put volume at the only other MICA member — Genworth Mortgage Insurance Corp. — at approximately $2.8 billion.
November business for all three companies is likely be about the same based on new applications, which inched up to 40,716 in October from 39,148 in September.
The trio increased their primary insurance in force to $418.410 from $417.303 billion as of Sept. 30. Outstandings were just $400.016 billion as of Oct. 31, 2012.
MICA said that primary insurance defaults fell to 19,730 in the latest period from 20,609 the previous month. One year prior, there were 24,749 primary insurance defaults.
Primary insurance cures rose to 18,517 from 17,048 but were down from 20,068 in October 2012.
