Mortgage
fraud
risk
saw
a
modest
uptick
toward
the
end
of
2023,
according
to


CoreLogic’s
latest

Mortgage
Application
Fraud
Risk
Index,
although it
remained
largely
stable
on
a
year-over-year
basis.

The
index
reached
127
in
Q4
2023,
marking
a
2.7%
increase
from
the
previous
quarter,
but
compared
to
Q4
2022,
the
index
decreased
by
1%. 

Despite
these
fluctuations,
overall
risk
levels
have
remained
relatively
flat.
As
expected,

mortgage
application
volumes
dipped
in
the
fourth
quarter
due
to
seasonal
trends.
The
purchase
loan
share
stayed
high,
exceeding
70%
for
the
seventh
consecutive
quarter.

Government-backed
purchase
loans,
particularly
those
from
the


Federal
Housing
Administration
(FHA),
continued
to
rise
and
accounted 
for
27%
of
all
purchase
transactions
due
to
their
lower
down
payment
requirements.

Geographic
market
risks
have
remained
largely
unchanged,
with
the
same
15
metro
areas
topping
the
risk
list,
although 
their
specific
rankings
have
shifted
slightly.

Miami;
Bridgeport,
Connecticut;
Poughkeepsie,
New
York;
New
Orleans;
and
New
York
City
were
the
five
most
at-risk
metros. 

CoreLogic’s
report
highlights
an
increasing
trend
of income
falsification,
in
which borrowers
inflate
their
income
through
new
wage-based
jobs
following
periods
of
self-employment.

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