Mortgage credit availability inched higher in May, driven by a modest loosening in jumbo loan programs, according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) that analyzes data from ICE Mortgage Technology. The MCAI rose 0.1% to 108.0 in May. The index, which was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012, […]
Rocket Companies plans to issue $1.2 billion in debt, with proceeds earmarked to pay upcoming maturities and other debt obligations, the company announced Tuesday. The move comes as nonbank mortgage lenders continue to manage liability profiles built during the low-rate era and address “maturity walls” in 2025-2027. In this case, Rocket intends to sell $600 […]
Mortgage activity slowed in May as rising interest rates dampened both purchase and refinance demand, according to Optimal Blue‘s May 2026 Market Advantage report. The report, released Tuesday, found that total mortgage rate lock volume fell 9% from April, although it remained 7% higher than a year earlier. Purchase loans continued to dominate the market, […]
For decades, financial systems operated on a quiet assumption: most information entering the system was fundamentally real. Documents might arrive incomplete. Borrowers might omit details. Fraud existed at the margins. But lending infrastructure was built around a world where verification happened slowly enough for human judgment and institutional friction to absorb uncertainty. The system was […]
The nation’s housing shortage is often framed as a challenge for first-time buyers and growing families. But another group is increasingly feeling the impact — older homeowners who want to downsize yet find themselves with few practical options. Across the country, many seniors remain in large family homes long after their children have moved away. […]
Like many mortgage professionals, Vipul Hapani can see the wave of industry consolidation forming on the horizon and knows it is only a matter of time before it reaches his shores. As the broker-owner of Waxhaw, North Carolina-based Vema Mortgage—the third-largest brokerage originator in the U.S. in 2025, according to HousingWire Mortgage Rankings—Hapani hasn’t yet […]
Homeowners tapped their housing wealth at the fastest pace for any first quarter in four years as more borrowers turned to home equity loans and lines of credit instead of refinancing their existing mortgages, according to Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)’s June 2026 ICE Mortgage Monitor report. The June report, released Monday — which tracks delinquency and […]
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Friday announced a $4.6 million settlement with California-based mortgage servicer Select Portfolio Servicing (SPS). Under the agreement, which is subject to court approval, SPS will pay $1.6 million in civil penalties and provide $3 million in consumer restitution to affected borrowers. The settlement also requires the company to overhaul […]
Two Harbors Investment Corp. postponed a special shareholder meeting to vote on its existing agreement to be acquired by CrossCountry Mortgage LLC. The delay will allow Two Harbors to solicit more votes while engaging directly with UWM Holdings Corp. (UWMC) on a potential all-cash acquisition proposal. The upcoming shareholder vote, originally scheduled for June 11, will now take place […]
In a 2026 mortgage market defined by higher-for-longer interest rates and softening home values, the traditional reverse mortgage playbook is facing headwinds. But top-producing originators are finding an avenue for growth by selling the product as a wealth management tool for affluent, asset-rich retirees rather than a lifeline of last resort. Gabe Bodner, a reverse […]
The share of first-time buyers in the U.S. housing market has fallen to 21%, the lowest on record. The historical norm is closer to 40%. That gap isn’t a blip, nor is it a rate-cycle artifact that corrects itself when the Fed moves. It’s a structural condition, and it sits at the root of why […]
President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration is still considering a public offering of shares in mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, despite naming the government’s top housing regulator to temporarily lead the nation’s intelligence agencies. Bloomberg reported that while speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One, Trump dismissed suggestions that plans […]
Mortgage Forward announced Friday that it has agreed to acquire the third-party origination (TPO) division of First Federal Bank, including QRL Financial, in a deal the companies say will expand Mortgage Forward’s national mortgage lending platform and broaden its product offerings. The companies confirmed that they have signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition, although […]
A former employee of the District of Columbia Housing Authority who later became a real estate developer has pleaded guilty to federal charges — stemming from a yearslong scheme to secure millions of dollars in financing from private mortgage lenders. The announcement was made by the office of Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the […]
Netcapital Inc. struck a deal to acquire all of the mortgage banking assets and assumed liabilities of Resmac Inc. from parent company RezyFi Inc., a move that would create a new residential mortgage subsidiary and potential spinout. Netcapital, a Boston-based capital markets technology firm, announced Thursday that it signed a nonbinding letter of intent (LOI) […]
Mortgage lenders are rolling out new credit scoring models, but in the secondary market, investors and credit rating agencies are awaiting additional performance data while developing workarounds to keep loans moving through the system. Susan Hosterman, senior director for North America RMBS and covered bonds at Fitch Ratings, said the company can currently rate securitizations […]
The country’s largest reverse mortgage brokerages based on February activity continued to set the pace in March across the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) space, according to endorsement data released Thursday by Reverse Market Insight (RMI) and published by HECMWorld.com. The top five brokerages by HECM endorsement count were unchanged during the year ending in […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said it has been working with Bilt Rewards to address consumer issues that arose during the company’s transition to a new banking partner, opting for a collaborative approach rather than a formal enforcement action. According to a statement from the agency on June 2, agency officials met with Bilt […]
Ari Karen, a partner at Mitchell Sandler PLLC, has submitted a motion to withdraw as counsel for borrowers who filed a class-action lawsuit against loanDepot in July 2025 amid a dispute over conflicts of interest. loanDepot filed a motion in November 2025 to disqualify Karen and his law firm, citing the “presence of significant ethical […]
American homeowners are sitting on $17 trillion in equity. The average mortgaged borrower holds $295,000. By any historical standard, these are people with options. And yet, when a $14,000 roof replacement or HVAC failure hits, a growing share of them won’t tap a single dollar of that equity. Borrowers who locked in rates below 4% […]
Legislation under consideration in Congress would create a bipartisan commission of experts tasked with developing long-term reform options for Social Security and Medicare. Rather than advancing immediate policy changes, the panel would study the financial outlook for the programs and submit recommendations for lawmakers to consider. The proposed Commission on Sustaining Medicare and Social Security […]
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order calling for creation of a voluntary review framework for the nation’s most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models before public release. It also directs federal agencies to expand AI-powered cybersecurity programs and establish a new government-industry clearinghouse for software vulnerabilities. “Advanced AI capabilities make our Nation stronger, […]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday announced that it secured a court order to shut down an alleged mortgage relief scheme. The regulator says the scheme referenced federal homeowner assistance programs to collect upfront fees from financially distressed borrowers while failing to deliver promised loan modifications. A judge for the U.S. District Court for […]
Splitero announced Tuesday that it has completed a $296 million home equity investment (HEI) securitization, marking the company’s second public transaction in the growing asset class. The securitization, which closed May 27, issued four classes of securities through Splitero Trust 2026-1. The deal included $202.6 million in Class A-1 notes rated A (low) (sf), $56.8 […]
All American Home Mortgage (AAHM), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tri-Star Management Inc., has acquired the Las Vegas branch of Liberty Home Mortgage and hired the branch’s team, expanding its presence in a key Western housing market, the company announced Tuesday. The deal adds a group of experienced originators and operations staff to the Nevada-based […]
Mortgage applications decreased 2.5% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications Survey for the week ending May 29, 2026. This week’s results include an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday, the association noted. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 13% compared with the previous week. The […]
Onity Group Inc. won regulatory approval for a revised sale of most of its reverse mortgage servicing rights to Finance of America (FOA), the company said Tuesday. Under the new agreement, Onity will sell MSRs on about 20,000 Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) with an unpaid principal balance of $5.1 billion as of March 31. […]
Rocket Pro is continuing its promise to deliver a monthly “Power Play” announcement on the first Tuesday of every month by introducing three new broker-focused incentives, one of which will lead to a $100,000 prize. Part of Rocket Pro’s June Power Play, the third month of the initiative, includes the launch of “The Big Pitch,” described […]
President Donald Trump has appointed Bill Pulte as the Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Pulte will also remain in his current roles as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness […]
There is an ongoing debate in mortgage lending about whether the industry is fundamentally broken or simply experiencing another cycle of technological evolution. Over the past decade, lenders have invested heavily in automation, OCR, verification services, title integrations and income validation tools. Artificial intelligence is now emerging as the next expected leap in efficiency. Yet […]
Mutual of Omaha Mortgage remained the nation’s largest reverse mortgage lender in May, even as overall Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements continued to decline, according to a report released Monday by HECMWorld.com that utilizes data from Reverse Market Insight (RMI). Mutual of Omaha recorded 423 HECM endorsements during the month, upping its total to […]
A new analysis from Investopedia found that a single American who retires at 65 needs roughly $898,000 in savings to fund a comfortable retirement. But the required nest egg varies sharply — from about $644,000 in North Dakota to more than $1 million in New Jersey, Hawaii, California and Washington, D.C. An individual age 65 […]
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s acquisition of Taylor Morrison Home Corp. is more than just a homebuilder buyout — it brings two mortgage operations under one umbrella. Together, these units originated nearly $8.2 billion in 2025, serving homebuyers across the income spectrum. On Sunday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a definitive agreement to acquire Taylor Morrison in an all-cash […]
For the past 16 months, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) acting director Russell Vought has moved aggressively to scale back the agency’s enforcement and regulatory activities, even as questions have mounted over how long he can legally remain in charge. Vought, who is the current head of the White House Office of Management and Budget […]
Mortgage application fraud risk declined in the first quarter of 2026, returning to historic norms as refinancing activity increased, according to a new report from Cotality. The company’s Q1 2026 National Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index fell 9.3% from a year earlier and 9% from the fourth quarter of 2025. Cotality estimated that about one […]
Plaza Home Mortgage, a wholesale and correspondent mortgage lender, has disclosed a data breach due to a security incident that may have exposed customers’ and employees’ personal information. The exact number of people affected and the specific states involved have not yet been publicly disclosed. The company said that on or around Feb. 17, 2026, […]
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) on Monday announced the launch of ICE Fraud Monitor, a mortgage fraud and property research solution integrated with the Encompass loan origination system to help lenders reduce risk and speed underwriting. Fraud Monitor pulls fraud risk scoring and property risk data into a single dashboard within Encompass, cutting down on the need […]
Christina Harmes has the reverse mortgage bug in her blood. She previously worked with her father, Scott, at C2 Financial Corp., one of the nation’s largest mortgage brokerages, and has been originating loans since 2011. Harmes, who’s based in Southern California, has since moved on to Barrett Financial Group, where she works as a reverse […]
Few phrases surface more often in mortgage boardrooms than “loan officer productivity.” Leaders understandably want more loans per originator, more dollar volume per head and greater efficiency across the sales force. The metric feels clean and controllable, offering a simple way to measure performance and signal accountability. Gradually, that focus can harden into the assumption […]
Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Pro provided additional details this week on their rollout of VantageScore 4.0 in mortgage lending after officially announcing last week that they have started using VantageScore 4.0 alongside Classic FICO scores. Heather Lovier, chief operating officer of Rocket Companies, told HousingWire that VantageScore 4.0 can currently be used for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and […]
Scotiabank has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Maple Financial Holdings Inc., a deal that will support its U.S. mortgage capital markets business, the bank announced Friday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Maple Financial is the parent company of MapleMark Bank, a U.S. commercial bank with operations primarily in Dallas. “Our acquisition of MapleMark Bank […]
Serious delinquencies (90 days or more past due) for credit cards and auto loans are at peak levels not seen since the Great Financial Crisis, with the savings rate dropping to a low point for 2026. Will this result in a return to 2008 conditions for the housing industry? Many lifelong doomers have showcased the […]
Housing is generally considered affordable when it consumes no more than 30% of a household’s gross income, but for many buyers, especially first-timers, saving enough cash for a down payment remains the biggest barrier. That’s according to a new analysis by Down Payment Resource (DPR) in partnership with the Urban Institute. They dug into Home […]
I’d like to tell you about someone who did everything right. She built a wedding photography business from the ground up. What started as a side hustle became a full-time operation, then a team, then something that could support not just her, but her entire family. Her income wasn’t inconsistent, but it was complex, with […]
Retirement savers continued to build momentum in early 2026, even as markets fluctuated, according to the latest quarterly analysis from Fidelity Investments. The firm reported that total savings rates reached record levels in the first quarter. Combined employer and employee contributions for 401(k) savers hit 14.4%, approaching Fidelity’s suggested 15% target. For 403(b) participants, the […]