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The newly enacted 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is a “consequential” but incremental step toward addressing housing affordability challenges, with potential benefits for small-dollar mortgages, manufactured housing and multifamily financing, according to several industry trade groups. Bill Killmer, senior vice president of legislative and political affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) — who […]

Rising mortgage rates have impacted the summer homebuying season and have been cited by at least one major lender as a key reason for recent layoffs. But the market got a brief respite this week as rates cooled slightly. On Tuesday, HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center showed that rates for 30-year conforming loans averaged 6.92%, down […]

Rocket Pro is moving full steam ahead in its August “Power Play,” a monthly initiative that the company promised to its business partners back in February that’s announced on the first Tuesday of each month. This month’s Power Play marks the fifth month of the initiative. August’s offerings include an increased refinance credit to 60 […]

Better Home & Finance Holding Co. has appointed board member Daniel Lewis as interim CEO effective immediately, replacing founder Vishal Garg, the company announced Monday. Garg will remain on the company’s board and work with Lewis to ensure an orderly leadership transition. As interim CEO, Lewis will manage the organization, execute the board-approved operating plan […]

A sweeping Social Security reform bill reintroduced in the House of Representatives would boost benefits for millions of Americans, change how cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are calculated and impose new taxes on high earners to shore up program finances. The Social Security 2100 Act, H.R. 9519, was reintroduced by Rep. John Larson (D-Ct.) and referred to […]

Chicago-based mortgage lender OriginPoint has hired top-producing loan officers Erin Halliday and Jon Levin from New American Funding, where they operated as a high-volume production team. Halliday and Levin officially joined OriginPoint — a joint venture of Rate and Compass — on July 27 as the Erin Halliday & Jon Levin Team, the company said […]

Florida homebuyers have filed a class-action lawsuit accusing LGI Homes, loanDepot and their joint venture, LGI Mortgage Solutions LLC, of running an “improper home-sales scheme.” The complaint, filed in federal court on July 29, alleges the companies rely on misleading monthly payment advertisements and high-pressure tactics to steer renters into mortgages they cannot afford. The […]

Two Harbors Investment Corp. has secured required state and agency approvals from all but one state for its planned sale to CrossCountry Intermediate Holdco LLC, which will change the previously estimated stub dividend tied to the merger timeline. As previously disclosed, CCM will pay a “stub period” dividend to common shareholders in connection with the […]

Longtime reverse mortgage professional John Luddy says that despite the noise around high interest rates and equity-locked borrowers, the reverse market is in its strongest position yet. In a conversation with HousingWire‘s Reverse Mortgage Daily, the senior vice president of reverse lending at Supreme Lending cited high home values, expanding product options and growing demand […]

Federal banking regulators released a Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) proposal Friday that narrows how banks earn credit for community development while raising asset thresholds for small and midsized institutions. The plan drew immediate criticism from consumer and housing advocates. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) […]

Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and parent company of ICE Mortgage Technology, reported its strongest quarterly mortgage business performance in four years during the second quarter of 2026. While reporting a profitable quarter, the company also announced the acquisition of MarketAxess Holdings Inc., an electronic trading platform for global institutional […]

For decades, the mortgage industry has focused on helping consumers buy and refinance homes. It’s where lenders have built their businesses, where technology has evolved and where most originators have spent their careers. But that’s only half the market. Every day, homeowners move into a new phase of homeownership. They build equity, enter retirement, help […]

As older Americans continue to grapple with escalating housing expenses, a higher overall cost of living and growing health care costs, new Medicare Part D figures for 2027 could further influence household budgets. Adding to that financial picture, the Trump administration announced it will end a temporary Medicare Part D premium stabilization program after the […]

Christopher Gallo, once one of the nation’s top mortgage loan officers, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in a federal court in New Jersey, according to court filings reviewed by HousingWire. Gallo entered the guilty plea to count one of the indictment — conspiracy to commit bank fraud — on Wednesday in […]

VantageScore 4.0, the credit scoring model that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are transitioning to for agency mortgages, is now integrated into Optimal Blue’s end-to-end capital markets platform, the companies announced Thursday. The integration makes VantageScore 4.0 available across Optimal Blue’s product, pricing and eligibility engine, as well as its mortgage servicing rights (MSR) valuation, […]

Daniel Lewis, founder and managing partner of hedge fund Orange Capital, has joined the board of Better Home & Finance Holding Co., replacing outgoing director David Barse, the company announced this week. The changes took effect July 27. Lewis brings more than 30 years of investment and operating experience, including early-career roles at Citigroup before […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is making fraud schemes more convincing and increasing the financial risks facing older Americans, according to cybersecurity and consumer protection expert Steven J. J. Weisman. Weisman — an attorney, author and senior lecturer at Bentley University — discussed the growing sophistication of scams during a presentation hosted by Fairway Home Mortgage on […]

Technology platform GoodLeap announced on Thursday the launch of a Visa Signature credit card backed by a home equity line of credit (HELOC), allowing homeowners to finance home improvement projects and everyday purchases while earning cash-back rewards. The GoodLeap Home Visa Signature Card, or GoodLeap Home Card, provides eligible homeowners with access to up to […]

Freddie Mac on Thursday morning reported net income of $3.8 billion in the second quarter, a 61% increase from a year earlier, driven largely by a credit reserve release and higher net interest income. Net income increased from $3.558 billion in the first quarter. Net revenue rose 1% year over year to $5.991 billion. Net […]

PennyMac Financial Services on Wednesday reported second-quarter 2026 net income of $22 million, down 84% from a year earlier and sharply lower than its first-quarter net income of $82.3 million, as higher interest rates reduced mortgage production volume and weighed on profitability. The company’s weaker quarter came in tandem with layoffs by the Westlake Village, […]

Proprietary reverse mortgages, rather than government-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), are driving the reverse mortgage industry’s recent growth, according to an analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data published Wednesday by New View Advisors. Total reverse mortgage volume rose from $6.25 billion in 2023 to $7.51 billion in 2024 and $9.65 billion in […]

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, maintaining a target range of 3.5% to 3.75% for a fifth consecutive meeting. Heading into the meeting, most monetary policy watchers had expected the Fed to stand pat after inflation cooled in June. Still, a minority (about 30%) had penciled in a hike, a […]

New Silver Lending LLC has acquired Mayflower Venture Partners, expanding its presence in New England’s fix-and-flip and construction lending markets, the company announced on Wednesday. Quincy, Massachusetts-based Mayflower is a direct lender focused on loans for single-family and small multifamily properties throughout New England. The firm, founded by Hussien Skaiky, has emphasized fast term sheets, […]

Morgan Stanley mortgage employees say they faced pressure from the firm’s wealth advisers to approve home loans for affluent clients despite underwriting concerns, according to a report published Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal based on internal documents, emails and a whistleblower complaint. Current and former employees reportedly said that some advisers pushed for approvals on owner-occupied mortgages […]

Mortgage applications decreased 6.4% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending July 24. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 6% compared with last week’s data. The refinance index decreased 10% from the previous week and was 2% lower than the […]

Pennymac imposed another round of layoffs ahead of its after-market earnings report on Wednesday, as the mortgage sector navigates a higher-for-longer interest-rate environment. “Pennymac has executed well against a challenging backdrop, even as sustained high interest rates have reduced industry loan volumes and the size of the addressable market,” a company spokesperson said in a […]

Fannie Mae reported $4 billion in net income during the second quarter of 2026, a 7% increase from the prior quarter and a 20% increase from a year earlier, as higher revenue offset an increase in its provision for credit losses. The government-sponsored enterprise said in its Wednesday morning earnings call that net income rose […]

Many couples may be missing out on thousands of dollars in additional retirement savings simply because they are not discussing how they contribute to their workplace retirement plans, according to a new analysis highlighted by a Boston College economist. Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, an economics professor at Boston College and research fellow at the Center for Retirement […]

Mortgage rates continued to climb this week and are now approaching 7% for locked loans across all borrower credit profiles. But home purchase and refinance demand hasn’t fallen steeply despite the increased affordability pressures. On Tuesday, HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center showed that rates for 30-year conforming loans averaged 6.94%, up 9 basis points from one […]

Mortgage lender Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) announced on Tuesday that it has appointed mortgage industry veteran David Abrahamson as its chief risk officer. Abrahamson previously worked at EPM from 2010 to 2020, a period during which the lender said it expanded from a “primarily retail, refinance-focused organization” into a broader mortgage company with a growing […]

Proprietary reverse mortgages continued to gain market share in 2025, fueled by rapid growth in originations and larger loan balances, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. The analysis, released Monday as MBA’s Chart of the Week, comes as more older Americans are choosing to age in […]

The cost to service mortgages is rising for reasons that extend beyond a recent increase in borrower delinquencies. That’s according to Erik Eggers, chief revenue officer at Rocktop Technologies, who said that regulatory requirements and industry consolidation are fundamentally changing the economics of mortgage servicing. Speaking with HousingWire, Eggers said that servicing costs have traditionally […]

A federal judge has granted Fannie Mae’s motion to compel arbitration and dismiss a lawsuit brought by 44 former employees who allege they were fired in a discriminatory manner tied to the company’s charitable giving program. In a memorandum opinion issued Friday, Judge Randolph D. Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of […]

Consulting firm Milliman has acquired Blue Water mortgage servicing rights (MSR) valuation and hedging services from Apex Analytics Corp., adding another platform less than a year after buying MorVest Capital to expand its capabilities in the space. The transaction, announced Monday, folds Blue Water’s hedge analytics, trading platform and quantitative team into Milliman’s mortgage solutions […]

While the reverse mortgage industry has historically relied on specialized originators to drive volume, wholesale lender SmartFi Home Loans is looking elsewhere to expand the market. The company’s growth strategy hinges on “growing the pie” by equipping traditional, forward-centric loan officers with the tools and education needed to seamlessly offer reverse mortgages to their clients. “I hear […]

Homeownership really starts at closing, yet that’s often where the relationship between borrowers and lenders ends. As affordability pressures continue to reshape the housing market, borrower engagement needs to shift from periodic marketing to creating continuous value throughout the homeowner journey. To address this evolution, Made Card is taking a different approach. The fintech has […]

Recently, the foreclosure data showed a 21% year-over-year gain, and the floodgates of doom porn were flung wide open, with people marketing an impending home-price crash because they say so many Americans are struggling and it’s about to get worse. The hucksters of America are back at it again, and it went mainstream, too. Andrew […]

New mortgage default activity remained stable in June, with new defaults among Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers falling 15% from a year earlier, marking the largest annual decline in more than four years. That’s according to Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) latest First Look Mortgage Performance report, which observed that overall mortgage performance remained strong during the […]

Account executives are in a unique position in the mortgage industry. On any given day, they’re helping originators navigate complex borrower scenarios, troubleshoot loan challenges, identify new opportunities and stay informed about product trends. Because they work with dozens of loan officers across different markets, they have a front-row seat to the strategies that are […]

Something significant is already reshaping mortgage lending and servicing, and the data is beginning to bring into focus what many lending professionals have been experiencing firsthand. A recent nationwide survey of lending professionals across banking, mortgage lending and fintech reveals an industry that overwhelmingly understands the need to modernize its mortgage origination, servicing and compliance […]

AARP is urging Congress to reject a proposal that would create a fast-track process for developing and considering legislation aimed at strengthening Social Security’s long-term finances. The Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone — PROMISE — Act, introduced July 14 by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Bill Cassidy, R-La., and six other senators, […]

With CrossCountry Mortgage’s deal to acquire Two Harbors Investment Corp. one step closer to the finish line after securing shareholder approval, the focus is shifting to what may be the next major challenge: integrating the businesses. Industry experts pointed out the complex task of bringing a large servicing portfolio in-house, but analysts expressed confidence in […]

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Brian Johnson, faced sharp questioning from Democratic senators Thursday over the future of the agency and whether he would resist political pressure in enforcement decisions. Johnson, a former CFPB deputy director who now works for Capital One, appeared before the Senate Committee on Banking, […]

Industry professionals expect the reverse mortgage market to remain challenging throughout the second half of 2026 as elevated mortgage rates and affordability pressures continue to limit how much equity older homeowners can access.  Shain Urwin, the national reverse mortgage director for C2 Financial and a board member of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA), […]

Artificial intelligence startup Flair Labs says a recent deployment with West Capital Lending demonstrates how AI voice agents can help mortgage lenders capitalize on leads that might otherwise go untouched. Flair, a two-year-old Y Combinator–backed company, builds digital voice assistants that work on behalf of lenders, servicers and brokers. The technology sits on top of […]