Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said on Thursday that the U.S. economy is “not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates.” The statement was enough to raise mortgage rates to an even higher level, a sharp departure from the optimism lenders experienced during the September […]
ROME — The ancient Roman Colosseum will be the venue of gladiator fights — albeit staged — for the first time in two millennia under a $1.5 million sponsorship deal with Airbnb that aims to promote “a more conscious tourism.” But some visitors to the monument Thursday, as well as housing activists, were skeptical about the […]
Mortgage trade groups recently came closer to achieving a legislative victory by curbing a longstanding practice: the abusive use of credit trigger leads. However, the outcome of recent elections has cast uncertainty on the future of this legislation. In September, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) and Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) included […]
With several top 10 reverse mortgage lenders now active in some form within the U.S. stock market, companies like Finance of America (FOA) and Ellington Financial — the parent of reverse lender Longbridge Financial — have recently released their third-quarter 2024 earnings results. In the case of FOA — the current industry leader — the […]
HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Adam Carmel, founder and CEO of Polly, to talk about his thought process for solving customer problems and why cutting costs for mortgage lenders is paramount. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Sarah Wheeler: What differentiates Polly’s technology? Adam Carmel: The technology is […]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week published a report assessing the performance of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in reaching their single-family housing goals. The CBO found that the GSEs “met or exceeded” nearly all goals over a four-year period from 2018 to 2022. The CBO analyzed data from the Federal […]
Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) as a group expanded their profitability in the third quarter of 2024. But fewer companies recorded profits compared to the previous quarter, despite a brief dip in mortgage rates. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), IMBs and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported an average pretax net profit of $701 per […]
CrossCountry Mortgage, a top-10 U.S. mortgage lender, has hired a team of former Pennymac Financial Services executives to lead its capital markets and investment-related activities. On Wednesday, CCM announced Vandad Fartaj as the chief investment officer, William Chang as chief capital markets officer, and Tom Rettinger as chief portfolio risk officer. The team will develop […]
One of the greatest gifts you can give to your organization—and to the people within it—is the opportunity to grow into leadership. In the mortgage industry, where change is constant and challenges can be relentless, strong leadership isn’t just a competitive advantage; it’s the foundation that keeps teams grounded and resilient. Imagine a culture where […]
Reverse mortgage educators Dan Hultquist and Jim McMinn brought their “Rules of the Game” presentation back to this year’s National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego. After starting with the importance of focused information and certain reverse mortgage product features, the pair went deeper into other longstanding elements that […]
Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, paid a reported $14 million to acquire the domain name Rocket.com. The purchase, which was initially reported by DomainInvesting.com, was said to be from defense contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc. Rumors of the deal began in early September. The transaction was referenced in a recent filing by L3Harris with […]
For the first time in seven weeks, mortgage demand rose as applications were up 0.5% during the week ending Nov. 8, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. Purchase loan demand drove the slight increase in the MBA’s Market Composite Index, which measures loan application volumes. The purchase index rose 2% from the prior week […]
Better Home & Finance Holding Co., the parent of digital lender Better, reported a net loss of $54.1 million in the third quarter of 2024 during an earnings call on Tuesday. By comparison, the company lost $41.4 million in Q2 2024 and $353.9 million in Q3 2023. Better reported third-quarter revenue of $29 million, down […]
With fluctuating mortgage rates and economic pressure in the housing market, foreclosure activity ramped up in October 2024. According to real estate data provider Attom, homebuyers may face more challenges heading into 2025. Attom released its October 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report on Tuesday. It showed that 30,784 properties had foreclosure filings last month. That’s […]
In a new episode of “The Loan Officer Podcast,” host Dustin Owen chats with John Cornish of Iowa-based Key Mortgage Group about his path into the industry, tips for scaling a mortgage lending business and how to avoid stagnation as a loan originator. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To kick off […]
LONDON — British writer Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday with “Orbital,” a short, wonder-filled novel set aboard the International Space Station that ponders the beauty and fragility of the Earth. Harvey was awarded the 50,000-pound ($64,000) prize for what she has called a “space pastoral” about six orbiting astronauts, which she […]
Detroit-based Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, saw its strategy of investing in technology and expanding its servicing portfolio start to pay off in the third quarter of 2024. It originated $28.5 billion in loans during the period — up 28% year over year. Short-lived relief in mortgage rates led to a double-digit increase […]
Bill Pulte, the philanthropist and CEO of Pulte Capital — and who shares a name with his grandfather, the founder of Atlanta-based homebuilder PulteGroup — is reportedly under consideration for the post of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary in the new Trump administration, according to a report from the New York […]
Cornerstone Financing, a venture co-founded by former Reverse Mortgage Funding (RMF) CEO Craig Corn, has secured $285 million in financing through global investment firms Aquiline Capital Partners LP and Nomura. The funding will go to support the company’s specialty home equity-tapping product known as the Cornerstone Home Equity Insurance/Investment Funding Solutions (CHEIFS). The product operates […]
Downpayment assistance programs are available to first-time homebuyers across the country in the form of more than 2,400 such offerings at the local and state levels, but they have not had an appreciable impact on the level of U.S. homeownership. This is why a zero-down Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage would be a more viable […]
The election of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States has brought mortgage rates closer to the 7% threshold, but Fitch Ratings expects them to settle lower in the coming months. Looking ahead to 2025, analysts from the credit ratings agency expect declining rates to increase mortgage origination volumes, driving profitability for nonbank […]
new york — Lou Donaldson, a celebrated jazz saxophonist with a warm, fluid style who performed with everyone from Thelonius Monk to George Benson and was sampled by Nas, De La Soul and other hip-hop artists, has died. He was 98. Donaldson died Saturday, according to a statement on his website. Additional details were not immediately […]
While 2024 was certainly a challenging year for the real estate industry, 2025 may be a doozy if the Counselors of Real Estate’s (CRE) 2025 Top Ten Issues Affecting Real Estate report is to be believed. From price expectations to the impact of a Trump presidency, uncertainty is the main driver of today’s market. The […]
New York-based digital mortgage lender Better.com launched a streamline refinance loan product on Monday that aims to help military veterans and service members save money on long-term interest expenses and closing costs. Better is now offering the well-known Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The product is […]
IQUIQUE, Chile — Over a thousand years ago, the hundreds of giant geoglyphs carved into the desert in northern Chile were a bustling scene. They marked sources of water in the vast arid landscape and were where locals came together to trade skins, animals and fish. Now the carvings are scarred with hundreds of tire tracks […]
Zillow is moving full speed ahead with an ambitious expansion of its mortgage business, leveraging its housing tech innovations to potentially reshape how modern homebuyers finance homes. In its third-quarter earnings report, Zillow Home Loans revealed an impressive data point: mortgage revenue increased 63% year over year in the third quarter to $39 million, which […]
Manchester, England — Taylor Swift came out top at the 2024 MTV EMAs on Sunday, walking away with best artist, best U.S. act, best live act and best video for “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone). Swift, who is currently finishing up her Eras tour on the other side of the Atlantic, thanked the fans for the bounty […]
New York — “Venom: The Last Dance” has not been a blockbuster in North American theaters. But in a lethargic fall moviegoing season, even a so-so performing superhero sequel can rule the box office for three straight weeks. For the third weekend in a row, “Venom: The Last Dance” was the No. 1 movie at the […]
NEW YORK — For some television viewers, size apparently does matter. Forget the 165-centimeter TVs that were considered bigger than average a decade ago. In time for the holidays, manufacturers and retailers are rolling out more XXL screens measuring more than 2.4 meters diagonally. That’s wider than a standard three-seat sofa or a king-size bed. Supersize […]
MEXICO CITY — Cassandra Garduño squinted in the sunlight, her pink boots smudged by dirt as she gazed out over her family’s chinampa — one of the islands first built up by the Aztecs with fertile mud from the bottom of a lake that, later drained, would one day become Mexico City. Food from these islands […]
SYDNEY — England cricketing great Ian Botham was saved by his former Ashes rival Merv Hughes after a fall into crocodile-infested waters while on a fishing trip in northern Australia. Botham, along with Hughes and a group of friends, was on a boat when the accident happened, resulting in some heavy bruising to his torso but […]
NEW DELHI — The decadeslong ban of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses in his native India is now in doubt — not because of a change of heart more than two years after the author’s near-fatal stabbing, but because of what amounts to some missing paperwork. Earlier this week, a court in New Delhi closed proceedings on […]
ROME — The Pompeii archaeological park plans to limit visitor numbers to 20,000 a day and introduce personalized tickets starting next week in a bid to cope with over-tourism and protect the world heritage site, officials said Friday. The move comes after what authorities called a record summer that saw more than 4 million people visiting […]
The newly-updated Fannie Mae Selling Guide for November has aimed to modernize special property eligibility and underwriting considerations for leasehold estates, and it has revised the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE)’s project review requirements for properties secured by manufactured homes. The Selling Guide has also updated requirements “related to the market area analysis of the appraisal report […]
Washington/Istanbul — Local authorities in Turkey’s metropolitan Istanbul province banned a screening of the LGBTQI-themed movie “Queer” on Thursday because of concerns that it would endanger public peace and security. The screening of “Queer,” a film directed by Italian director Luca Guadagnino and starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, was scheduled to open a film festival […]
Following the resounding election victory of Donald Trump this week and the retaking of the U.S. Senate by the Republican Party, retirement and tax policy could be significantly impacted following the transfer of power, according to the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA). A political majority in the U.S. House of Representatives remains unclear, but […]
Praising tariffs as “the greatest thing ever invented“ is unusual — that title is typically reserved for for sliced bread — but Donald Trump has always been vocal about his trade policies. An impending return to the White House for Trump could raise U.S. homebuilding costs as his proposed tariffs would likely increase prices for […]
AMSTERDAM — Antisemitic rioters “actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them” after a football match, Amsterdam authorities said Friday as Israel said it was sending planes to the Dutch capital to fly fans home. An unknown number of Israeli supporters were injured in the Thursday night violence that was condemned by the leaders […]
NEW DELHI — Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees flocked to rivers and bodies of water across India to pray to the sun god as part of the Chhath festival this week. In Noida, on the outskirts of the capital New Delhi, families gathered at the Yamuna river, which is covered with white toxic foam as […]
BUENOS AIRES — Three people have been charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction who died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last month, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday. Prosecutor Andrés Madrea charged the three suspects, whose identities were not revealed, […]
Government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae announced on Thursday the appointment of Scott D. Stowell, a homebuilding executive with nearly 40 years of industry experience, to its board of directors. “Mr. Stowell brings nearly 40 years of experience in the U.S. homebuilding industry to Fannie Mae’s accomplished and diverse board, which guides the company’s efforts to responsibly […]
In second-quarter 2024, high home prices and soaring mortgage rates caused more homeowners to struggle with their loan payments. But data shows a slight recovery as mortgage delinquencies fell in the third quarter. That silver lining comes from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s National Delinquency Survey. According to the MBA, the seasonally adjusted rate for […]
Guild Mortgage CEO Terry Schmidt said during a third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday that Guild’s reverse mortgage division continues to contribute to companywide strategies, and that additional interest in reverse has been observed. Guild’s current reverse lending division, built off its 2023 acquisition of Cherry Creek Mortgage, has expanded its reverse mortgage activities this year. […]
After delivering two straight quarterly losses to start this year, mortgage technology company Blend Labs predicted correctly that it would soon move into the black by one key accounting measure, finally delivering a non-GAAP operating profitability third-quarter 2024 earnings. The earnings report, released Wednesday, revealed that Blend’s GAAP loss from operations improved to $13.3 million […]
One day after Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, officials at the Federal Reserve announced their decision to cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 4.5% to 4.75%, a move that aligned with market expectations. The reduction, made public on Thursday afternoon, was more modest than […]