When mortgage rates logged their sharpest decline of the year last week following an underwhelming jobs report, data showed that refinance demand surged. Despite what seems like welcome news for loan originators, who have suffered through thinning margins for two years, refinance business has yet to go up much, LOs told HousingWire. “I was going […]
As discussed in previous reverse mortgage rate updates, the federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is the dominant reverse mortgage in America. As a result, HECM has become synonymous with reverse mortgages. But did you know that nearly all HECMs originated today are variable-rate loans? This is in stark contrast to the traditional forward […]
In my work, I talk with many seniors. Many are reluctant to leave their homes even when those homes are no longer suitable for their needs. Sometimes, the concern is emotional, but more often than not, it’s financial. What happens if they sell their current home but can’t cover the costs of a new place, […]
For seniors who live alone and may not have easy access to public transportation, relatively simple tasks such as grocery shopping or medical appointments become much more difficult to complete. Volunteer and nonprofit groups can often step in to fill the void in these situations. Two examples are happening in the Pittsburgh metro area, where […]
los angeles — A prosecutor says five people have been charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s death from a ketamine overdose last year, including the actor’s assistant and two doctors. U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced the charges Thursday, saying the doctors supplied Perry with a large amount of ketamine and even wondered in a text message […]
Toronto-based Bank of Nova Scotia, which operates as Scotiabank, has hired a group of JPMorgan Chase Bank executives to lead a new mortgage capital markets business that expects to launch this fall. Industry veteran Thanh Roettele, who spent more than 28 years at JPMorgan and was the managing director of its mortgage warehouse finance business, […]
Attorneys for the U.S. government, working on behalf of Ginnie Mae and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), last week filed a slew of new documents in their court case against Texas Capital Bank (TCB). These were primarily in response to the bank’s prior motion for a partial summary judgment and offer […]
Sky-high home prices and elevated mortgage rates are putting increasing strain on homeowners. That’s the takeaway from two reports released this week showing that foreclosure activity and mortgage delinquencies are rising. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the second-quarter 2024 delinquency rate for mortgages on one- to four-unit residential properties increased to 3.97% on […]
Swiss bank UBS Group AG has decided to sell Credit Suisse’s mortgage servicing company, Select Portfolio Servicing (SPS), to a group of investors led by Sixth Street, HousingWire has learned. Investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management is a co-investor. Representatives at Credit Suisse, Davidson Kempner and Sixth Street declined to comment. Bloomberg first reported on […]
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The recent declines in mortgage rates have been good news for mortgage professionals and consumers alike. But the industry is not yet out of the woods, said Todd Sheinin, the Maryland-based vice president of strategy and development at Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. “As you talk to more people across all aspects of our business, from […]
U.S. workers are feeling more confident about their ability to meet retirement savings goals as inflation has weakened, according to a new consumer survey conducted by Charles Schwab. “[A]nxiety around inflation and market volatility has come down since last year,” according to the online survey of 1,000 Americans who hold 401(k) retirement accounts. “43% of […]
Executives at Swiss bank UBS said on Wednesday that they’ve struck a deal to sell Credit Suisse’s U.S. servicing business. They did not provide information related to the buyers’ names or the financial details. In the U.S., Credit Suisse owns Select Portfolio Servicing (SPS). According to Inside Mortgage Finance (IMF), SPS was the 20th-largest U.S. […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Wednesday published a new proposed Mortgagee Letter (ML) that offers an early look at policies designed to expand contact options with mortgage borrowers who are in default. Published on FHA’s Single Family Drafting Table — an online portal where proposed U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) single-family […]
The U.S. DepThe U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced today more than $40 million in grant awards to seven grantees to improve completion rates for underserved students. The grants are being provided under the Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) program, which aims to equitably improve postsecondary student outcomes, including retention, transfer, credit accumulation, and completion, […]
WASHINGTON — The ancient ritual meaning of Stonehenge is still a mystery, but researchers are one step closer to understanding how the famous stone circle was created. The unique stone lying flat at the center of the monument was brought to the site in southern England from near the tip of northeast Scotland, researchers reported Wednesday […]
Statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona: Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court to vacate the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals’ injunction of the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. This injunction, if allowed to stand, would harm borrowers who have dutifully repaid their loans […]
Planet Home Lending confirmed on Tuesday the acquisition of certain retail assets from Axia Home Loans, describing the transaction as an opportunity to expand its operations in the Western, Northwestern, and Midwestern markets. HousingWire broke the news in early August. Axia is also winding down its wholesale division as a result of the retail asset […]
Non-QM wholesale lender Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions (AOMS) has promoted longtime production head Tom Hutchens to president. The Atlanta-based company, which is part of the larger family of Angel Oak mortgage entities, said John Jeanmonod, formerly Angel Oak’s regional vice president of sales, would replace Hutchens as executive VP of production. Tom Hutchens of Angel […]
Onity Group, parent company of top five reverse mortgage lender and servicer Liberty Reverse Mortgage, will acquire reverse mortgage assets from Mortgage Assets Management, LLC (MAM), a subsidiary of investment funds managed by Waterfall Asset Management. The deal, initially announced by Onity during its Q2 earnings call, suggests that Waterfall is committed to the reverse […]
As many as half of surveyed U.S. adults said that retiring at age 65 is “unrealistic,” instead saying that age 74 is a more attainable goal to reach full retirement. This is according to a survey conducted by Equitable, a financial services provider. “Equitable’s survey revealed that nearly half of consumers (47%) believe it is […]
Kiavi, a San Francisco-based lender for residential real estate investors, announced on Tuesday the closing of a $400 million rated securitization of residential transition loans (RTLs) in an “oversubscribed” transaction. The deal marked Kiavi’s 19th securitization, elevating its total issuance to over $5 billion since it launched its securitization program in 2019, including $1.4 billion […]
Refinance activity last week hit its highest level since August 2022, when mortgage rates were closer to 5%. But it’s far too early to celebrate. Refinance activity received a major boost last week as mortgage rates declined on the back of expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates and a possible recession looms. The […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday released an advisory opinion stating that contracts for deed are under federal home lending rules and should provide consumer protections. In these contracts – also known as “land contracts” or “bond for deed” –the seller retains the legal title to a home until the borrower completes all […]
london — Street artist Banksy on Monday unveiled a new mural of a rhinoceros that looks like it is climbing on top of a car in London — the eighth animal-themed artwork he has posted in the past week in a collection that includes elephants, a goat, a wolf, pelicans and more. The elusive graffiti artist, […]
California-based HighTechLending, a top-10 lender in the reverse mortgage industry, recently announced that it was rebranding its wholesale channel to American Senior Lending Wholesale Division in an effort to better align its identity with key business lines designed to serve older borrowers. One of the ways the company aims to continue making a name for […]
Rural parts of the U.S. have roughly 35% fewer home health aides to assist their aging populations than urban areas do. This is according to research from the University of Minnesota as cited by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), a private nonprofit research organization that receives funding from the U.S. Census Bureau. Researchers found that […]
Open Mortgage on Friday shut down its distributed retail channel and laid off more than two dozen employees. The divisional closure comes 1.5 years after the Texas-based lender changed ownership and nine months after it exited the reverse mortgage business. The company will focus on the third-party origination (TPO) space going forward. Employees told HousingWire, […]
“The Administration strongly disagrees with the Eighth Circuit’s decision blocking the Biden Administration’s SAVE plan. If allowed to stand, this ruling would force millions of borrowers to pay hundreds of dollars more each month. And the decision’s reasoning could also deny loan forgiveness to individuals who were expecting it after up to 25 years of […]
More evidence is emerging that the recent decline in mortgage rates is prompting more borrowers to refinance. In its July 2024 Market Advantage report released on Monday, mortgage technology firm Optimal Blue reported that refinance demand, measured by the level of locked loans, grew to its highest point since September 2022. Data from HousingWire‘s Mortgage […]
New York — In the Ryan Reynolds-Blake Lively box-office showdown, both husband and wife came out as winners. Reynolds’ Marvel Studios smash “Deadpool & Wolverine” remained the top movie in North American theaters for the third straight week with $54.2 million in ticket sales according to studio estimates Sunday. Worldwide, it’s now surpassed $1 billion. “Deadpool […]
NEW YORK — Visitors to corn mazes across the country are finding a familiar and joyous figure in the winding labyrinth of tall stalks. Snoopy. More than 80 farms in the U.S. and Canada have teamed up with Peanuts Worldwide to create “Peanuts”-themed mazes to celebrate the beloved strip’s 75th birthday this summer and fall. A […]
PARIS — Women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics has highlighted the complexity of drafting and enforcing sex eligibility rules for women’s sports and how athletes like Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan are left vulnerable in the fallout. When eligibility for women’s events has come into question, it often has been a legally […]
NEW YORK — Renowned French high-wire artist Philippe Petit marked the 50th anniversary of his famous walk between New York’s Twin Towers with a performance in a Manhattan cathedral, accompanied by live music from Sting. Petit walked between the spires of the World Trade Center skyscrapers, 1,350 feet up, on August 7, 1974. A photographer captured […]
The reverse mortgage industry’s key performance indicators were split in July, according to data from industry analysts. Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements increased by 8% from June to July, with the total of 2,274 falling reasonably in line with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) HECM case numbers. This is according to data compiled by Reverse […]
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that the San Diego Unified School District in California entered into a resolution agreement to remedy violations OCR found of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The agreement also resolves a concern that OCR identified about the district’s fulfillment of its […]
Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Melissa Langdale, president and chief operating officer of The Mortgage Collaborative, to talk about the recent FHFA TechSprint focused on gen AI use cases in housing. The use case developed by Langdale and her team was recognized as the most promising use case of gen AI for […]
Mortgage tech firm Blend Labs delivered another loss in the second quarter of 2024 even as it signed deals with new customers across the mortgage and consumer banking channels. But executives expect a shift in the landscape due to declining interest rates, which may help them achieve profitability in the final three months of the […]
PARIS — Sprinter Noah Lyles revealed he had COVID-19 after missing out on another gold medal for the United States at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. Elsewhere, French basketball star Victor Wembanyama moved closer to his dream of a first gold after helping Les Bleus beat Germany to set up a dream final against the U.S. […]
Guild Holdings Co., the parent company of Guild Mortgage, delivered a profit in the second quarter of 2024, mainly due to the performance of its growing servicing portfolio. Meanwhile, its origination volume increased by 69% from April to June compared to the previous quarter but at lower margins. Net income in Q2 2024 increased to […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Thursday announced an expansion of relief measures to homeowners on the Hawaiian island of Maui who are seeking to rebuild single-family homes after the devastating wildfire that destroyed the town of Lahaina. This week marks the one-year anniversary of […]
After 25 years at Intuit, Glenn McGillivray has joined Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, in the newly created role of chief people and places officer, the company confirmed on Thursday. McGillivray will be responsible for the growth and development of the company’s workforce, including oversight of Rocket’s human resources and diversity, equity and […]
Global credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar this week assigned a “good” rating to reverse mortgage industry leader Finance of America (FOA), reconfirming the ranking the company was assigned at a similar point last year. The rating is officially classified as “MOR RVO2” by Morningstar. The agency noted the recent business history of FOA — including […]
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that the Minneapolis Public School District in Minnesota has entered into an agreement to ensure compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with respect to the district-wide athletics programs at its high schools. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content […]
Christopher George, the founder of California-based multichannel mortgage lender CMG Financial, has struck a deal to acquire Greenwoods Financial Group, the owner of Greenwoods State Bank. Financials of the deal were not disclosed. George will become an indirect wholly owner of a $575 million FDIC-state chartered bank based in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, that offers products […]