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Credit: Fannie Mae The company’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group noted that many large metro areas in the Sun Belt now have inventory levels that match or even exceed for-sale inventories of 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused Fannie Mae to downwardly revise its forecasts for housing starts and Home price […]

The number of down payment assistance (DPA) programs for homebuyers has reached an all-time high. That’s according to the second-quarter 2024 Homeownership Program Index report from Down Payment Resource, which tracks homebuyer assistance programs. In Q2 2024, the number of down payment assistance options rose 2% relative to the previous quarter, while the number of […]

Dominic Iannitti “As we mourn the loss of our friend and business inspiration, DocMagic’s longtime leadership team is well-prepared to remain steadfast in our mission and commitment to excellence in the mortgage technology space,” Lori Johnson, DocMagic’s chief operating officer, added. “We have already implemented a comprehensive succession plan to ensure a seamless transition.” Iannitti, […]

Last April, Erik Morin made a return to the reverse mortgage valuation space by joining appraisal and valuation company Atlas VMS. Morin founded Landmark Network in 2007, a company that quickly became a key player on the valuation side of the reverse mortgage space before being acquired by Class Valuation in 2018. After leaving that […]

The consumer purchasing power of U.S. Social Security program benefits in 2024 is roughly 80 cents on the dollar when compared to the power of these benefits in 2010, illustrating the continued bite that inflation is having on American households as well as the diminished buying power of those living on a fixed income. This […]

San Diego-based Guild Mortgage is the latest mortgage lender to announce the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its operations through the launch of an in-house system. The platform, dubbed GuildGPT, is integrated into Guild’s knowledge database and allows employees to deliver customized and instant information on company products and guidelines. Since its launch […]

San Francisco-based private lender Kiavi announced Monday that it has closed another multimillion-dollar securitization of residential transition loans (RTLs), bringing its six-month volume of issuances to nearly $1 billion. The $350 million unrated securitization announced this week adds to similar transactions that have taken place since the start of the year. In February, the company […]

Late last month, Ginnie Mae released a term sheet for one of the most anticipated new developments for the reverse mortgage industry — a new Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) product referred to as “HMBS 2.0.” The new term sheet details several differences from the current HMBS program, including a reduction in the […]

“A national secondary market for construction financing could allow lenders, like state housing finance agencies and banks, to provide the investment capital needed to get multifamily housing projects built and keys in families’ hands.” This is the conclusion of a new report published by the Center for Public Enterprise, a nonprofit organization that promotes the […]

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Friday announced that its FHA Connection (FHAC) portal — which provides FHA-approved lenders and business partners with secure online access to computer systems at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — has experienced outages in certain core services, coinciding with a widely reported global technology outage […]

In a competitive market full of options, banks must rely on more than their rate sheet to compete for the business of third-party originators. Established brokers and non-delegated correspondents alike continue to choose Flagstar as a preferred partner because of its reputation for not only being a reliable lender for over 35 years but also […]

Fintech Sagent hired Jaime Gow, a former executive at Mr. Cooper and First Horizon Bank, as its new chief financial officer. The hiring coincided with the departure of the company’s chief technology officer, Uday Devalla.  Warburg Pincus-backed Sagent highlighted Gow’s background in servicing as a reason for hiring him. That’s the exact space in the […]

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) this week published a new proposed policy for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, which would update the way debenture interest rates for HECM loans operate. The draft Mortgagee Letter (ML) “proposes updates to HUD’s calculations for the payment of debenture interest for HECM claims and establishes a process […]

Last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the launch of a new program designed to allow for the purchase, refinance or renovation of manufactured housing under a loan program sponsored by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The Manufactured Home Community loan product “will help entities to preserve, stabilize, and revitalize […]

A coalition of eight trade groups — including the Housing Policy Council (HPC), the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) — have requested additional time from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to comment on proposed changes to Regulation X, which implements the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act […]

Mortgage applications to purchase new homes fell 16% month over month in June but rose 0.7% year over year, according to a report released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The data, derived from the trade group’s survey of homebuilders, is “consistent with broader declines in single-family construction and new building permits as well […]

Reverse mortgage marketing can be an exacting process. Due to ongoing reputational challenges stemming from years (and loans) past, lenders have to consider the ways they can effectively recontextualize the product for some clients while broadening its appeal, compensating for misconceptions and acknowledging current realities around things like interest rates, retirement savings levels and access […]

Survey data released Wednesday by F&G Annuities & Life Inc. shows that economic realities and other considerations are driving Americans to either delay or come out of retirement. F&G’s newly released Retirement Reconsidered survey, which was conducted in May across a sample of 2,048 respondents ages 50 and older, found that 51% of this cohort […]

The gap between home appraisals and sale prices is rising. That’s according to a new report from Corporate Settlement Solutions (CSS), which analyzed 10 states on the East Coast and Midwest for the share of properties that were appraised for more than the sale price, in addition to the average value over appraisal. CSS’s analysis […]

Six U.S. regulators announced on Wednesday that they have approved a final rule that requires mortgage originators and secondary market issuers to impose quality control standards for their automated valuation models (AVMs).  In June, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) announced their approval of the […]

Mortgage applications increased 3.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ending July 12, due mainly to borrowers taking advantage of a decline in rates to refinance their home loans, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).  “Mortgage rates declined last week, as recent signs of cooling inflation and the […]

The state of Montana may not be a key source of business for the reverse mortgage industry, but that doesn’t negate the reality that seniors who reside there might find the product useful for reaching some kind of financial goal. That can be a challenge if they live in an unusual or uniquely constructed home, […]

Even as a federal law designed to protect income for retirees turns 50 this year, the cry to reform retirement benefits seems to be growing louder than ever. This rising chorus includes The New York Times, which recently published an article titled, “The $25 Trillion System of Retirement Savings Needs Fixing.” It offers expert opinions […]

Mortgage production increased at Bank of America (BofA) in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the previous three months, but the bank’s home loan volumes were still lower than those delivered in the same period last year. Competitors Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citi showed the same trend when opening the Q2 2024 earnings […]

Just like a football team entering the red zone — the area of the field inside the opponent’s 20-yard line — should be extra cautious to avoid wasting a scoring chance, Americans who are nearing retirement should dial back aggressive investment strategies. That’s the advice of Kevin Wade, a financial planner with Centennial Advisors LLC, […]

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Monday that it has charged lender Rocket Mortgage, two appraisal companies and one appraiser with allegedly issuing a biased valuation and denying a refinance loan to a Black homeowner in Denver.  The HUD accused appraiser Maksym Mykhailyna and his company, Maverick Appraisal Group, appraisal […]

How would the housing market fare under a potential second Trump administration? Mark Calabria, the former Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director under Trump, has some ideas. And no surprise — he’d like to be part of that administration if asked. According to Calabria, who currently serves as a senior adviser to the Cato Institute, […]

Baltimore-based Dominion Financial Services, a nationwide private lender that specializes in financing for real estate investors, announced the hiring of Dustin Wells as the president of its newly launched wholesale lending division. Wells has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services arena. Most recently, he served as co-president of Stronghill Capital, an […]

Rocket Pro TPO, the wholesale arm of Rocket Mortgage, announced Monday that it has decided to waive the $795 origination fee charged to broker partners on home equity loans. “When you think about what home equity looks like or represents across the country, there’s a record-breaking home equity, with homeowners sitting on almost $17 trillion,” […]