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Graphics by Dan Hultquist. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s Almost all Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) originated today utilize the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) option. In stark contrast to traditional mortgage lending, the reverse mortgage business is dominated by ARMs, representing over 99% of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured reverse mortgages originated today. […]

Another round of layoffs hit hundreds of Newrez employees in Colorado, the second so far this year in the state. It follows the the lender’s recent acquisition of Computershare Mortgage Services and its affiliate Specialized Loan Servicing (SLS).  Newrez, owned by asset manager Rithm Capital, is imposing a workforce reduction of 317 employees at its […]

Consumer attitudes toward the purchase of a home fell “markedly” in May, while the percentage of consumers who said it was a “bad” time to buy a home grew month over month from 79% to 86%, according to new survey data from government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Fannie Mae. The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) […]

Wholesale lender OCMBC Inc., which was recently sued by direct lender Home Mortgage Alliance Corp. (HMAC) over the alleged poaching of both key personnel and a wholesale lending brand, issued a statement this week that called the allegations “baseless” and added that any employment changes have been made “independently and lawfully.” The case was first […]

Home equity continued to rise in the first quarter of 2024 as residential properties with mortgages collectively gained $1.5 trillion in equity over the past year, according to a CoreLogic report released Friday. The average U.S. homeowner with a mortgage added $28,000 in equity during the year ending in March 2024 — the highest year-over-year […]

Legal and financial troubles are piling up for mortgage fintech lender LoanSnap, with the company having been recently evicted from its headquarters in Southern California. The news was previously reported this week by TechCrunch. TechCrunch reported on Monday that while “LoanSnap has not yet shut down, according to two employees, the vibe inside the company […]

Job creation that exceeded expectations in May has reinforced the perception that the Federal Reserve will maintain the same benchmark interest rates at its June meeting and may delay any rate cuts that were planned for this year. This means that mortgage rates are likely to be higher for even longer than previously expected.  The […]

Just over a year after its further expansion into the reverse mortgage business, multichannel mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate has focused on bringing a wider swath of mortgage industry professionals up to speed with the dynamics of reverse, a trend that has unfolded in other parts of the industry as more forward lenders have expressed interest […]

Bond credit-rating organization Moody’s Investors Service has reaffirmed its “above-average” rating for the reverse mortgage servicing performance of Celink, which is the current holder of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) servicing contract and is a HECM subservicer for several major lenders. The Moody’s assessment of “SQ2” […]

Doug Duncan, the chief economist at Fannie Mae, believes pressures from fiscal and monetary policy have brought volatility to the secondary mortgage market, creating a “higher-for-longer” scenario in the U.S. economy that mortgage companies should be ready to face. “Every indicator that comes out, the market judges which way would the Fed move with it. […]

Mortgage lending in the U.S. dropped by 6.7% in the first quarter of 2024 to 1.28 million mortgages secured by residential property, the 11th drop recorded in the past 12 quarters and the lowest level since the year 2000, according to the newest U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report compiled by data provider Attom. This […]

Mortgage credit availability saw a slight increase in May, according to an analysis of ICE Mortgage Technology data by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) rose by 0.1% to 94.1 in May. The index was initially benchmarked to 100 in 2012. The MCAI measures how tight or loose lending standards […]

California-based mortgage lender loanDepot (LDI) has made two additions to its sales leadership team. On Wednesday, the company confirmed that Justin Andrews has been hired as the new area sales manager in the Seattle region. Andrews comes to loanDepot with 25 years of mortgage industry experience, including a recent stint as national director of branch […]

Leading reverse mortgage lender Finance of America (FOA) has undergone a round of layoffs that are impacting multiple levels of the organization, including retail and corporate leadership positions. The news was first reported by National Mortgage News. While FOA catapulted to the top spot in the reverse mortgage industry virtually overnight last year after closing […]

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this week 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 “will help entities to preserve, stabilize, and […]

Loan repurchases continue to trend downward at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but there appears to be a separation developing in loan-repurchase patterns — with Freddie reducing its loan buybacks at a faster clip than Fannie, according to recently released data and public filings. The volume of loan repurchases at both Fannie and Freddie is down significantly […]

To gain a competitive advantage in the mortgage space, it often demands access to expertise and capabilities that provide options, confidence, expansion opportunities and an ability to create efficiencies across time, resources and cost. A designation as an approved Seller/Servicer with Freddie Mac is just that—a strategic assistance for both businesses and their borrowers. The […]

NAF Cash, a subsidiary of multichannel mortgage lender New American Funding (NAF), announced on Tuesday the availability of a tool called NAF Cash Maps that aims to offer data on trends related to all-cash home purchases. “The data is derived from information collected by real estate data provider MMI, MLS data, and public records, enhanced […]

Building on momentum seen in April, reverse mortgage volume and securities issuance each posted gains in May, with a caveat in place about the runway ahead from case number assignments in April. Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements increased by 16.9% to 2,460, while HECM case numbers remained relatively flat compared to April, which could […]

With flood insurance premiums commanding ever-higher prices, a U.S. senator recently described a hardship faced by a constituent who endured challenges with higher flood insurance costs while keeping a reverse mortgage in good standing. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) implemented a new flood insurance pricing methodology in late 2021 called “Risk Rating 2.0,” which […]

Seller impersonation fraud has reportedly risen significantly over the years, and one such fraudster attempted to cash in by facilitating a fraudulent sale of Graceland, the famous Memphis, Tennessee, home owned by the late Elvis Presley. But while a fraud attempt targeting such a famous structure and family would easily make national news, the vast […]

Shopping around for a mortgage could prove beneficial for borrowers looking to save money, particularly in a high interest rate environment, according to a new report from LendingTree. The potential savings breaks down to roughly $212 a month, or $2,547 per year on average, according to the report. But in states with higher home prices […]

On an enforcement streak since the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to its funding mechanism in mid-May, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is now targeting the use of what it deemed “unlawful or unenforceable” terms and conditions in contracts. On Tuesday, the U.S. consumer financial watchdog released a circular warning companies that use […]

A study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) in 2022 aimed to assess the state of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program over a 20-year period. Released late last year, the study examined three core elements of HECM program effectiveness between 2000 […]

As the U.S. and much of the world will have to reckon with a population that is growing older at a faster rate, governments are determining the best courses of action to deliver on age-related initiatives. To that end, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has delivered a strategic framework for a […]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is creating a public database to identify nonbank financial companies that violate consumer laws, aiming to avoid recidivism trends.   On Monday, the U.S. consumer financial watchdog announced that it finalized a rule establishing the new registry. It requires lenders caught violating consumer law to report certain final agency and […]

More than nine in 10 adult members of Generation Z say that housing affordability is a key factor when deciding who to vote for in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, making it the top issue for that cohort as it prepares to go to the polls. This is according to a report released Monday by […]

Lakeland, Florida, now has the largest surplus, with 43% more homes for sale in April than it averaged from 2017 to 2019, according to ICE. Austin was next at 29% and San Antonio came in third at 27%. By contrast, the Connecticut metros of Annual home price gains continued to cool in April, marking the […]

Mortgage subservicer Dovenmuehle Mortgage announced two promotions within its business development team this week. Anna Krogh was named senior vice president and director of business development, while Chris Torres is the new vice president of business development and manager for the Western region. Krogh joined Dovenmuehle in 2022 from Associated Bank in Chicago. She has […]

Roof AI, an artificial intelligence-powered sales assistant that helps real estate and mortgage companies generate revenue across their business units, announced the integration of OpenAI’s technology into its system, significantly boosting its capabilities. At the heart of this innovation is Roof AI’s sales assistant, which is now powered by advanced large language models (LLMs). This […]