General World News

Mortgage rates lingering around 7.2% as Fed pauses hikes

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Mortgage rates remained well above 7% on Thursday as markets digested Wednesday’s Fed meeting.  Freddie Mac‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which focuses on conventional and conforming loans with a 20% down payment, shows the 30-year fixed rate averaged 7.19% as of Sept. 21, up one basis point from last week’s 7.18%. By contrast, the 30-year […]

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Washington the latest state to see insurers pull back

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The same home insurance scenario being played out in states like Florida and California due to elevated risk of natural disasters is becoming more pronounced in the Pacific Northwest according to a new report from the Seattle Times. Dozens of state residents have appealed policy limitations, cancellations or site-unseen denials to the Washington Office of […]

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Virginia Visitors Splatter Stress Away in Paint Room

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Just outside of Washington, D.C., in Northern Virginia, there is a place where anyone can release their inner painter and splatter their stress away. Maxim Adams has the story. Videographer: Sergey Sokolov; Video editor: Sergey Sokolov, Anna Rice      details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com

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Floify rolls out income/employment verification technology

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Digital mortgage automation solution provider Floify launched verification of income (VOI) and verification of employment (VOE) waterfall technology that aims to save lenders and mortgage brokers time and reduce costs during the loan origination process. “The new VOI and VOE features in the Floify platform enable mortgage professionals to view the results of multiple verification […]

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Mortgage demand rises ahead of key FOMC meeting

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In the week leading up to the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, mortgage applications finally ticked up. For the week that ended Sept. 15, mortgage applications rose 5.4% from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.  Last week, purchase applications increased for both conventional and FHA loans but remained 26% lower than […]

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CFPB details legal requirements for lenders’ use of A.I. when making credit decisions

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday announced a series of legal requirements lenders must adhere to when using artificial intelligence (AI) or “other complex models” when making decisions about the creditworthiness of borrowers. “The guidance describes how lenders must use specific and accurate reasons when taking adverse actions against consumers,” the CFPB said […]

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Alterra Home Loans names Fernando Ospina as president

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Alterra Home Loans, a Nevada headquartered retail lender and a Panorama Mortgage Group company, has promoted Fernando Ospina to president. Ospina, who has worked for the firm since 2018, formerly served as Alterra’s SVP of national production for the last year. He originated more than $46 million in loans in 2022, the company said. Ospina […]

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Reaching Bilingual Teachers Earlier in the Pipeline: Proposed Priorities for the National Professional Development Program

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By: Montserrat Garibay, Assistant Deputy Secretary and Director, Office of English Language Acquisition  I clearly remember my first day of middle school as a newly arrived student from Mexico in Austin, Texas, I didn’t speak a word of English and was nervous to start a new life with my mother and sister.  My first class […]

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Dark Matter Technologies execs talk transition from Black Knight, innovation in the mortgage tech space

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Dark Matter Technologies, formerly Black Knight Origination Technologies, is focused on mainly two things: the smooth transition to new owners, and lowering the cost to originate loans for lenders. Executives from Dark Matter Technologies, under the Constellation Software umbrella, said that a down market is the best time to make investments in technology and prepare […]

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‘American Fiction’ Wins People’s Choice Award at Toronto Film Festival

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Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction,” a biting satire starring Jeffrey Wright as a disillusioned academic, has won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, a much-watched bellwether in the Oscar race. “American Fiction” is the directorial debut of Jefferson, the veteran TV writer of “Watchmen” and “Succession,” and an adaptation of Percival Everett’s […]

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Beer Flows, Crowds Descend on Munich for Oktoberfest

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The beer is flowing and millions of people are descending on the Bavarian capital to celebrate the official opening of Oktoberfest. With the traditional cry of “O’zapft is” — “It’s tapped” — Mayor Dieter Reiter inserted the tap in the first keg at noon on Saturday, officially opening the 18 days of festivities. Revelers decked […]

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Housing inventory gone wild

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What’s going on with housing inventory? The last four weeks of new listings data have been the most volatile since mortgage rates breached 6% in 2022. One week, we had the biggest decline in new listings data all year, which might indicate Americans are giving up on listing their homes. But the next week we […]

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Raising the Bar for Consistent School Attendance

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By: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education National and State data sets released over the past several weeks underscore the need for urgent, collective action to improve regular school attendance. While the latest data reflect the 2021-22 school year, when impacts of the pandemic were much more acute, it is important to note that rates […]

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Blend’s new AI-powered chat tool isn’t like the others

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Mortgage tech firm Blend Labs has launched its first AI-powered chat tool, which it says will allow loan officers to be more efficient and offer a far more personalized touch for prospective borrowers. The AI-powered assistant ‘Copilot’ executes precise tasks and assists borrowers in giving timely answers to borrower questions on behalf of loan originators, […]

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Guaranteed Rate Affinity sues former originators over advanced compensation

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Guaranteed Rate Affinity has initiated legal action against former loan originators, accusing them of breaching contracts by failing to pay back advanced signing bonuses and commissions after they left the company.  Two anonymous sources told HousingWire that multiple former employees have received demands from the company to return their compensation. It has resulted in the […]

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Following sale, Black Knight Origination Technologies rebrands to Dark Matter Technologies

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Dark Matter Technologies, formerly Black Knight Origination Technologies, has rebranded after being acquired by the Perseus Operating Group of Constellation Software Inc.  The company’s mission is to “revolutionize the mortgage origination business by supporting, growing and aggressively innovating new and existing products, including the popular AIVA artificial intelligence solution and the comprehensive Empower loan origination […]

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Hong Kong Tries to Woo Back Mainland Chinese Tourists

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Chinese tourists used to flock to Hong Kong before the pandemic, bringing empty suitcases to fill with everything from baby milk powder, to cosmetics and nonprescription drugs. Large tour groups would descend on the city, sparking complaints from some locals. When Hong Kong reopened its borders earlier this year, many people were expecting an influx […]

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Ginnie Mae announces expansion of ESG MBS label to single-family pools

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The Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) announced on Thursday an expansion of its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) labeling to single-family mortgage-backed securities (MBS) pools, an expansion of a previous initiative that had only impacted multifamily pools, and which some analysts say an increasingly strong market for investors. In an interview with HousingWire, Ginnie […]

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loanDepot appoints Dan Hanson to newly-created executive role

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California-based loanDepot has appointed Dan Hanson to a newly-created role of executive director of enterprises partnerships and acquisitions as the company seeks to invest in profitable growth-generating initiatives, it announced on Thursday.   The mortgage lender has had several changes to its leadership so far this year. In July, loanDepot appointed Darren Graeler as executive vice […]

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Pavan Agarwal: Bullish on replacing humans with AI

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Most tech CEOs emphasize how their technology empowers, not replaces, humans. But Pavan Agarwal, CEO of Sun West Mortgage Company and the creator of the Angel Ai technology, has a different perspective, which he shares in this interview with HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Sarah […]

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Mortgage applications for new construction climbed in August

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Demand for newly constructed homes continues to remain high as existing for-sale inventory remains historically low. Mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 20.6% in August on a year-over-year basis. Compared to July 2023, applications increased by 4%. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns. MBA’s survey tracks application volume from […]

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Buyers bemoan lack of housing inventory: NAR

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Over one-third (34%) of prospective buyers have yet to purchase a home because there are not enough homes for sale in their budget, according to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors. The other top reasons include buyers are waiting for mortgage rates to drop (18%) and buyers are waiting for prices to […]

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New York startup Roam launches assumable mortgage platform

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New York-based mortgage platform Roam has secured a $1.25 million seed round, allowing the company to officially launch its services on Wednesday. Roam focuses on a distinctive niche within the mortgage industry: assumable mortgages.  Tech executive and investor Keith Rabois at venture capital firm Founders Fund led the capital injection. It also included Opendoor co-founder Eric Wu, Culdesac CEO Ryan Johnson and #ANGELS founding partner Jana Messerschmidt.  Following the investment, Wu […]

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Local Logic partners with Plunk for residential real estate data insights

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Local Logic, a location intelligence platform that digitizes the built world, has teamed up with Plunk, an AI-driven analytics company, to empower end-users with the technology and insights they need to accelerate and improve home purchase decisions, the company announced on Tuesday. Plunk’s AI-powered home analytics platform offers real-time insights into home valuation, risk assessment, […]

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The Graystone Company acquires Direct Capital

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Florida-based financial services firm The Graystone Company has completed the acquisition of mortgage banker and broker Direct Capital Investment Group through a reverse merger transaction, the companies announced Monday. The financials of the deal were not disclosed.  Direct Capital, through its subsidiary Direct Mortgage, offers residential, commercial and SBA loans, per its website. The company has 98 loan officers and six branches, […]

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CAPE Analytics launches new AI-powered, automated property condition report tool 

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CAPE Analytics has unveiled a new, AI-powered, automated property condition report (aPCR) tool crafted for institutional lenders, whole loan investors, and real estate investors.  This latest product uses computer vision to assess aerial imagery from airplanes and other sources and extracts information about property conditions, with a focus on marketability and property value, the company […]

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GSE repurchase risk is rippling through the MSR market

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The mortgage servicing rights (MSR) market has been very active this year, with robust deal flow that is on par with last year’s record $1 trillion in trading volume and with generally good pricing for MSR packages, industry experts agree.  A fly in the ointment, however, particularly for some independent mortgage banks (IMBs), is the elevated […]