As the mortgage industry continues to reduce capacity amid shrinking volumes, mortgage professionals are reluctant to spend on tech, services or solutions. According to HousingWire‘s Q3 2023 LenderPulse survey, industry workers said they would cut down on marketing spend and tools, as well as reduce additional headcount, if they had to further contain costs. About […]
Italy’s culture and tourism ministers have vowed to find and punish a tourist who was filmed carving his name and that of his apparent girlfriend in the wall of the Colosseum in Rome, a crime that resulted in hefty fines in the past. Video of the incident went viral on social media. The message reading […]
After a winter of dire housing market forecasts, the housing market regained its footing this spring, with home prices rising month-over-month for the third consecutive month in April, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which was released Tuesday. These increases came after seven consecutive months of decline. “The index tracks price changes from the […]
The mortgage delinquency rate fell 11 basis points to 3.10% in May, the second lowest national mortgage delinquency rate ever seen. In May, the number of borrowers just one payment behind improved by 94,000, erasing nearly half of April’s increase, according to Black Knight. (Delinquency numbers in April spiked because the month ended on a […]
The United States will be playing for an unprecedented three-peat at this year’s Women’s World Cup. It won’t be easy for the No. 1 team in the world. Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the quadrennial tournament kicks off on July 20 and features an expanded field of 32 teams, up from 24. There are […]
Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 58,268 foreclosure prevention actions during the first quarter of 2023, raising the total number of homeowners who have been helped to 6,771,101 since the start of conservatorships in September 2008. This is according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Q1 2023 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance […]
Current housing market dynamics continue to be fueled by the lack of existing homes available for sale, a trend that did not improve during the spring homebuying season, when more homes are typically put on the market. This has led Fannie Mae to revise its 2023 single-family originations forecast to $1.59 trillion, down from $1.65 […]
UNESCO member states meet later this week on the Biden administration’s bid to rejoin the Paris-based U.N. scientific and cultural body, a move that will inject hundreds of millions of welcome dollars into its coffers and give the United States a say in shaping programs ranging from climate change to education and artificial intelligence. Few […]
Need to empower the leadership at your organization? Want to increase efficiency in your mortgage business? Or, seeking guidance for mentoring new employees? Suzy Lindblom will speak to all of these topics when she takes the stage at HW Annual. Register for HW Annual today to catch Lindblom on stage alongside other powerful women of […]
Elton John gave the final concert at Britain’s legendary Glastonbury Festival on Sunday, bringing down the curtain on the annual spectacular with what could be his final U.K. performance. “I never thought I’d ever play Glastonbury,” he told the crowd. “It’s a very special and emotional night for me — it might be my very […]
When the International African American Museum opens to the public Tuesday in South Carolina, it becomes a new site of homecoming and pilgrimage for descendants of enslaved Africans whose arrival in the Western Hemisphere begins on the docks of the Lowcountry coast. Overlooking the old wharf in Charleston at which nearly half of the enslaved […]
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” slung its webs back atop the box office ranks while “The Flash” saw a drop faster than the film’s speedy character. The Spidey animated sequel — starring Shameik Moore as the teenage webslinger Miles Morales — reclaimed the No. 1 spot in its fourth week in North American theaters, scoring $19.3 […]
Summer is here, and housing inventory is finally growing! The spring housing inventory was like a zombie rising from the grave, very slow, but the summer is showing some promise and let’s hope it continues. Purchase apps had a small week-to-week gain. Mortgage rates were again in a small range, hanging near 7%. Here’s a […]
Zion Rose is well aware that the percentage of Black U.S. players in Major League Baseball has been on the decline for decades. But the 18-year-old catcher from Chicago, still sweaty from a workout during MLB’s Draft Combine this week at Chase Field in Phoenix, said he’s got some news: That’s not going to be […]
Saudi Arabia has ambitious plans to welcome millions more pilgrims to Islam’s holiest sites. But as climate change heats up an already scorching region, the annual Hajj pilgrimage — much of which takes place outdoors in the desert — could prove even more daunting. The increased number of pilgrims, with the associated surge in international […]
The confessionals where generations of Belgians admitted their sins stood stacked in a corner of what was once Sacred Heart Church, proof the stalls — as well as the Roman Catholic house of worship — had outlived their purpose. The building is to close for two years while a cafe and concert stage are added […]
At Tyler Malek’s ice cream parlors, one cook’s trash is another chef’s frosty treat. The head ice cream maker at the Portland, Oregon-based Salt & Straw uses the whey leftover from yogurt makers in upstate New York to make his lemon curd flavor. For chocolate barley milk, he mixes in the remnants of rice and […]
The HousingWire award spotlight series highlights the individuals and organizations that have been recognized through our Editors’ Choice Awards. Nominations for HousingWire’s 2023 HW Insiders are open until the end of today, June 23, 2023. Click here to nominate someone from your organization today. Today marks the last day to submit a nomination for the […]
Some of the best performing stocks in America this year are from large, national homebuilders – strong consumer demand, limited competition from the existing home sales market, and an improving supply chain have boosted their outlooks. On Monday, homebuilder confidence moved into positive territory for the first time in nearly a year, while Census data on […]
The Metropolitan Opera in New York not only organizes concerts and campaigns to support Ukraine but also has offered four Ukrainians an internship. Iryna Solomko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Titans of business, fashion, entertainment and more made the guest list for Thursday’s big White House dinner in honor India’s Narendra Modi, with the likes of designer Ralph Lauren, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and tennis legend Billie Jean King rubbing shoulders with tech leaders from Apple, Google and Microsoft. Shyamalan powered past reporters as he […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced late last year that it is replacing the Classic FICO credit model used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the FICO 10T and the VantageScore 4.0 credit score models and outlined the timeline for implementation. But a coalition of 17 associations, led by the Housing Policy Council […]
On June 1, Arizona-headquartered retail lender AmeriFirst Financial Inc. relaunched its forward mortgage originations. It ceased that business in December 2022 after rising mortgage rates wreaked havoc on the housing industry. Of the 400 employees scooped up by American Pacific Mortgage (APM) late last year, about 20 LOs have returned to AmeriFirst Financial. Eric Bowlby, […]
Wholesale mortgage lender The Loan Store (TLS) announced on Thursday the roll-out of its new home equity line of credit (HELOC) product, which is currently available in 25 states and Washington, D.C. The Loan Store’s HELOC product is a standalone, fixed-rate line of credit that allows borrowers to tap into the equity of their homes, […]
Mortgage rates declined again this week following the Federal Reserve‘s recent pause on monetary tightening. However, rates on home loans remain at elevated levels compared to last year and that pause looks temporary. What should we expect from the summer home-buying season? The Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which focuses on conventional and conforming loans with a 20% […]
Existing home sales marginally increased in May, but were still down significantly from a year prior, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Total existing home sales rose 0.2% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.30 million in May. Year-over-year, sales dropped 20.4% from 5.40 million in […]
Introduced in Nigeria by the U.S. Peace Corps in the 1960s, baseball is slowly becoming a sport of note, thanks to the efforts of a few dedicated enthusiasts of the game. Timothy Obiezu reports from Ekiti state. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Home Point Capital surprised the market on April 7 when it announced that the acquirer of its struggling mortgage origination business was a small wholesale shop few had even heard of. The Loan Store, based in Arizona and accustomed to originating about $20 million a month, was picking up the pieces of the third-largest wholesale […]
Drone photographers and videographers from around the world submitted more than 65,000 pieces of work in an annual online competition. VOA’s Julie Taboh highlights some of the winning entries. Editing: Adam Greenbaum details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
On the heels of the Federal Reserve pausing its rate hikes, mortgage demand increased, but only slightly. For the week that ended June 21, mortgage applications only climbed 0.5% from the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This slow growth highlights that while demand is there and rates have fallen for three consecutive […]
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued the following statement on the recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend assessment in math and reading for 13-year-olds: details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
Housing starts are surging today and the builder’s confidence data is now in expansion territory. Does this mean the housing recession is over? As I have said many times over the last few months, the builders are efficient sellers and they’re taking advantage of an existing home sales market that is suffering from low inventory and […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has over 50 proposed rules in the pipeline in its section of the federal government’s 2023 spring regulatory agenda, released last week by the White House. Most of the 51 entries dedicated to HUD are in the “proposed rule stage,” the second of five stages involved […]
North Carolina-based Truist Financial Corporation announced on Tuesday that seasoned mortgage executive David Smith will be the head of Truist Mortgage effective July 31. Smith will replace the soon-to-be-retired Todd Chamberlain, who will assist with the transition. Smith, whose experience includes leadership roles at companies such as Keller Williams and CitiMortgage, will oversee the strategy and execution of originations, fulfillment, servicing […]
Mike Cagney’s Figure Technologies rolled out a wholesale lending platform that will give loan originators access to the company’s home equity line of credit (HELOC) offering. New wholesale partners of Figure can leverage the company’s HELOC technology to broker loans directly, the company said announcing the launch on Tuesday. “With Figure’s built-in digital origination process, […]
Four temples from ancient Rome, dating back as far as the 3rd century B.C. stand smack in the middle of one of the modern city’s busiest crossroads. But until Monday, practically the only ones getting a close-up view of the temples were the cats that prowl the so-called “Sacred Area,” on the edge of the […]
A new film charts the response of the large Iranian community in Los Angeles to the brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Paris, Iranian communities across the world are coming together to try the help their countrymen and women back home. Camera: Vahid Karami details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received […]
So you’ve been using the same outdated title production software for years and feel like you’re no longer getting the most bang for your buck. As your business grows, you need efficient software that can grow with you, but some questions hold you back. The four most common questions we hear from title professionals about […]
June 21 marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere – in Seattle, Washington, the summer solstice was celebrated this past weekend with the annual Fremont Solstice Parade. Natasha Mozgovaya has more. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Mortgage rates were near 7% last week but purchase applications were still able to pull out an 8% week-to-week gain. That was surprisingly strong, but as I have always stressed, context is critical. Purchase apps were coming off a four-week losing streak and even though those were mild week-to-week declines, it was still four weeks […]
The smell of pineapple bread fills the kitchen of “Vida Libre,” or “free life,” a gang rehabilitation program founded in El Salvador by American pastor Kenton Moody in 2021. The trust that Moody puts in former gang members is not widely shared. Thousands of lives have been destroyed in this Central American country after decades […]
The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf have long battled in court over competing claims affecting men’s professional golf. But in a surprise move last week, the groups announced they would merge commercially. Some U.S. senators are alarmed. VOA’s Laurel Bowman reports. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: […]
Below-median family income households are overcoming constraints related to increased borrowing costs and home prices and are finding ways to become homeowners, according to Freddie Mac’s latest economic, housing and mortgage outlook. The below-median family income homeownership rate increased to 53% from 48% since 2016, Freddie Mac said, citing data from the Census Bureau’s Housing […]
Thank you, Angela. Moms Demand Action is a force to be reckoned with. I also want to thank Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal and Everytown for Gun Safety for organizing this first-ever National Safer Communities Summit. The conversations taking place here today are so important – that’s why at this very moment the President […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is highlighting the challenges and successes that the COVID-19 pandemic created for mortgage servicers in response to a series of reports published this week by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG). “[The] report from the OIG confirms what we all know […]