This article is part of our 2022 – 2023 Housing Market Update series. After the series wraps, join us on February 6 for the HW+ Virtual 2023 Housing Market Update. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the data for this year, along with a roundtable […]
Inspired by the lifesaving medical attention Damar Hamlin received on the field during a game last month, the NFL and American Heart Association will provide free CPR education in Arizona throughout Super Bowl week as part of the NFL Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center. Hamlin, the 24-year-old Buffalo Bills defensive back, needed to be […]
San Antonio, Texas-headquartered USAA eliminated 130 positions in the real estate lending group amid projections that the mortgage industry will shrink in 2023. The layoffs at USAA Federal Savings Bank represent about 1.6% of the total bank workforce, Bradley Russell, USAA’s corporate spokesperson, confirmed. “In order to continue exceptional service to our members, we sometimes […]
The California-based Pennymac Financial Services executives rightsized the company and invested in its servicing portfolio amid a shrinking market in 2022. Despite their efforts, profits still dropped to $475.5 million last year, down from $1 billion in 2021, the company reported on Thursday. In Q4 2022, the net income came in at $37.6 million, declining […]
An Iranian director who was arrested last summer, weeks before his latest film was released to widespread acclaim, has gone on a hunger strike to protest his continued detention amid more than four months of anti-government protests. Jafar Panahi, whose films have thrilled critics and won numerous international prizes, issued a statement saying he would […]
Maryland-based mortgage lender Apex Home Loans has appointed Leo Anzoleaga as its senior vice president of residential lending. In his new role, Anzoleaga will be tasked with generating more residential mortgage business, fostering business partnerships and improving customer experience. “What I’m most excited about in joining Apex is the opportunity to work with not only […]
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Mortgage Technology reported operating income of $57 million in 2022, down from last year’s $397 million — a reflection of the headwinds the mortgage industry is facing. The silver lining for the business was the strong sales in its Encompass loan origination software system in the fourth quarter, executives said in its […]
Finance of America (FOA) indirect subsidiary Incenter is selling its title insurance businesses, according to an announcement made on Thursday. Incenter has entered into an agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Essent Group Ltd. to sell the issued and outstanding shares of Agents National Title Holding Company (ANTIC) and the issues and outstanding membership […]
Dallas-based mortgage servicing software provider OrangeGrid announced on Thursday that Flagstar Bank has implemented its mortgage servicing software to “manage its loss mitigation processes and enhance internal efficiencies.” “OrangeGrid is good news for Flagstar’s borrowers because it means a faster review for them and a more timely return to a performing status for their loan,” […]
Wells Fargo cut over a hundred jobs in its mortgage division this week following its decision to exit the correspondent channel and shrink its servicing portfolio. A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed in Illinois on January 18 outlines the bank’s plan to impose layoffs that will affect 140 employees. The workforce reduction started on […]
The slowdown in the Federal Reserve‘s short-term rate hikes, announced on Wednesday, was welcome news for the mortgage market and solidified expectations that the 30-year mortgage rates will drop throughout 2023. While mortgage rates have been trending lower, rates are still higher than 12 months ago, but some experts anticipate that the downward pressure on […]
Michigan-based lender United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has introduced a construction-to-permanent loan that covers the cost of building a home and then converts to a permanent mortgage once construction is complete. Starting February 1, UWM’s one-time close construction loans will be available on eligible 15- and 30-year fixed conventional loans and 7- and 10-year adjustable-rate mortgages […]
Borrower demand for home loans increased in the first three weeks of 2023, sparking optimism among mortgage industry executives and loan officers. But don’t fool yourself — there are signs of volatility on the horizon. “Overall application activity declined last week despite lower rates, which is an indication of the still volatile time of the […]
High interest rates, coupled with a still-low supply of housing, have created price hurtles that are keeping many first-time homebuyers and lower-income borrowers locked out of the housing market. Interest rates, though down slightly in recent weeks, are still double what they were at the end of 2021, and the Federal Reserve continues its monetary tightening policies to fight […]
Tom Brady, who won a record seven Super Bowls for New England and Tampa, has announced his retirement from the U.S. National Football League. Brady — the most successful quarterback in NFL history, and one of the greatest athletes in team sports — posted the announcement on social media Wednesday morning, a brief video lasting […]
Calque, a company that partners with lenders to offer non-contingent mortgages to homebuyers, has appointed Dan Mugge as its chief operating officer. Mugge, a mortgage industry veteran with more than two decades in technology and business management, will lead the company’s push to secure high-profile mortgage lending partners to offer Calque’s products. “What I love […]
Lack of inventory is an issue builders and mortgage loan originators alike are dealing with across the nation. It’s also what keeps Andrew Marquis, regional vice president at CrossCountry Mortgage and Scotsman Guide’s seventh top LO, up at night, especially as he sees more buyers entering the market. A recent combination of lower property value […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced on Monday changes to its loss mitigation options for borrowers struggling to pay their mortgages. The announcement follows the Biden administration’s decision to set an end date for the COVID-19 pandemic national emergency declaration. Meanwhile, the FHA-Home Affordable Modification (FHA-HAMP) options were temporarily suspended to simplify loss mitigation options, […]
Scott Miller, a former mortgage loan originator at Sprout Mortgage, knew the clock was ticking when the non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) lender abruptly closed doors in July 2022. The decision left more than 400 employees without a job, and Miller had two urgent tasks — to find a lender that would close his clients’ loans in […]
New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYCB) confirmed it’s closing 69% of the retail home lending offices outside of its branches after acquiring Michigan-based Flagstar Bank. “We made the strategic decision shortly after the transaction closed to swiftly restructure the business, which occurred in January,” Thomas Cangem, NYCB president and CEO, said in a statement. “Going […]
Cindy Williams, who played Shirley opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne on the popular sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” has died, her family said Monday. Williams died Wednesday in Los Angeles at age 75 after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis. “The passing of our […]
Cenlar FSB, the second-largest mortgage servicer and largest sub-servicer in the U.S., has appointed D. James ‘Jim’ Daras as its CEO and president. Daras’ professional career spans more than four decades in the banking and mortgage banking industry. His specializations include risk management, banking and corporate finance functions, bank restructuring, company start-ups and venture capital […]
A group of 11 former employees are accusing AmeriSave Mortgage Corp. in a new lawsuit of failing to pay the wages, bonuses and commissions that were agreed to when they were hired by the company. The group also alleges that the company conducted a defamatory campaign against them after their layoffs in July 2022. According […]
Ukraine official said Russian presence at Games would constitute giving the country ‘a platform to promote genocide’ details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
We are off and going now, as seasonality has kicked into full gear with the purchase application data. And, so far, it’s been a good start to the year. Here’s the housing market rundown for the last week: Purchase application data showed positive weekly growth again — and the bounce from the bottom is more […]
Barrett Strong, one of Motown’s founding artists and most gifted songwriters who sang lead on the company’s breakthrough single “Money (That’s What I Want)” and later collaborated with Norman Whitfield on such classics as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “War” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” has died. He was 81. His death was […]
“Avatar: The Way of Water” claimed the No. 1 spot on the domestic box office charts for the seventh weekend in a row with an additional $15.7 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. It was a quiet weekend overall, notable mostly for the Hindi language blockbuster “Pathaan” that broke into the top five and […]
Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard, who skillfully adapted stories of historical Black figures in “Remember the Titans” starring Denzel Washington, “Ali” with Will Smith and “Harriet” with Cynthia Erivo, has died. He was 70. Howard died Friday at his home in Miami after a brief illness, according to a statement from publicist Jeff Sanderson. Howard was […]
The warm glow of Svalbard Kirke’s lights gleams on the snow-covered mountain slope from where the church stands like a beacon over this remote Norwegian Arctic village, cloaked in the polar night’s constant darkness. A century after it was founded to minister to the coal miners who settled Longyearbyen, the Lutheran house of faith is […]
Screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard, who skillfully adapted stories of historical Black figures in “Remember the Titans” starring Denzel Washington, “Ali” with Will Smith and “Harriet” with Cynthia Erivo, has died. He was 70. Howard died Friday at his home in Miami after a brief illness, according to a statement from publicist Jeff Sanderson. Howard was […]
Most retail lenders are desperately seeking high producing loan originators to make up for the losses that occurred in 2022. The majority of lenders easily lost half of the volume last year that they originated in 2021, and LOs who have their own databases to tap into are highly sought after. California-based retail lender JVM […]
Top-producing loan officer Dave Medina and his team at the Temecula, California-based branch have left Fairway Independent Mortgage to join Movement Mortgage. The move, which marks the start of Movement’s branch partnership strategy, comes four months after the South Carolina-based lender hired two top executives away from Fairway. “In the 20 years that I’ve been […]
The rapidly cooling housing market in 2022 was not kind to Big Four title insurer Old Republic. While the century-old firm, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023, did generate net income for both the fourth quarter of 2022 as well as for the year as a whole, it was down substantially last year. […]
Pending home sales ended 2022 on a positive note. After six consecutive months of declines, the Pending Home Sales Index rose 2.5% month over month in December to a reading of 76.9, according to data released Friday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). “This recent low point in home sales activity is likely over,” Lawrence […]
What is happening with homebuilders and the new home sales sector as we head into the spring housing market? We have had some conflicting data points recently. On the one hand, cancelation rates have been rising. On the other hand, mortgage rates have gone down more than 1% since Oct. 20, 2022. The builders’ stock […]
Two months after receiving the Federal Reserve’s approval to merge with New York Community Bank, Michigan-based Flagstar Bank is reducing its footprint in the retail channel and laying off hundreds of staffers, according to laid off employees. “I just got news this morning that the company is scrapping retail outside of where the bank footprint […]
California-based lender American Pacific Mortgage (APM) announced an asset purchase agreement with retail lender Lend Smart Mortgage on Thursday in its latest move to drum up production across the country. APM bought assets that include about 25 branches from the Minnesota retail lender Lend Smart. APM also acquired a database of referral partners as well […]
Black Knight recently added the Collections solutions to its suite of solutions as a way for servicers to keep customers in their homes during periods of financial hardship. The Collections solutions are geared toward helping to prevent foreclosure and late-stage default by making qualified assistance options timelier and more accessible to both homeowners and servicers, […]
An excavation team in Egypt has unearthed an ancient tomb containing a mummy believed to be 4,300 years old. It is among dozens of artifacts recently discovered. After a year-long excavation, renowned archaeologist Zahi Hawass announced the findings at Gisr al-Mudir, also known as the Great Enclosure, one of the oldest known stone structures in […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the resolution of an investigation into whether Troy University in Alabama responded to a student’s requests for pregnancy-related adjustments during the 2020-21 school year in a manner that complied with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received […]
Affordability has improved in the mortgage market since December, thanks to declines in mortgage rates and a slowdown in home price appreciation. Here’s a spoiler: Industry experts believe this trend will continue for months, signaling that a good spring is ahead. “It’s been the rise in prices [and] interest rates that have constrained affordability,” Doug […]
New home sales increased in December — a sign that new residential sales have continued to rebound in recent months. Last month, new home sales increased by 2.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 616,000, according to data published by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). But […]
Loan quality and audit services company QC Ally appointed Nicole Booth as its chief executive officer and Melissa Peregord as its new chief growth officer. Booth served as the company’s chief marketing officer prior to this announcement. She joined the company last July. “I’ve spent the past seven months diving head-first into understanding the importance […]
The literary world of Indian-administered Kashmir is mourning the death of a beloved poet and champion of the Kashmiri language, which he is largely credited with rescuing from obscurity. Abdur Rehman Rahi, an acclaimed writer and professor of literature who died earlier this month at age 97, is being hailed as a living testament to […]
Lloyd Morrisett, the co-creator of the beloved children’s education TV series Sesame Street, which uses empathy and fuzzy monsters like Abby Cadabby, Elmo and Cookie Monster to charm and teach generations around the world, has died. He was 93. Morrisett’s death was announced Monday by Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit he helped establish under the name […]