Here’s the housing market rundown for the last week: Purchase application data had a solid week-to-week gain of 25%. That’s a big jump, but context is critical. Housing inventory decreased by 566 units, which is not a significant decline. Mortgage rates fell, but the bond market didn’t break what I see as a critical level, […]
Hundreds of mourners gathered at Graceland on Sunday morning to pay their respects to singer Lisa Marie Presley in a memorial service at the mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, she inherited from her father, rock legend Elvis Presley. Presley died on Jan. 12 at the age of 54. Earlier that day, she had been rushed to […]
One of the world’s most prestigious and storied surfing contests is expected to be held Sunday in Hawaii for the first time in seven years. And this year female surfers will be competing alongside the men for the first time in the 39-year history of The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. The event — alternatively […]
As China gears up to welcome the Year of the Rabbit, Lunar New Year looks slightly different in Vietnam, where the Year of the Cat is about to begin. Across the country, streets are decked out with statues of felines and shops are stocked full of cat-themed decorations, popular gifts during Vietnamese New Year, known […]
Every Lunar New Year without fail, Kat Lieu’s mother would make her steamed nian gao, which is a sweet rice — or mochi — cake. It was a tasty tradition of having dessert for breakfast. The Seattle-based author of the “Modern Asian Baking at Home” cookbook and founder of the Subtle Asian Baking online group […]
On Friday NAR reported that total housing inventory levels broke under 1 million in December, dropping to 970,00 units for a population of 330 million people. And existing home sales crashed in 2022 from a peak of around 6.5 million in January down to about 4 million in December, We now have total inventory levels […]
Blank-check firm Aurora Acquisition Corp. wants to extend the deadline for completing its merger deal with struggling digital mortgage lender Better.com by six months for the third time, further dimming the prospects for the deal to go through. Novator Capital-sponsored Aurora shareholders will vote on an undisclosed date to extend the deadline by which the […]
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 Finance Leaders are open now through Friday, January 27, 2023. Click here to nominate your organization. When it comes to the challenges faced by C-suite executives in housing, no one has had to bear the […]
Homebuilder confidence and demand for mortgages have increased recently, keeping hopes high for an improved housing market in 2023. But a modest recession is still expected this year, and elevated mortgage rates, coupled with high home prices, will limit housing activity, according to Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae expects total home sales in 2023 to be […]
The phrase “in like a lion, out like a lamb” is typically used to describe the month of March, but it is also applicable to existing home sales trends in 2022. After posting a 6.5% month-over-month increase in January, existing home sales trended downward throughout the rest of the year. In December, the seasonally adjusted […]
British actor Julian Sands, best known for his appearance in the film A Room with a View, has been missing for several days after hiking in a Southern California mountain range. Search and rescue teams have looked for him, but their efforts have been called off because a series of storms has created adverse trail […]
David Crosby, one of the most influential rock singers of the 1960s and ’70s with the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, has died at age 81, Variety reported Thursday, citing a statement from Crosby’s wife. “It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away,” […]
The Census Bureau‘s housing starts report for December shows that housing completions are still too slow, and we are running out of time this year as housing permits are set to fall until the homebuilders get rid of their excess supply. We had some good news this week for the housing market: purchase application data […]
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today announced 38 awards totaling more than $30 million to colleges and universities from five competitive grant programs of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), which aims to improve higher education opportunities and outcomes for students from underrepresented communities. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content […]
Nonbank California lender loanDepot will start moving some of its backend operations to Black Knight‘s cloud-based version of the Empower loan origination system this year as the firm continues its efforts to cut costs. Black Knight’s loan origination system will complement and integrate with loanDepot’s proprietary technology system, mello, which rolled out in 2017, Black […]
Declining mortgage rates spurred the demand for home loans at the beginning of 2023, spreading optimism across the industry. But that’s not the only reason for the uptick. After months of a slowing housing market, sellers are offering more discounts to close deals and mortgage lenders are launching programs to protect their clients’ rates. “The […]
When industry veteran Michael Strauss abruptly shut down Long Island-based Sprout Mortgage in early July, there was uproar. Shocked employees didn’t receive their last paychecks. There were no severance packages, and even health insurance was canceled retroactive to May 2022, leaving some on the hook for huge medical bills. The lawsuits quickly came pouring in, […]
Tennessee-based mortgage lender Guaranty Home Mortgage Corporation hired Andy Voyles as executive vice president and director of retail lending. The mortgage lender hopes to boost volume in the channel. Voyles will be responsible for growing the retail division overseeing sales, operations and marketing as well as building on the existing framework, the company said Wednesday. […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced new awards totaling more than $35 million for the Promise Neighborhoods and Project Prevent grant programs. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: Website of U.S. Department of Education
As the housing market slowed from its frenzied peak in 2022 due to soaring mortgage rates, homebuilders pulled back. An estimated of 1.533 million housing units were started in 2022, down 3.0% compared to 2021, according to a report released Thursday by U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homebuilders closed out 2022 […]
Coldwell Banker franchise affiliate Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group acquired California lender Point Mortgage, the firms announced on Wednesday. Founded by Peter Mendiola and Johnny Margarini in 2000, Point Mortgage sponsors 126 MLOs and is licensed in 30 states with 27 branches across the country, according to the NMLS. “This new association brings our company […]
Builders feel more confident in the market, housing inventory data is positive and buyer demand for mortgages has increased — but don’t be fooled. The brutal low origination volume and industry consolidation that occurred for lenders in 2022 isn’t expected to turn around, at least not drastically, in 2023, according to Fitch Ratings. “Our outlook […]
Columbus, Ohio-headquartered lender Lower rolled out mortgage as a service platform that enables consumer finance, banking and real estate companies to offer its mortgage products. Lower’s platform is aimed to offer a “digital-first home financing experience quickly and easily” with white-label options available that can be embedded into the partner’s process through application programming interface […]
Like its competitors, Tennessee-based First Community Mortgage, Inc. (FCM) reduced the company’s size through 2022 amid a tough mortgage market. At the start of 2023, the company is investing in training the sales team on tactics to start growing the business again. Surprisingly, the landscape is helping. “There is certainly optimism in the air as mortgage applications have started […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced $63 million in new five-year Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) grants to support 42 local educational agencies, non-profits, or other public or private organizations and institutions of higher education working to expand existing community schools or establish new programs in eight new states and territories, including Alabama, Alaska, […]
Pennymac, the country’s largest correspondent lender with about 14% market share, has its eyes fixed on absorbing origination volume that Wells Fargo is leaving behind in the correspondent channel. The California-based lender plans to increase its client base in the bank and credit union segment where Wells Fargo was most active, Abbie Tidmore, senior managing […]
The mortgage servicing rights (MSR) market has opened 2023 with a healthy volume of capital committed to purchasing the assets along with multiple sellers primed for deals — as evidenced by the $60 billion to $65 billion in MSR portfolio offerings currently out for bid, market experts say. That good news, however, is being overshadowed […]
Chantilly, Virginia-headquartered mortgage bank Prosperity Home Mortgage saw mortgage origination volume plummet by 40% last year — at a time when mortgage rates had more than doubled, home prices remained elevated and the market suffered from a shortage of inventory. Prosperity, a full-service mortgage banker operating in 49 jurisdictions in the U.S., plans to invest […]
San Diego, California-based startup Splitero, which is focused on home equity investments (HEI), has raised about $12 million in a Series A funding round to expand its operations. Fiat Ventures led the investment round of $11.7 million, the parties announced Tuesday. Gemini Ventures, Joint Effects, PBJ Capital, Permit Ventures, Dream Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Spark Growth Ventures, and Oyster Fund participated in the investment round. According to […]
The latest numbers have many in the industry starting the year on a hopeful note, with the possibility that we’ll see mortgage rates returning to the 5% range in 2023. “The 5% market’s a healthy market,” said Anna Ruotolo, branch manager and senior loan officer at Synergy One Lending. “A 5% market will be good. […]
The latest viral video capturing the hearts of millions of users on social media is of a 10-year-old Jamaican boy singing about beauty and gratitude. The song, “Beautiful Day,” along with its myriad remixes, has been shared globally across Tik Tok, Instagram and YouTube. While the video has only recently gone viral, the story of […]
Each January, we have an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to advancing equality, as we honor the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Education is one of the greatest levers to advance equality and empowerment. That’s because with great educators, high expectations, and an excellent, equitable education, all students, of all […]
Today we have some good news for the housing market! The weekly inventory data, which had fallen faster than I had anticipated the last few weeks, has now seen a slight uptick. With mortgage rates also falling, I am hopeful that more people will list their homes and buy another, so we can get back […]
Italian film star Gina Lollobrigida, who achieved international film stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one her movies, died in Rome on Monday, her agent said. She was 95. The agent, Paola Comin, didn’t provide details. But Lollobrigida had surgery in September to […]
R’Bonney Gabriel, a fashion designer, model and sewing instructor from Texas who competition officials said is the first Filipino American to win Miss USA, was crowned Miss Universe on Saturday night. Gabriel closed her eyes and clasped hands with runner-up Miss Venezuela, Amanda Dudamel, at the moment of the dramatic reveal of the winner, then […]
After COVID-19 restrictions had wiped out Vienna’s glamorous winter ball season for two years in a row, 50-year-old Wahyuni couldn’t wait any longer to get dolled up and put on her dazzling floral-patterned ballgown to once again waltz the night away. “We love to come here, because the very nice decorations are made out of […]
“Dominate The One’s” was born out my appreciation for a tactic that was taught to me some 32 years ago and my frustration with how we in sales try to overcomplicate the simplest tasks in business. The year was 1990. And in my sixth-grade English class, I learned one of the most important business lessons […]
Like its nonbank competitors, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America operated in a highly challenging mortgage market in 2022. But quarterly earnings released on Friday also revealed that the top depository lenders struggled more than the overall mortgage market in the final three months of the year, perhaps an omen of what’s to […]
Iranian chess referee Shohreh Bayat says a gesture of solidarity with female compatriots at a tournament in Iceland has caused a feud with the game’s global body and seen her kicked off a commission. Bayat wore a “Women, Life, Freedom” T-shirt at a prestigious tournament in October, soon after protests began in Iran over the […]
Going from a volatile rate environment in the latter half of 2022 to a market with lower, more stabilized rates, there’s optimism spreading across the industry that buyers will come back. Just two weeks into 2023, Guaranteed Rate‘s top LO and managing director Ben Cohen has also seen an increase in inbound calls from buyers […]
Wisconsin-based mortgage lender Waterstone Mortgage Corp. promoted Rico Garcia to vice president of enterprise risk from director of quality control, portfolio risk management and vendor management. In his new role, Garcia will supervise the quality control, title services, portfolio risk management and compliance teams at the company. In addition, he will work with other teams […]
The nation’s single-family investment-property sector and the lenders serving those borrowers face some major challenges in 2023 as rent growth is slipping, vacancy rates growing, home-value growth faltering, and a possible recession looms. For the non-QM lenders serving the single-family investment-property space who have managed interest-rates well to stay ahead of the market, however, there’s […]
After three years of isolation and financial struggles in Chinese soccer, the country is reopening its borders and economy to the outside world. With it, frustrated fans, financially challenged clubs and unpaid players in the Chinese Super League might receive some long-awaited good news. The 2022 season was unrecognizable from the 2019 edition, the last […]
Los Angeles-headquartered City National Bank agreed to pay $31 million in relief to impacted individuals and communities to settle a redlining case with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the parties announced Thursday. City National was accused of the illegal practice of avoiding the provision of mortgage services to majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. In this […]
Today’s inflation data has shown that the peak growth rate of inflation is behind us. This should also mean mortgage rates hit their highs. The key phrase I have stressed since I wrote about the case for mortgage rates to go lower on Oct. 27 is thinking 12 months out. The trend is your friend, […]