The Federal Reserve’s decision to slow the pace of interest rate hikes this week pushed mortgage rates lower — and it happened in spite of the central bank reiterating that it would continue to tighten its grip on the economy next year. These lower rates are encouraging news for the industry, which saw rates climb […]
On the heels of the central bank’s announcement to raise the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 4.25%-4.50% on Wednesday, most economists and industry experts were on the same page about the housing outlook and which direction mortgage rates would be headed. Growing concerns of a recession, led by the Federal Reserve’s continued […]
Eddie Murphy will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 80th Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Wednesday. The honorary award for the comedian and actor adds to a broadcast that’s taking shape after two years of scandal and backlash tarnished the Globes. After taking the previous Globes off the air, NBC […]
Nexbank, a privately held state-chartered bank in Texas and a subsidiary of NexBank Capital, Inc., promoted Brian Ralston to executive vice president and chief mortgage banking officer. In his new position, Ralston will lead the mortgage banking division’s strategies and oversee origination and servicing operations of the wholesale, non-delegated and delegated correspondent channels, and warehouse […]
After inflation slowed more rapidly than expected in November, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday to 4.25%-4.50%, a smaller interest rate hike than the 75 bps per meeting the Fed policymakers have stuck to since June. This slowdown is good news for the housing industry as it […]
Tolerance for Native American-themed sports mascots is wearing thin across the United States. New York is the latest state to ban them from public schools. Activists say conversations about the mascots — and respect and equality are long overdue. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. Cecily Hilleary and Lynn Davis contributed to this report. details ⇒ […]
Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO), the organization tasked with developing standards for the mortgage finance industry, appointed vice president of operations Jan Davis as its acting president. Davis has served as the VP of operations and associate vice president of industry standards at MISMO and MBA for more than a decade. She previously held […]
Let’s face it, mortgage sales is not for the weak. It takes tenacity, thick skin and a hustle-hard mentality. As an introvert, when I first started in the operations side of the mortgage world I dreaded the weekly pipeline calls with the sales manager I supported. They were abrasive, fast-talking and expected the world of […]
Pamela Hughes Patenaude, former Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, joined the National Housing Conference board of governors. She is also the co-chair of NHC’s National Advisory Council. “Pam’s broad range of leadership experience in housing policy, real estate, and disaster recovery will make a significant contribution to our work,” said Steve O’Connor, chair […]
On Tuesday, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data came in cooler than expected, and the bond market loved it, driving mortgage rates lower. Where do we go from here? Headline inflation is still very elevated historically, but the trend can be our friend over the next 12 months. I say this because the most significant […]
The mortgage industry has undergone massive downsizing after experiencing banner years during the pandemic. Shant Banosian, EVP at Guaranteed Rate and a top producing loan officer who eclipsed $1 billion in mortgage production in each of the last three years, said he also cut his team size by half while focusing on growing market share. […]
Inflation slowed more rapidly than expected in November, increasing the likelihood of the Federal Reserve slowing down the pace of interest rate hikes. It is very good news for the housing market, which has suffered greatly from the affects of rate hikes over the last nine months. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.1% in November […]
Jin, the oldest member of K-pop supergroup BTS, began his 18 months of mandatory military service at a front-line South Korean boot camp Tuesday as fans gathered near the base to say goodbye to their star. Six other younger BTS members are to join the military in coming years one after another, meaning that the […]
Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa, the so-called last Hawaiian princess whose lineage included the royal family that once ruled the islands and an Irish businessman who became one of Hawaii’s largest landowners, died on Sunday. She was 96. Her death was announced Monday morning at ‘Iolani Palace, America’s only royal residence where the Hawaiian monarchy dwelled […]
Figure Acquisition Corp. I, a blank check company affiliated with fintech Figure Technologies, plans to merge with a warehouse lender and bank holding company to potentially bring blockchain technology to the financial institution. The special purpose acquisition company announced Friday that it signed a non-binding letter of intent with the privately held $3-5 billion asset […]
Mortgage rates were on a declining trend in November despite the Federal Reserve‘s efforts to tame inflation — but lower rates haven’t been enough to convince home buyers to lock in their mortgages rates in this volatile market. Rate lock dollar volume was down 21.5% month over month in November, remaining at the lowest level […]
After scandal and boycott plunged the Hollywood Foreign Press Association into disarray and knocked its annual award show off television for a year, the Golden Globes geared up Monday for its return by showering nominations on “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Everything Everywhere all at Once.” The nominations were read by father-daughter duo George and […]
There are reasons California-based Pennymac may want to forget 2022. The mortgage lender’s overall origination volume dropped 54% from January to September compared to the same period in 2021, according to data from Inside Mortgage Finance. The company has cut hundreds of jobs across layoffs in March, May, July and October, underscoring the immense challenges […]
Todd Field’s symphonic backstage drama “Tár” and the existential comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once” tied for top honors with the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in awards announced Sunday. The critics group opted to split its best film award between the two acclaimed films. “Tár,” which was also chosen as best film by the […]
Mohammad Shafi Dar, 55, picks up a piece of willow, called a cleft, and places it on a vertical bandsaw to cut out a V-joint from the wooden block before passing it on to one of his colleagues, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, 45, for further modification on a mechanical planer. Both Dar and Bhat are pod-shavers, […]
As soon as Hansel Emmanuel began to weave in from the right wing, his Northwestern State teammates started to stand up. When he dribbled between two defenders for a stylish layup, most everyone in the gym joined them. The freshman with one arm was finally on the board. And a minute later Saturday night, the […]
An emerald inscribed for a Mughal emperor. A Safavid-period knotted wool carpet. An Ottoman-era curtain, intricately embroidered with metal threads, which was part of the covering of the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure in Mecca that Muslims consider the metaphorical “house of God.” Like tiles in a mosaic, the collection in Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art, […]
U.S. professional basketball star Brittney Griner has arrived in the southwestern U.S. state of Texas after a high-stakes prisoner swap that saw notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout returned to Moscow. Griner was flown to San Antonio and reunited with her family. She was then taken to Brooke Army Medical Center for a medical checkup. […]
America’s diversity as a nation is reflected in its music. As a way to celebrate that legacy, the Smithsonian Museum of American History recently honored four artists who represent the broad American soundscape. Maxim Moskalkov has the story. Camera: Artyom Kokhan details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
With only three weeks until 2023 arrives, housing industry executives are adjusting their operations to face what is expected to be another challenging year. The Federal Reserve will continue its fight to tame inflation — with its seventh consecutive interest rate hike expected from its December 13 and 14 meeting — despite looming concerns of […]
Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank has decided to close the wholesale mortgage businesses it inherited in the acquisition of California-based MUFG Union Bank, the company confirmed on Friday. “This is a business that U.S. Bank exited a few years ago to focus on customer relationships in core lending categories,” a spokesperson for U.S. Bank wrote in a statement to HousingWire. […]
Margin compression, higher mortgage rates, and a purchase-focused market are dictating more sales process control among loan officers and fewer layers of bureaucracy in retail lenders. This change will create a disruption from the cookie-cutter, non-personalized model, Brian Covey, former vice president of regional production at loanDepot, who took on an executive vice president position […]
The HousingWire award spotlight series highlights the individuals and organizations that have been recognized through our Editors’ Choice Awards. Nominations for HousingWire’s TECH100 award are open now through Friday, December 23, 2022. Click here to nominate your organization. As the housing market continues to throw curveballs, easy access to reliable real estate data has become a linchpin for housing […]
After nearly three months of protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September, the Iranian government is now reviewing a law requiring women to wear a head covering. As demonstrations around the world continue, VOA spoke to the founder of a new drive to support Iranians pushing for change. As Amy […]
This week, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona traveled to France for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Ministerial summit on “Re-building an Inclusive and Equitable Society through Education.” Discussions before and during the meeting with counterparts from member and non-member countries and U.S. diplomats focused on lifelong education and reimagining education for an equitable future. details […]
Former California mortgage broker Alex Ashod Dadourian was sentenced to five years and four months in prison for a loan fraud scheme in which Dadourian forged mortgage approval documents totaling more than $8 million to earn commissions for himself. Dadourian, a licensed mortgage loan broker with Success Funding in Northridge, took out 17 mortgage loans […]
After returning from the Thanksgiving holiday, the roughly 575 staffers at Reverse Mortgage Funding assembled nervously on two separate Microsoft Teams meetings. On the first virtual meeting, 472 employees received the bad news that many expected: they were being terminated. The hundred or so workers on the other Teams meeting were given marching orders: keep […]
Mortgage rates continued the downward trend this week amid signs that the U.S. economy is cooling down due to the tightening monetary policy. The recent declines, however, have not been enough to convince borrowers to take out a home loan. “This week, labor cost data provided a ray of hope as it showed that hourly […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stated on Tuesday that it will be lenient when enforcing changes made in the 2020 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Final Rule on the closed-end loan reporting threshold. On September 23, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order vacating the 2020 HMDA Final Rule, changing […]
Since the weaker CPI data was released in November, bond yields and mortgage rates have been heading lower. The question then was: What would lower mortgage rates do to this data? Now, with five weeks of data in front of us, we can say they have stabilized the market. Purchase application data came out on […]
Untitled DocumentToday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that the Davis Joint Unified School District in California has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure that its restraint and seclusion policies and practices do not deny students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE). details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this […]
Stock car racing team Jesse Iwuji Motorsports (JIM) this week filed a lawsuit against Atlanta-based mortgage lender Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) for allegedly failing to make more than $4 million in sponsorship payments after the company received a margin call from its investors. JIM was founded in 2021 by NFL Hall of Fame running back […]
Industry analysts say they expect loan volume to remain depressed for at least the next two quarters due to elevated mortgage rates, meaning it will be a long winter for loan originators. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/snowy-scene.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/snowy-scene.jpg?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”700″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/snowy-scene.jpg?w=1024″ alt=”snowy scene” class=”wp-image-372249″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/snowy-scene.jpg 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/snowy-scene.jpg?resize=150,88 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/snowy-scene.jpg?resize=300,175 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/snowy-scene.jpg?resize=768,448 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/snowy-scene.jpg?resize=1024,597 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/snowy-scene.jpg?resize=600,350 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) will host the YOU Belong in STEM National Coordinating Conference in Washington, D.C. as a key initiative for the Biden-Harris Administration. The Raise the Bar: STEM Excellence for All Students initiative is designed to strengthen Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education nationwide. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received […]
Fannie Mae announced on Tuesday that it will make changes to its automated underwriting system in order to expand mortgage loan eligibility and simplify the loan process for underserved borrowers without credit scores. The enhancements are slated to roll out in mid-December and will include an update to borrower eligibility criteria to align with Fannie […]
Calyx has developed a new third-party origination (TPO) functionality for Path Software called Path TPO, the company announced Tuesday. The new capability, which is cloud-based, can be accessed through and integrates with a client’s existing Path platform. In a release, the company said clients can use the capability to easily enter the TPO market and […]
To get into an agent’s circle, an LO has to see problems before they manifest they need to communicate whether the news is good, bad or ugly, agents said. Becca Summers does not typically include Wells Fargo on the lender recommendation list she gives to clients. However, when mortgage rates started rising in the spring, […]
Startup Pylon raised $8.5 million in its seed round to build a mortgage-as-a-service platform for fintechs, banks and retail banks. Conversion Capital led the funding with participation from Fifth Wall, Peter Thiel, QED Investors, Montage Ventures, and Village Global as well as Ramp, Blend, Zillow, SoFi and Figure, the company announced. Headquartered and founded by […]
Bob McGrath, an actor, musician and children’s author widely known for his portrayal of one of the first regular characters on the children’s show “Sesame Street” has died at the age of 90. McGrath’s passing was confirmed by his family who posted on his Facebook page on Sunday: “The McGrath family has some sad news […]
Brian Covey, a high-profile vice president at loanDepot, is leaving the company after five years to join Revolution Mortgage, another direct-to-consumer retail mortgage lender which was founded in 2018. Covey, who announced the change Monday via a LinkedIn post, joined loanDepot in 2018 and led the sales teams in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, recruiting […]