General World News

US housing market is at a crossroads

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The real estate market is cooling down, observers say. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”675″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?w=1024″ alt=”rent falling” class=”wp-image-263090″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?resize=150,84 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?resize=300,169 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?resize=768,432 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?resize=600,338 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>The real estate market is cooling down Reports released this week by several respected market observers point to less good and increased […]

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Freddie Mac to include on-time rent into underwriting

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Freddie Mac announced Wednesday that on-time rental payments will be included in its underwriting system. The government-sponsored enterprise said that it hopes to incentivize “responsible” renters to make a leap into homeownership. According to Freddie, this option will be available starting July 10 and will allow mortgage lenders to submit a borrower’s bank account data […]

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Mortgage apps flat even as refis tick up

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A drop in mortgage rates led refinancing applications to increase slightly last week, back to a 30% share of the total, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey for the week ending June 24. Overall, mortgage apps increased 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, though they came in 49.4% lower than the […]

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As FGMC shuts down, lender partners question fate of loans in pipeline

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Tech-fueled mortgage lender UpEquity just wants answers.   Roughly a year ago, the Austin-based fintech began to sell its loans to First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation (FGMC), a lender and investor that specializes in non-qualified mortgage loans and is controlled by behemoth investment management firm Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO).  UpEquity sent between 30 and 40 […]

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Two more MSR deals valued in total at $2.5B hit the market 

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The Prestwick Mortgage Group, an Alexandria, Virginia-based advisory and brokerage firm, has unveiled an offering for a $1.6 billion package of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage-servicing rights (MSRs). The bulk of the 7,189 loans in the MSR offering put out to bid this week were originated in Florida and the Midwest, according to the offering documents — which […]

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Fix-and-flip lender Kiavi finalizes $218M private-label offering

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Kiavi, formerly LendingHome, recently closed a $218 million private-label securitization of unrated short-term mortgages — described as “residential transition loans” (RTLs) by the lender, which serves the fix-and-flip market. The deal represents Kiavi’s ninth such securitization under its LHOME shelf since launching its revolving securitization program in 2019, according to the company. The offering includes a […]

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Roostify partners with Indecomm to court self-employed borrowers

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Mortgage technology provider Roostify is hoping to bring in more self-employed borrowers by adding mortgage automation provider Indecomm‘s automated income calculation technology, it announced Tuesday. Indecomm’s IncomeGenius integration into Roostify’s data intelligence solutions will expand Roostify’s existing income calculation capabilities for self-employed borrowers, according to a company statement. The partnership is aimed at reducing the […]

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Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach merge

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Mortgage fintechs Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach have merged, roughly six months after a Philadelphia-based private equity firm bought a controlling stake in each company. The two companies have been working toward the merger since LLR Partners’ made an investment in each in January. Richard Harris, former chief executive officer at email sending and delivering […]

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Ghana Hosts NFL’s First African Development Camp

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The National Football League (NFL), the top league in American-style football, has hosted its first African developmental camp in Ghana’s capital, Accra. The weeklong program was aimed at finding fresh talent and building the sport’s popularity across Africa. Senanu Tord reports from Accra, Ghana. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web […]

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Winners and losers of this volatile housing market

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Housing Market Crash image ” data-image-caption=”” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”713″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?w=1024″ alt=”Housing Market Crash image” class=”wp-image-283329″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?resize=150,89 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?resize=300,178 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?resize=768,456 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?resize=1024,608 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?resize=600,357 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”> The last two years have been good to Christian Dicker.  Like many loan officers, Dicker was working nights and weekends, banging out refinancings […]

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MBA, HPC urge VA to extend partial claim program

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The Mortgage Bankers Association and the Housing Policy Council sent a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs urging the department to delay the expiration of its COVID-19 assistance partial claim program. If it doesn’t heed the letter, the VAs partial claim program will sunset in late October. In the joint letter, the MBA and […]

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Mortgage delinquency rate falls to historic low

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The national mortgage delinquency dropped to an all-time low in May, continuing two consecutive months of a decline since March.  The overall delinquency rate slightly dropped five basis points from April to 2.75% in May, according to Black Knight. The delinquency rate is 42% lower than the same period a year ago. A total of […]

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Fannie Mae is out with 7th CAS offering

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Less than a month after announcing its sixth Connecticut Avenue Series (CAS) credit-risk transfer deal of 2022, Fannie Mae is unveiling its seventh CAS transaction of the year — an $866 million note offering backed by a reference pool of single-family mortgages valued at $30.6 billion. Earlier this month, Fannie Mae launched its a sixth CAS credit-risk transfer (CRT) deal […]

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Mid America Mortgage rebrands to Click n’ Close

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Texas lender Mid America Mortgage rebranded as Click n’ Close to expand into the mortgage technology industry following the sale of the majority of its retail lending operations.  Click n’ Close will retain retail operations related to its reverse mortgage and lending business for Native Americans, the company said Monday. The lender will also focus […]

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Hong Kong’s Last Hand-painted Porcelain Factory

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 Step into Yuet Tung China Works, Hong Kong’s last remaining hand-painted porcelain factory, and you find yourself surrounded by stacks of dinnerware, each piece painstakingly decorated by hand with vibrant motifs of flowers, fruits and animals.  Joseph Tso, the third-generation owner of the factory, and his small team are among the few people in Hong […]

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4 Killed When Stands Collapse During Colombian Bullfight 

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Part of the wooden stands collapsed during a bullfight in central Colombia on Sunday, sending spectators plunging to the ground and killing at least four people and seriously injuring about 30, authorities said.  The disaster took place in a stadium in the city of El Espinal in Tolima state during a traditional event called “corraleja” […]

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New Museum Opens in Rome for Recovered Art

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A new museum recently opened in Rome to display stolen art recovered by the Italian police squad charged with safeguarding the country’s artistic and cultural heritage. On display at the Rescued Art Museum are around 100 valuable artifacts, returned from the United States after having been stolen by tomb raiders and making their way illegally […]

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American Financial Network to pay $1M fee to resolve fraud allegations

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Brea, California-based direct lender American Financial Network will pay about $1.04 million to resolve allegations that it fraudulently originated government-backed mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The settlement agreement announced by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington on Tuesday puts an end to a joint investigation conducted by […]

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PIMCO-backed FGMC lays off most staffers

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Mortgage lender First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation cut about 80% of its workforce on Friday and has stopped accepting new mortgage applications, HousingWire has learned. Former employees said the lender has “essentially shuttered.” According to two former FGMC employees, the company on Friday laid off around 500 employees without severance payment, meaning only 100 staffers remain.  “They […]

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HW+ Member Spotlight: Ben Bernstein

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This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Ben Bernstein, director at Axonic Capital, an investment firm with a deep focus on the structured credit sector of the financial markets. Prior to that, Bernstein held leadership roles in Odeon Capital Group and JPMorgan Chase. Below, Bernstein answers questions about the housing industry: HousingWire: What is your current favorite HW+ article and […]

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FHFA: No delay on 50 bps fee, but open to “engagement”

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today reiterated its stance on a new fee on some government-backed enterprise securities. The agency made no promise to delay the fee. Still, some stakeholders unhappy with the fee see an opportunity. In a statement, FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said her agency was “committed to the continued strength and […]

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Secretary Cardona’s Remarks on the U.S. Department of Education’s Release of Proposed Amendments to Title IX

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Good morning. Throughout American history, landmark laws have brought waves of change that carried our country toward a more perfect union. Before the Fair Labor Standards Act, many children didn’t spend their days learning in schools, but working in factories. Before the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Black Americans had no federal statutory protection from the […]

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Purchase mortgage rates continue incremental, upward trend

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Purchase mortgage rates this week averaged 5.81%, compared to 5.78% the week prior, when rates rose 55 basis points, the largest 1-week increase since 1987, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS index.  A year ago at this time, 30-year fixed rate purchase rates were at 3.02%. The PMMS, a government-sponsored enterprise index, accounts solely […]

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Statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Sweet Settlement

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U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued the following statement regarding today’s filing on Sweet v. Cardona: “Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to address longstanding issues relating to the borrower defense process. We are pleased to have worked with plaintiffs to reach an agreement that will deliver billions of dollars of automatic […]

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UWM drops rates 50 to 100 basis points in bid for brokers

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United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the nation’s largest wholesale lender, wants to beat rival lenders by offering competitive pricing to brokers, a move designed to navigate a shrinking mortgage market with compressed margins. UWM dropped rates by 50 to 100 basis points across all loan types, the company said in a release. The new program follows […]

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JPMorgan Chase starts to cut mortgage jobs

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JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank, has started a workforce reduction of its mortgage lending business this week after having been struck by a tightening monetary policy that drove mortgage rates to over 6%. “Our staffing decision this week was a result of cyclical changes in the mortgage market,” a spokeswoman for JPMorgan wrote in a […]

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Flagstar reports data breach affecting 1.5 million clients

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Hackers stole the personal information of 1,547,169 clients of Michigan-based Flagstar Bank in December, according to a document sent by the financial institution to the Office of the Maine Attorney General. The cyberattack occurred on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4, 2021, but the company discovered it on June 2, 2022, the document shows. The external […]

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Purchase mortgage apps defy surging rates

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Despite mortgage rates reaching the highest level in 14 years, mortgage applications increased 4.2% from the prior week, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey for the week ending June 17. “Mortgage rates continued to surge last week, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumping 33 basis points to 5.98% – the highest since November […]

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Forbearance rate continued to drop in May

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Fewer homeowners paused or reduced their mortgage payments in May, continuing the decline from April when the total number of loans in forbearance fell to a level below 1% of servicers’ portfolio volume. The share of loans in forbearance dropped by 9 basis points to 0.85% in May from April’s 0.94%, according to the Mortgage […]

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CFPB to review QM rule

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CFPB Director Rohit Chopra ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HW-Rohit-Chopra.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HW-Rohit-Chopra.png?w=1024″ width=”1220″ height=”700″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HW-Rohit-Chopra.png?w=1024″ alt=”HW-Rohit-Chopra” class=”wp-image-323927″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HW-Rohit-Chopra.png 1220w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HW-Rohit-Chopra.png?resize=150,86 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HW-Rohit-Chopra.png?resize=300,172 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HW-Rohit-Chopra.png?resize=768,441 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HW-Rohit-Chopra.png?resize=1024,588 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/HW-Rohit-Chopra.png?resize=600,344 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1220px) 100vw, 1220px”>CFPB Director Rohit Chopra The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said Friday it would take a “fresh look” at a rule that decides what mortgages are protected from […]

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Mortgage stocks are getting battered – what happens next? 

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stock market real estate investment ” data-image-caption=” stock market real estate investment ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AdobeStock_299978128.jpeg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AdobeStock_299978128.jpeg?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”800″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AdobeStock_299978128.jpeg?w=1024″ alt=”stock market real estate investment” class=”wp-image-340301″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AdobeStock_299978128.jpeg 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AdobeStock_299978128.jpeg?resize=150,100 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AdobeStock_299978128.jpeg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AdobeStock_299978128.jpeg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AdobeStock_299978128.jpeg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AdobeStock_299978128.jpeg?resize=600,400 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>The stock market has not been kind to mortgage lenders – some are now trading in […]

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New Residential to internalize management, change name to Rithm Capital

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New Residential Investment Corp. announced on Friday that it has decided to internalize the company’s management, a step that the real estate investment trust estimates will reduce its costs and potentially attract more institutional investors to its stock.  The company is also changing its name to Rithm Capital, reflecting the diversification of its businesses as more […]

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Opinion: The risk of ICE, Black Knight deal is in the data

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Recently, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced a plan to acquire Black Knight in a reported $13 billion deal that, if approved by federal regulators, would certainly be one of the largest acquisitions ever in the mortgage technology space. The importance of this particular acquisition is one that could have implications for consumers, lenders, vendors and settlement […]

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South Korean Pianist, 18, Wins Van Cliburn Competition 

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An 18-year-old from South Korea has won the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, one of the top showcases for the world’s best pianists.  The competition held in Fort Worth, Texas, ended Saturday night with Yunchan Lim becoming the competition’s youngest winner of the gold medal. His winnings include a cash award of $100,000 and […]