New home sales, to the surprise of many, rose by 5.8% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 640,000, according to data published by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday. New home sales data last month was much stronger than had been anticipated; the […]
With Fannie Mae and other organizations predicting a tough outlook for 2023’s housing market, loan officers should be looking to get their name out in front of as many potential borrowers as possible in order to secure business. Even if you think you have enough business right now, you need to start leveraging social media […]
Powerful House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters wants regulators to closely scrutinize the proposed $13 billion purchase of Black Knight by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). In a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this week, the California Democrat raised concerns about the merger, which would make ICE the largest mortgage services company in […]
Prepayment activity is expected to face seasonal headwinds into early 2023 after hitting another record low in November. “Record low refinance activity and lackluster home sale volume driven by still historically tight home affordability” was the result of prepayment dropping 15.6% to a single-month mortality rate of 0.40%. This was below the previous record of […]
Mortgage industry executives, analysts and economists have started to place their bets on where mortgage rates will settle in 2023 amid the Federal Reserve’s tightening monetary policy and the fears of an economic recession. Spoiler alert: don’t expect much, if any, relief for borrowers in the short term. It’s true that after doubling over the […]
loanDepot registered a partial win against CrossCountry in a trade secret and employment-separation dispute. The California-based mortgage lender sued its rival in April 2022 claiming that six former employees — Steve Schneider, Cindy Smolin, Samantha Siegel, Fernanda Baske, Bob Bowman, and John Noyes — left the company to join CrossCountry after accessing, downloading and taking confidential client information […]
On Wednesday, existing home sales collapsed near the lows we saw during COVID-19 and back in 2007 when the housing bubble burst. In addition, this is the fourth straight month of inventory declining, while days on the market are growingl! Confused by this? I hear you; let’s dive deeper into today’s report. From NAR: “In […]
Ohio-based Union Home Mortgage (UHM) struck a deal to acquire Michigan-based Amerifirst Home Mortgage, the companies confirmed on Wednesday. Founded in 1970, UHM is a full-service retail, wholesale and consumer-direct independent mortgage banking company. The lender originated $4.68 billion in mortgage loans over the last 12 months, according to the mortgage tech platform Modex. It has 557 active […]
Figure Acquisition Corp. I, a blank check company affiliated with fintech Figure Technologies that planned to merge with a mortgage bank, will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Figure’s plan to go public through a SPAC has been scrapped with the NYSE’s decision. The NYSE notified Figure on December 19 that it is […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has expanded temporary buydown options for jumbo loans at a time when mortgage rates are still high and borrowers have increased negotiating power. UWM is one of many lenders to roll out temporary buydowns in recent months in a bid to drum up more business. The Detroit, Michigan-headquartered lender will offer […]
Existing home sales slid for the 10th consecutive month in November, as homebuyer demand continued to cool. The seasonally adjusted sales rate for existing homes fell 7.7% month over month in November to a rate of 4.09 million, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released Wednesday. On a yearly basis, existing home sales […]
Lower mortgage rates helped to increase borrowers’ demand for home loans last week, which in turn drummed up optimism for the mortgage industry at the end of 2022. Economists believe that if the trend continues, the market will be able to improve in the second half of 2023. “The latest data on the housing market […]
The best way to deal with inflation is always adding more supply: if you’re trying to defeat inflation by destroying demand, you’ve already lost the battle and will hurt future production. That’s why today’s housing completion data was excellent news. During a traditional recession, builders typically show lower starts, permits, and completion data. However, in […]
When the refi market dried up in 2022, business took a drastic turn for Thuan Nguyen, CEO of Loan Factory and the top loan originator on the Scotsman Guide for the last two years. Prior to the downturn, more than 90% of Nguyen’s business came from refinances. Nguyen says he has originated $467 million in […]
Ownership of the Phoenix Suns basketball team will soon be switching hands. Billionaire mortgage executive Mat Ishbia is finalizing a purchase of the Phoenix Suns franchise in the near future, according to ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnarowski. Ishbia is chairman and CEO of Michigan-based mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). He purchasing the franchise, which includes […]
Wells Fargo, the largest depository mortgage lender in America, has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.7 billion to settle multiple consent orders related to automobile lending, consumer deposit accounts and mortgage lending with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). According to the CFPB, the bank repeatedly misapplied loan payments, wrongfully foreclosed on homes, illegally repossessed […]
The forbearance rate held steady in November, but there are signs of deterioration in the portfolios of servicers. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Monday that the total number of loans in forbearance remained at 0.70% of the servicers’ total portfolio volume in November. There were 350,000 U.S. homeowners in forbearance plans as of November 30, up […]
Rocket Companies, the parent company of what was once the largest mortgage originator in the country, capitalized on the all-time low mortgage rates during the pandemic years, racking up record profits through an enormous amount of refinances. Last year, it originated $351 billion in total volume — with more than double the refi volume of […]
Philadelphia-based UMortgage struck a deal to acquire Dallas-based NXT Mortgage, the companies confirmed to HousingWire. UMortgage is bringing NXT’s assets, technology, and people in-house, including its founder and president, Tyler Hodgson. After the transaction is complete, which is expected to happen within the next two weeks, NXT will be part of UMortgage, adopting its business […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued clarification on Thursday regarding the extent in which employees in single-family housing transactions are allowed to play dual roles — and how much they are allowed to be compensated from a single FHA-insured transaction. The clarification, issued in a Mortgagee Letter by FHA Commissioner Julia Gordon, notes that participants who […]
For most real estate industry professionals, title insurance needs no introduction. A trusted product, title insurance has been used to protect real estate transactions and property rights for over a century. However, most Americans don’t learn about title insurance until they buy their first home and amid the often stressful, frenetic activity of the closing […]
The Draper, Utah-headquartered lender Academy Mortgage Corporation has agreed to pay $38.5 million to settle allegations that it improperly originated and underwrote mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The Department of Justice‘s settlement announcement on Wednesday resolves a lawsuit filed by former Academy Mortgage underwriter Gwen Thrower in the Northern District of California […]
After the booming volume of the last two years, this year has been more difficult than many expected. Production has dropped significantly, and many lender shops are focused on recruiting more loan officers to help make up the difference. “As a company, we’ve had to really right-size our teams to make sure that we’re keeping […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]