Fannie Mae generated some buzz last week when it announced it would be accepting written attorney opinion letters in lieu of a title insurance policy “in limited circumstances.” HousingWire wondered: just what were those limited circumstances? According to the government sponsored entity, the only transactions ineligible for an attorney title opinion letter are those that […]
Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. What happens when the Federal Reserve begins pulling back in a serious way from the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market that it has helped to prop up through billions of dollars in bond purchases since the start of the pandemic in 2020 — to the point where it now holds a $2.7 trillion agency MBS […]
The 5% threshold has been crossed, and given all the headwinds in the U.S. economy, it doesn’t appear that mortgage rates will be dropping below that mark anytime soon. Purchase mortgages this week averaged 5%, up 28 basis points from 4.72% a week ago, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS. A year ago at […]
Consolidation in the mortgage industry is likely in 2022, analysts and lending executives said. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”675″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?w=1024″ alt=”1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022 (1)” class=”wp-image-345148″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x300_Not_all_will_survive_Art_2022-1.jpg?resize=600,338 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>Consolidation in the mortgage industry is likely in 2022, analysts and lending executives said. Justin Woodward has […]
Data or network protection, business people press shield icon, virus security. Data protection and insurance Business security concepts, information security against virus. binary number 1010. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AdobeStock_426570472.jpeg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AdobeStock_426570472.jpeg?w=1024″ width=”5538″ height=”3115″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AdobeStock_426570472.jpeg?w=1024″ alt=”Data or network protection, business people press shield icon, virus security. Data protection and insurance Business security concepts, information security against virus. binary number […]
Despite advances in technology, the mortgage industry still lacks efficiency Mortgage executives are aware of a problem: despite billions of dollars in technology investments, the mortgage industry still largely looks like it did two decades ago. After all, it still takes 43 days, on average, to close a loan. “Realistically, it’s still basically the same […]
Mortgage application volume dropped 1.3% for the week ending on April 8, from the previous week, as mortgage rates eclipsed the 5% mark. Refinance applications fell 5% from the prior week and 62% from the same week a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s weekly survey. “Mortgage rates have spiked more than 1.5 […]
Fast-rising interest rates, up 1.5 percentage points over the past three months, have thrown a wrench into the mortgage origination and private-label securitization markets. Refinancing is plummeting, purchase activity is softening, and rate volatility is making secondary market deals harder to price efficiently across prime and non-prime/non-QM deals. In the face of all that dour news for […]
Mortgage delinquency rates in January reached a 23-year low, driven by the skyrocketing housing prices and a strong job market. About 3.3% of mortgages were delinquent by at least 30 days or more including foreclosure in January, according to a new CoreLogic loan performance insights report. The figure dropped 2.3 percentage points from 5.6% in […]
Mortgage tech startup Staircase this week launched a blockchain-backed digital infrastructure that it says enables lenders to safely store collected mortgage data while processing mortgages faster. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Staircase rolled out Amazon Web Service blockchain-based “Staircase Persistence,” which it says helps companies manage data points used by their different customers by grouping data into sets, […]
On Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the same trend that all Americans have seen lately: the inflation rate of growth is rampant and doesn’t show any sign of easing up due to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. The Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers “increased 0.8 percent in February on a seasonally […]
In a selling guide announcement released last week, Fannie Mae announced that it would be accepting written opinion letters from an attorney in lieu of a title insurance policy “in limited circumstances.” According to the announcement, lenders “must ensure the loan is covered by either a title policy issued by an acceptable insurer (including any […]
Mortgage origination activity rose last month despite rapidly rising mortgage rates as prospective buyers sought to lock in their loans. Overall origination activity jumped 19% in March from the previous month, led by a 31% increase in purchase loan locks, according to the monthly Mortgage Monitor report from Black Knight. While cash-out refinance activity, which […]
Freddie Mac’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Freddie Mac has unveiled its third credit risk transfer offering of the year through its Structured Agency Credit Risk (STACR) program. This latest transaction will bring the total note issuance so far in 2022 through STACR to $5.1 billion secured by single-family mortgage reference loan pools valued in total […]
This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Eric Lapin, who was recently appointed chief strategy officer at FormFree. Tapping into more than 25 years of experience, Lapin will strategically identify and execute growth opportunities at FormFree to drive the company forward. Prior to joining FormFree, Lapin served as first vice president of corporate development, national agency services, at Old […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s attempt to revive a mortgage servicing misconduct lawsuit against Ocwen Financial Corp. is in choppy waters. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that most of the watchdog’s complaints against Ocwen that occurred from January 2014 to Feb. 26, 2017, are prohibited because of a 2014 […]
It’s a depressing combination. A stunning rise in mortgage rates, historically low levels of inventory, and skyrocketing housing prices is fueling consumer pessimism. Fannie Mae‘s Home Purchase Sentiment Index, which tracks the housing market and consumer confidence to sell or buy a home, dropped by 2.1 points to 73.2 in March from the previous month. […]
Mortgage Coach and ReverseVision introduced an online program that allows loan originators to give consumers a comparison of how reverse mortgages perform against traditional mortgages over the lifetime of the loan. Dubbed Reverse TCA, the integrated presentation will enable all loan officers to educate consumers with borrowing terms for reverse mortgages and features such as […]
The pace of deals in the private-label securities market has started to slow as the second quarter of the year gets underway and interest rates continue their upward climb — with rising inflation and the war in Ukraine, which is impacting supply chains, helping to fuel uncertainty over the future. That’s what it looks like […]
Better.com CEO Vishal Garg ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”726″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?w=1024″ alt=”HW+ vishal garg” class=”wp-image-330967″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=150,91 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=300,182 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=768,465 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=1024,620 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=600,363 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>Better.com CEO Vishal Garg After becoming the poster child for callous mass layoffs, mortgage originator Better.com has adopted a new approach to reducing its workforce: the […]
Fannie Mae is marketing its 25th sale of reperforming loans since its first offering six years ago and its second sale so far in 2022. The offering is comprised of 7,600 mortgages with total unpaid principal balance of $1.49 billion. The sale of reperforming loans (RPLs) is being marketed in collaboration with Citigroup Global Markets, with bids due by […]
Nima Ghamsari, CEO and founder of mortgage fintech Blend Labs. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”675″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?w=1024″ alt=”1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022″ class=”wp-image-344336″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/1200x675_Nima_Story_Art_2022.jpg?resize=600,338 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>Nima Ghamsari, CEO and founder of mortgage fintech Blend Labs. Blend Labs CEO Nima Ghamsari is a betting man. In his early […]
Purchase mortgage rates have risen faster in the last three months than at any time since May 1994, climbing ever closer to the 5% mark due to a combination of rising inflation, the war in Ukraine, and disruptions to the supply chain. And bad news for homebuyers: there’s no sign that they’ll fall anytime soon. The latest weekly Freddie Mac PMMS mortgage […]
Borrowers with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac-backed mortgages have been granted an additional two months to avoid foreclosure if they’ve applied for assistance from the Department of the Treasury. An announcement by the Federal Housing Finance Agency on Wednesday notified servicers that they must halt foreclosure activities for up to 60 days if a borrower […]
Interest in residential mortgage loans fell 6.25% for the week ending April 1 as rates jumped yet again, ever nearer to 5%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s latest survey. Refinance applications are in a free fall, as few borrowers these days have an incentive to change their current loans rates. Additionally, home price appreciation and insufficient for-sale […]
Top mortgage lending software and analytics provider Black Knight is exploring a sale following takeover interest from several private equity firms, according to a report from Bloomberg. The Jacksonville, Florida-headquartered firm hasn’t decided whether it would be sold or remain independent, unnamed sources told the financial news publication. Black Knight’s stock, like many in the […]
Atlanta-based non-QM wholesale lender Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions has updated its rate lock policy to a 30-day lock period due to the fast-rising interest rates landscape. “Angel Oak, along with the rest of the non-QM industry, has been forced to make rapid adjustments to ensure liquidity during this highly volatile market,” a company spokesperson told […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chimed in on an appeal to the McCoy vs. Wells Fargo Bank case, arguing that a borrower should be able to get information about their loan from their loan servicer. The CFPB filed its amicus brief on Monday, in a class action lawsuit before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, […]
Fannie Mae has priced its fourth Connecticut Avenue Series (CAS) credit-risk transfer deal of 2022, a $1.14 billion note offering backed by a reference pool of some 118,000 single-family mortgages valued at $36 billion. The offering is slated to close April 8, according to a presale review by the Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) and involves transferring […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) took a definitive, if procedural, step toward a Senate-confirmed commissioner this morning. In a morning session, the Senate narrowly voted to advance Julia Gordon’s nomination to be federal housing commissioner. Vice President Kamala Harris’ vote broke a tie, placing Gordon’s nomination on the Senate calendar. Senate leadership can now call […]
Rocket Pro TPO has launched a program that will guarantee financing to close in 15 days, a move to entice mortgage brokers and their real estate agent partners in a scorching-hot housing market. It also represents yet another sweetener designed to convince brokers to choose them over rival United Wholesale Mortgage. Dubbed the “Fast 15 […]
Redfin completed its acquisition of Bay Equity Home Loans, paying $137.8 million for the mortgage lending operation in its quest to provide customers “a one-stop shop” where they can buy, sell, rent and finance a home, according to a news release from the company. Seattle-based Redfin previously announced its intention to acquire the lender, but […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is moving to expand its COVID-19 loss mitigation “waterfall” by introducing a 40-year loan modification option and is asking the mortgage industry for input. The proposed rule, published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development late last week, would change repayment provisions for FHA borrowers, allowing lenders to recast […]
#2022 ” data-image-caption=”” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”700″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?w=1024″ alt=”2022 Layoff” class=”wp-image-335200″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?resize=150,88 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?resize=300,175 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?resize=768,448 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?resize=1024,597 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?resize=600,350 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”> South Carolina-based Movement Mortgage laid off around 170 employees in March, another case of a top-25 mortgage lender paring back its workforce due to a more challenging origination […]
Text sign showing hand written words FHA Home loan The spectacular and historic spike in interest rates will hurt most homebuyers, but one group is especially vulnerable: FHA borrowers. Over 80% percent of FHA purchasers are first-time homebuyers, and borrowers of color obtained over 40% of FHA loans last year, according to HUD. The FHA also […]
This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Daniella Casseres, a partner at Mitchell Sandler. Casseres sits on the firm’s management committee, which helps deepen the firm’s commitment to becoming a leading majority-women-owned and -managed financial services law firm. She also heads the firm’s mortgage regulatory practice group, and has a vast background in advising mortgage companies on federal and state […]
Finance of America CEO Patti Cook In February, Finance of America CEO Patti Cook announced her retirement after a successful career in finance that spanned 45 years. HousingWire sat down with this Woman of Influence winner to find out some of the important lessons she learned along the way. HousingWire: One of your first jobs […]
The rate volatility that has gripped the economy since the start of the year and caused the mortgage-origination market to stumble is taking a toll on the private-label securitization market as well. Fast rising rates — the 30-year fixed rate is up nearly a point-and-half since the start of the year — have blunted mortgage […]
Mortgage rates keep climbing amid rising inflation, war in Ukraine, and disruptions to the supply chain, and there’s no sign that they’ll fall anytime soon. The latest weekly Freddie Mac PMMS mortgage survey, released Thursday, showed that the average purchase mortgage rate touched 4.67%, up 25 basis points from the week prior. That was the […]
Interest in residential mortgage loans fell 6.8% for the week ending March 25 as rates jump even closer to the 5% mark, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s latest survey. Few borrowers these days have an incentive to refinance their mortgage. According to the MBA, refi applications fell 15% from the prior week and 60% from a […]
Figure Technologies co-founder and CEO Mike Cagney ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mike-Cagney-HW.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mike-Cagney-HW.jpg?w=1024″ width=”1207″ height=”700″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mike-Cagney-HW.jpg?w=1024″ alt=”Mike Cagney – HW+” class=”wp-image-318432″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mike-Cagney-HW.jpg 1207w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mike-Cagney-HW.jpg?resize=150,87 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mike-Cagney-HW.jpg?resize=300,174 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mike-Cagney-HW.jpg?resize=768,445 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mike-Cagney-HW.jpg?resize=1024,594 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mike-Cagney-HW.jpg?resize=600,348 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1207px) 100vw, 1207px”>Figure Technologies co-founder and CEO Mike Cagney Mike Cagney didn’t expect to be releasing a cryptocurrency-backed 30-year fixed-rate mortgage product so soon. […]
Origination volume in the Veterans Affairs (VA) universe amounted to $388 billion in 2021, an analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data by Polygon Research application HMDAVision found. This marks a notable dip in originations from 2020, a record-breaking year in which VA lenders pumped out approximately $427 billion in VA loans. The top 10 VA […]
This week, the Community Home Lenders Association (CHLA) repeated their call for FHA to lower premiums and to eliminate the life of loan premium on FHA loans. While I might have a different view on the life of loan premium, I applaud their call and cannot understand why HUD has not yet lowered FHA premiums. […]
Origination volume for FHA-insured loans increased by 3% in 2021, growing from $324 billion in 2020 to $332.24 billion, an analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data by Polygon Research application HMDAVision found. Of the origination volume, retail lenders originated $276.4 billion worth of FHA loans, while wholesale lenders originated $57.64 billion. The top […]
As the end of the first quarter of 2022 approaches, the expected blossoming of the non-QM lending space in the private label market is well underway. Some three dozen non-QM securitizations sponsored by about two dozen different entities have made their way to bond-rating firms so far in 2022. This year’s non-QM volume numbers are […]