The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) are urging Congress to revise proposed increases to fees on U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loans. The idea to raise fees was included in the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2026, also known as H.R. […]
Chief strategy officer Kevin Ryan says Pennymac’s proposed acquisition of Cenlar does not follow the same rationale as recent acquisitions in the mortgage industry. “This deal is not a backdoor way to grow our origination business,” Ryan said in an exclusive interview with HousingWire. “We set a strategic plan two years ago when we said […]
The delinquency rate for mortgages on one- to-four-unit residential properties rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.26% at the end of 2025, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s National Delinquency Survey released Thursday. The rate was up 27 basis points (bps) from the previous quarter and 28 bps higher than a year earlier. […]
Freddie Mac on Thursday reported full-year 2025 net income of $10.7 billion, down 10% from 2024, on revenues of $23.3 billion, a 3% year-over-year decrease. The company’s provision for credit losses rose to $1.3 billion for the year, compared with $476 million in 2024. Net interest income for full-year 2025 rose 8% from a year […]
AI isn’t the biggest risk to mortgage lending right now. Policy misunderstanding is. While lenders across the country are moving quickly to implement artificial intelligence responsibly, state legislators are moving just as quickly to regulate it. And when policy moves faster than the policymakers’ understanding, unintended consequences follow. As former Cisco CEO John Chambers recently […]
Unison, one of the nation’s leading providers of home equity investments (HEIs), is facing a lawsuit from the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA), alleging that Unison deceptively markets its product as a “no-debt” home equity alternative. According to the complaint, Unison’s product functions similarly to a mortgage as homeowners receive an upfront cash advance […]
PennyMac Financial Services Inc. announced Wednesday afternoon that it’s acquiring Cenlar Capital Corp., the country’s second-largest mortgage subservicer. The all-cash transaction includes an upfront purchase price of $172.5 million and up to $85 million of contingent consideration payable over three years. It’s the first mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) deal in the history of Pennymac. Cenlar’s subservicing business […]
President Donald Trump has drawn a firm line on housing policy — he doesn’t want prices to fall, even as affordability concerns dominate voter surveys and construction slows nationwide. “I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes, and they can be assured […]
Texas-based land developer and lender Colony Ridge Land LLC has agreed to pay $68 million to settle allegations of predatory practices against Hispanic borrowers. A portion of the funds will be used to support immigration-related law enforcement. The case dates back to December 2023, when the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial […]
The Trump administration’s overhaul of federal policy is reshaping compliance operations across the housing sphere. At HousingWire’s 2026 Housing Economic Summit, industry leaders said federal oversight changes — including personnel cuts at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — have not simplified the regulatory landscape. Instead, it has further emphasized the interplay between federal agencies […]
bevri.ai on Wednesday announced the rollout of its new Bevri Point-of-Sale platform, an agentic artificial intelligence-driven system designed to automate parts of the front end of the mortgage process for loan originators. The technology firm recently named Jonathon Haddad as CEO in November. Haddad also serves as the current CEO and chairman of the Association […]
Mortgage applications decreased 0.3% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Feb. 6. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 2% compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased 2% from one week earlier. The unadjusted purchase index […]
Wednesday is National Reverse Mortgage Day, an annual tradition to promote consumer awareness of reverse mortgages and their ability to unlock housing wealth for American seniors. Longbridge Financial, one of the nation’s leading reverse mortgage lenders, is participating in the educational event. The company published information Wednesday about long-standing consumer misconceptions that continue to form […]
Mortgage lending has always been a high-trust profession. Borrowers don’t come to a loan officer looking for a generic answer. They come looking for clarity. What can I afford? What do I qualify for? What’s the smartest path given my income, credit, assets, and timeline? That job has become harder over the past few years, […]
Tommy Noyes has joined Mutual of Omaha Mortgage from Liberty Reverse Mortgage as a national wholesale account executive for Mutual’s reverse mortgage business, the company announced Tuesday. In the role, Noyes will focus on deepening customer relationships and supporting the growth of the company’s third-party channel. Noyes spent 17 years at Liberty, where he became […]
The U.S. housing market may be poised for a historic surge as pent-up demand meets a potentially lower rate environment. As part of an expert panel at HousingWire’s 2026 Housing Economic Summit, MBS Highway founder and CEO Barry Habib said the first move downward in mortgage rates could trigger a rush of buyers who have […]
Optimal Blue reported a sharp increase in refinance activity in January as falling mortgage rates spurred borrowers to act, according to its January 2026 Market Advantage data report released on Tuesday. Total rate-lock volume rose 16% from December and was 36% higher than in January 2025. The increase was driven primarily by rate-and-term refinances, which […]
Property records platform Dono has raised $6.5 million in a seed round to support geographic expansion and broaden its customer base beyond title insurance, the company announced Tuesday. Link Ventures led the round, with participation from lool VC and Alumni Ventures. The investment brings total funding for the Tel Aviv–headquartered Dono — which also operates […]
A shareholder is suing Two Harbors Investment Corp. and members of its board over alleged potential violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 tied to the company’s proposed acquisition by UWM Holdings Corp. Shareholder Michael Koblentz claims that Two Harbors submitted “materially incomplete and misleading” information about the transaction’s financial impact in filings with […]
Mortgage credit availability increased in January as lenders modestly loosened underwriting standards, according to data released Tuesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) rose 1.1% from December to a reading of 105.9, signaling slightly easier access to mortgage credit. The index is benchmarked to 100 in March 2012, […]
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) said on Tuesday that it has completed the first phase of a broader modernization of its MSP mortgage servicing platform with the launch of an enhanced user experience. The company said the updated user interface is designed to improve navigation and lay the foundation for additional workflow automation and productivity tools […]
Rate and Alianza have entered a multi-year collaboration that names Rate the official mortgage lending partner of Alianza, a grassroots soccer platform serving Latino communities across the United States. The agreement follows a pilot partnership in 2025 and will run through the 2026 and 2027 seasons, a release from Rate confirmed. Activations are planned across […]
A proposal to replace the longstanding tri-merge credit report with a single-file model has reignited debate over borrower costs and systemic risk, placing trade associations on opposing sides. Supporters argue a single pull would encourage more predictive credit data and reduce systemwide costs without materially increasing risk in some cases, noting that mortgage servicing rights […]
NEXA Lending CEO Mike Kortas is in the process of acquiring several shell companies to build joint ventures, he said in an exclusive interview with HousingWire on Monday. “They are for multiple JVs with large teams, agencies, builders and strategic partnerships,” Kortas said without providing details on each transaction, which he said will be announced […]
The Mortgage Collaborative (TMC) and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Monday announced a partnership aimed at expanding advocacy, education and engagement opportunities for independent mortgage lenders. The Mortgage Collaborative, the largest independent cooperative network for mortgage lenders, said the partnership is designed to strengthen connections between independent lenders and national industry advocacy efforts. Under […]
Reverse mortgage veterans Loren Riddick and Shannon Hicks are launching a new event this spring that aims to increase loan officer sales skills across the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and proprietary loan spectrum. The Reverse Mastermind Summit — scheduled for May 5-7 in Riddick’s hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee — will feature several big-name speakers […]
Mortgage rate declines in early January allowed for refinance opportunities for nearly 5 million borrowers and pushed housing affordability to a four-year high, according to ICE Mortgage Technology‘s February 2026 Mortgage Monitor Report released on Monday. The company also said that 2025 ended with the highest level of negative equity since 2018 and the weakest […]
The mortgage market is showing signs of recovery. After years of navigating elevated interest rates that began climbing in late 2021, lenders are seeing a path forward. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) January 2026 Mortgage Finance Forecast projects that single-family mortgage origination volume will increase in 2026 to $2.2 trillion in 2026, up from $2.05 […]
The D90+ estimates from this analysis underestimate the effects of potential adverse selection for several reasons including the fact that it does not account for another policy that eliminates the minimum Since 1996 when Freddie Mac introduced the industry to the first automated underwriting system (AUS) for GSE-eligible mortgages, a borrower’s credit score has served […]
Just weeks after mortgage trade groups expressed concern about a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would raise fees on U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, Republicans in Congress have revised the original proposal. The bill, H.R. 6047 — also known as the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act […]
Reverse mortgage borrowers whose loans were previously serviced by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) subcontractor NOVAD Management Consulting LLC may receive reimbursement checks in the mail following a 2024 enforcement action brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) notified its members on Friday morning in […]
Rocket Companies and Redfin on Thursday unveiled a Super Bowl commercial centered on community and the importance of neighborliness, marking the companies’ first shared national ad and Redfin’s first appearance in a Super Bowl broadcast since the company’s founding 20 years ago. The 60-second spot, titled “America Needs Neighbors Like You,” will air during the […]
Ryan Ponsford, a veteran financial adviser with more than 25 years of experience in wealth management, real estate and lending, is unequivocal: “The reverse mortgage line of credit is one of the most misunderstood, underutilized tools in retirement planning today.” “The scary part — put five reverse mortgage people in a room and ask them […]
Rocket Mortgage has sued a California mortgage brokerage and one of its executives, alleging they knowingly submitted fraudulent loan applications that concealed borrowers’ debts and caused financial losses after the loans were sold to investors. In a complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Rocket Mortgage said Sharp […]
Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and parent company of ICE Mortgage Technology, reported its strongest quarterly mortgage business performance in three years during the fourth quarter of 2025. ICE Mortgage Technology generated $532 million in total revenue, up 5% from a year earlier, according to filings posted Thursday […]
Cotality reported a slight increase in mortgage application fraud risk in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven largely by higher activity across the investment and multifamily lending spaces. The company’s National Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index, released Thursday, rose to a reading of 133 in the fourth quarter, up from the prior quarter and 1.5% […]
National mortgage lender HighTechLending has hired Gina Donaldson and David Yslas as account executives from First Tech Federal Credit Union to grow its home equity line of credit (HELOC) platform. Donaldson and Yslas bring extensive experience in home equity and nonqualified mortgage (non-QM0 lending. They will focus on expanding EquitySelect, a home equity product designed […]
Fintech platform Foyer on Thursday announced a national partnership with Prosperity Home Mortgage that aims to support consumers earlier in the homebuying process — particularly those saving for a down payment. Under the partnership, Prosperity Home Mortgage, a full-service mortgage lender, will make Foyer’s homebuyer preparation tools available to prospective borrowers as an added resource. […]
For more than 25 years, I’ve heard loan officers complain that their rates aren’t competitive. One of the first questions rate shoppers ask is, “What’s your rate today?” For far too long, the industry’s focus has been on rate—not on what is truly the best financial decision for the borrower. Many salespeople sell rate because […]
Three Georgia state representatives have introduced legislation aimed at stripping homeowners associations (HOAs) of their ability to foreclose on homes while and giving residents a direct vote on whether to dissolve their associations. State Reps. Sandra Scott, Viola Davis and Kim Schofield introduced the two bills in late January. Each are now moving through House […]
Out-of-pocket health care costs continue to take a sizable bite out of retirees’ finances — even as Medicare coverage expands and recent policy changes aim to reduce drug costs, according to a new brief published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Using data from the 2018-2022 versions of its Health and Retirement […]
Terry Schmidt believes she surprised the mortgage industry. Schmidt, the director and CEO of Guild Mortgage Co., was referring to the June 2025 announcement that the company would be acquired by Bayview Asset Management. The transaction officially closed in November. “Many found that this was very surprising because we’ve been independent for so long,” Schmidt […]
New York-based Atlas Real Estate Partners this week announced the launch of A4 Credit Partners, a small-balance mortgage lending platform targeting credit opportunities within the residential transition loan (RTL) market. As part of the launch, A4 Credit Partners is seeking to raise $150 million to originate a variety of first-lien mortgages. It will primarily focus […]
Mortgage applications decreased 8.9% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Jan. 30. Last week’s results included an adjustment for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 4% compared with the previous week. The seasonally […]
The single-family rental (SFR) market has evolved from an opportunistic trade into a durable, professionally managed segment of the U.S. housing ecosystem, shaped by affordability pressures, capital constraints, and the need for new supply. Few leaders have had a closer view of that evolution than Tim Reilly, Executive Vice President, Radian Real Estate Management LLC, […]