Cotality released its National Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index for the first quarter of 2025, revealing that fraud risk is up 7.3% year over year while dropping slightly from the last three months of 2024 The largest year-over-year increase in Q1 2025, according to Cotality, was in the transaction risk category, which rose 4.6%. This […]
Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California — the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee — along with with fellow Democrats Al Green, Sylvia Garcia and Ayanna Pressley, on Thursday announced the reintroduction of the Downpayment Toward Equity Act. The bill would provide $100 billion in direct assistance to help first-time, first-generation homebuyers purchase their […]
The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) is proposing that the U.S. Congress scale back the loan originator compensation rule to its original intent: prohibiting yield spread premiums, an abusive practice from the 2008 financial crisis in which lenders paid brokers more to steer borrowers into higher-rate loans. The proposal comes as the Consumer Financial […]
Rocket Close and Rocket Pro have taken a major step forward by integrating the two platforms into a single, more efficient platform, designed to simplify the closing process and enhance the broker experience. Under the leadership of Matt Brown — Rocket’s Executive Vice President, Sales and Revenue Strategy, with a background in tech, finance, and […]
During a second straight day of testimony on Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is reviewing the Basel III rules (also known as the “Basel Endgame”), which would significantly increase bank capital requirements and could impact the mortgage industry, if implemented. Powell’s statement comes as the Fed prepares to vote […]
Innovation in housing often comes down to one thing: execution. While companies continue to invest in technology, automation and consumer tools, realizing the full value of those investments remains a challenge. In honor of the 2025 nomination period for HousingWire Insiders, we asked past honorees where they see the most opportunity for improvement in the […]
New York-based Ocrulus, which offers mortgage document automation technology to speed credit decisions, announced Wednesday that it has hired Nadia Aziz as its general manager of mortgage. The company said in a press release that mortgage is its fastest-growing business segment. Ocrulus has expanded its mortgage footprint over the past 18 months by adding new […]
Kevin Wall, the co-president of First American Title, has left the company unexpectedly, according to a report from Inside Mortgage Finance. The departure was confirmed on Wednesday by a spokesperson for parent company First American Financial Corp., although no reason was given for his exit. Wall had been with the title underwriter for more than […]
Compass, the nation’s largest real estate brokerage by sales volume, is looking to better serve senior citizens. With that intention, the firm recently introduced Compass Plus, a division that aims to “bridge the gap between older adults and essential real estate and adjacent services such as home health, move management, and estate planning.” The division […]
Amid what analysts and economists have described as one of the most ‘calm’ periods for mortgage rates in recent memory, mortgage applications increased 1.1% for the week ending June 20, according to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) data released on Wednesday. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 10% compared with the previous week. “The combination […]
Lenders, take note. June is National Homeownership Month, and if you’re still treating down payment assistance (DPA) like some fringe program, you’re about to get left behind. The housing market isn’t just shifting—it’s being dismantled and rebuilt in real time. Younger buyers are bypassing the legacy playbooks. They’re digitally native, financially savvy, and actively searching […]
Soaring prices and increasingly strained affordability have made things difficult for prospective buyers shopping for their first home. But for households that own their home already, rising prices have been a wealth bonanza. That’s evident in data from the annual State of the Nation’s Housing Report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS), […]
Williston Financial Group (WFG) announced the release of a new digital tool through subsidiary Volly that aims to enhance collaboration between mortgage loan officers and real estate agents. The new feature, known as Volly Network Connections, is part of the company’s broader marketing suite and offers loan officers real-time notifications about partner real estate listings. […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) cut short a five-year agreement with Bank of America over the bank’s alleged submissions of false mortgage data. The agreement was supposed to be in place through at least November 2028. In a filing made public Monday, the CFPB said the bank “fulfilled the obligations” of the agreement signed in November 2023, […]
Cenlar FSB, the second-largest U.S. subservicer, will close its facility in O’Fallon, Missouri, resulting in the termination of 93 employees, according to documents sent to state officials. The layoffs will affect a range of roles, including 13 loss mitigation advocates, 11 MSP collections professionals and ten customer assistance specialists. Staff across all levels — including […]
Rocket Mortgage, the home lending arm of Rocket Companies, announced Tuesday it will now offer bridge loans, a short-term financing option that helps homeowners tap into their equity while selling their current property. These loans are designed to help buyers cover down payments or closing costs on a new home before finalizing the sale of […]
Traditional QC risks are declining, but lenders now face mounting exposures in fraud, insurance gaps and compliance volatility. The mortgage industry’s quality control risk landscape is shifting dramatically. Traditional defect categories such as income and employment and credit are seeing historic declines, while once-marginal issues like insurance gaps and fraud are now taking center stage. […]
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 2808) late Monday, bringing a national ban on abusive trigger leads one step closer to reality. The move was widely applauded by mortgage trade groups. The House’s action follows the U.S. Senate’s approval of a similar bill (S. 1467) on June 13. […]
Global tensions between the United States and Iran have led many in the mortgage industry to wonder whether the bombing of Iran nuclear sites would move bond yields and lead to a drop in mortgage rates. On Monday, just as economists were factoring in the possibility of war with Iran, at least one member of […]
Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO) will incorporate Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) data into two of its credit scores set to launch in Fall 2025. The company, which owns the rights to the market’s most widely adopted consumer credit risk assessment methodology, announced the move on Monday. The change will provide mortgage brokers, loan officers and […]
Welcome back to Tech Pulse — a new weekly series rounding up the latest in technology, including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Here’s what happened this week: Longbridge’s Bill Packer on crafting AI that’s inclusive of seniors As AI becomes more common in financial services, Bill Packer, the chief operating officer at Longbridge […]
The expanding ubiquity of artificial intelligence (AI) across all facets of life is not showing any signs of a slowdown — and that includes its interactions with the reverse mortgage industry. Bill Packer, chief operating officer of Longbridge Financial, previously explained how senior-focused tailoring of AI systems can help overcome issues tied to perceived institutional […]
There are about 80,000 veterans in the U.S. who are behind on their mortgages and heading toward foreclosure, according to data from ICE Mortgage Technology, a number that could have been alleviated with help from the Veteran Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program. But just last month, the program was abruptly discontinued by the U.S. Department of Veterans […]
Adding fuel to what the baby boomer generation has been consistently saying for some time, a new Redfin survey shows that one-third of all boomer homeowners have no intention of selling their home. This further legitimizes claims that a “silver tsunami” of housing inventory is unlikely to materialize from older homeowners. While another 30% said […]
Evergreen Home Loans on Friday announced the addition of Jon Stacy as regional manager as the company continues to expand into the Midwest. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Stacy brings more than 28 years of mortgage industry experience to the job and his prior leadership roles include a stint as president of the Columbus Mortgage Bankers […]
Former Sprout Mortgage executives may soon be off the hook in a long-running lawsuit brought by laid-off employees seeking millions of dollars in backpay. On Friday, National Mortgage News (NMN) reported that a federal magistrate judge has recommended dismissing three former executives from the case with prejudice, meaning they cannot be sued again. The named […]
Technology is accelerating change across the financial services industry, and United Wholesale Mortgage is at the forefront of mortgage innovation. With the launch of two groundbreaking platforms— the Loan Estimate Optimizer (LEO) and Mia, an AI-powered assistant for loan officers, UWM is setting a new benchmark for how technology and especially AI can transform the […]
Rachel Gustafson serves as a certified financial planner with the Financial Investment Team, a firm based in Portland, Oregon. Over the course of a 12-year career in the field, she has a specialty for helping her clients figure out the best and most efficient ways to retire. When reverse mortgages first showed up on her […]
Equity release — a class of financial products that involve unlocking home equity and converting it into cash flow — currently has global annual volume of roughly $17 billion. This class includes reverse mortgage products in the U.S., the United Kingdom and elsewhere, but a European equity release authority projects that volume will more than […]
The Federal Reserve held benchmark rates steady in the range of 4.25% to 4.5% following its two-day meeting on Wednesday, a decision with implications for the mortgage industry. The move, expected by virtually all monetary policy watchers, underscores the challenge facing the Federal Reserve — deciding when it’s appropriate to cut rates. It’s a delicate […]
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, and lending partner Setpoint announced on Wednesday that they’re providing a $200 million warehouse facility to Austin-based mortgage tech firm UpEquity. The funding is expected to support $1 billion in originations over the next two years, helping homebuyers purchase new homes before selling their current […]
Mortgage applications decreased 2.6% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 13, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 4% compared with the previous week. The refinance index decreased 2% from the previous week and was 25% higher than […]
Rithm Capital announced this week the closing of a $504 million securitization backed by nonqualified mortgages (non-QMs) serviced by its subsidiary Newrez, along with the issuance of $500 million in debt. In 2025, Rithm closed three securitizations of non-QM loans — a product that has gained popularity amid a challenging mortgage market. Non-QM loans are […]
As more companies embrace the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into their business- and customer-facing operations, a concern has emerged among firms focused on delivering services to older people AI training typically occurs with younger staffers, who could then incorporate unconscious institutional biases that might leave seniors feeling alienated from the technology. Representatives of Longbridge […]
Lender and servicer PHH Mortgage, a subsidiary of Onity Group, is expanding its partnership with Blend Labs, the company announced on Monday. The expanded partnership includes PHH Mortgage utilizing more of Blend’s technology platform, which already powers its mortgage lending operations, to now include Rapid Refi and Rapid Home Equity. “Many homeowners today are still […]
A risk to manage when releasing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship is the “race to the bottom” that led to the 2008 financial crisis, according to a new paper published by the National Housing Conference (NHC). Following consultations with more than 100 leading policy experts and stakeholders, the NHC on Tuesday released a […]
Atlanta-based Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) named Kenny Phillips as its new Chief Sales Officer on Tuesday, succeeding his late best friend, Kevin DeLory. DeLory, EPM’s former chief lending officer for TPO and a partner in the business, passed away in early April after a bout with cancer. He was 53 years old. Phillips joined EPM […]
Growing fears of a retirement crisis in the U.S. are no secret as Americans face a future that potentially includes fewer Social Security benefits. But the uncertainty of Social Security is not the only thing that seniors should consider as they seek to safeguard their financial well-being. Over the weekend, The New York Times detailed […]
Former loanDepot CEO Frank Martell has officially moved on. SmartRent Inc., a provider of smart community technology solutions for the rental housing industry, on Monday announced that Martell will take on the roles of president and CEO effective immediately. Martell, who has been a member of SmartRent’s board of directors and served on the board’s […]
As of April 2025, the typical U.S. homebuyer’s down payment was $62,468, down roughly 1% on a yearly basis and the first annual decline in nearly two years. That’s according to a new report from Redfin that’s based on an analysis of records across 40 of the most populous U.S. metropolitan areas. In percentage terms, […]
For a long time, data has suggested that older Americans are the largest cohort of homeowners — and increasingly, new homebuyers — in the U.S. But the mortgage industry has had issues adequately serving this cohort for a long time, and this is something that needs to be addressed. This was some of the perspective […]
Mark Diamond has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for his crimes against elderly homeowners, but the scars from the damage he inflicted across the Chicago metro area are still visible. A recent report from a local publication, the South Side Weekly, detailed one family’s struggle to recover from Diamond’s scams. Louise Minter […]
The cost of owning a home in the U.S. has jumped sharply in recent years, reaching an average of more than $1,700 per month in 2023 — a 17% increase since 2020 — according to an analysis by First American senior economist Sam Williamson. Using the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, Williamson found that […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Ginnie Mae on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a South Korean housing finance authority, with the goal of increasing investment in U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities. The agreement, signed with the Korea Housing Finance Corp. (KHFC), “underscores a shared commitment to expanding access […]
Mortgage veteran Glenn Stearns is taking a different approach with his latest venture. Kind Lending, a national wholesale mortgage lender and his second brainchild, is built on lean operations and a focus on efficiency — a contrast with his first company, Stearns Lending, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019. “This is not our […]