Deep cuts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are likely to increase the cost of homes, upend housing markets and complicate mortgage transactions, current and former agency staffers told the Washington Post. HUD’s workforce is expected to be cut in half — from about 8,300 employees to just over 4,000 — with […]
The recently announced RocketRentRewards program from Rocket Mortgage — which the company says is the homeownership industry’s first offer to provide closing cost credits for renters — allows homebuyers who use Rocket as their lender to earn 10% back on their last 12 months of rental payments. Renters, who are the targets of the new […]
InGenius, a data provider for the mortgage and real estate industries, has appointed industry veteran Sue Woodard as its chief customer officer. Woodard, a senior adviser at STRATMOR Group, brings more than 30 years of experience in financial services and mortgage lending. She will continue her advisory role at STRATMOR while taking on her new […]
Rumors of large-scale staffing cuts at Ginnie Mae are spooking Wall Street and the housing industry, who fear potential repercussions to the mortgage-backed securities market. Mortgage lenders and developers are reportedly working their contact lists in Washington, D.C. to try and protect the company from the cuts already imposed by the U.S. DOGE Service, the […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has revised its previous 2025 mortgage forecast, raising its projection for purchase originations while trimming projections for refinances from its January forecast. Its updated forecast, released Feb. 19, put this year’s total origination volume at a projected $2.055 trillion, up slightly from January’s $2.052 trillion forecast. The MBA still forecasts […]
The Attorney General of Massachusetts has filed suit against home equity contract provider Hometap, alleging that the company “pervasively and systematically violated the state’s consumer protection laws, including mortgage and foreclosure prevention laws, putting financially vulnerable homeowners at high risk of losing their homes.” The suit goes on to claim that Hometap’s primary product offerings […]
U.S. mortgage originations are projected to grow moderately in 2025, despite continued economic uncertainty and elevated interest rates, according to TransUnion’s newly released credit insights in the fourth quarter of 2024. After years of sluggish origination growth due to inflation, high borrowing costs, and a tight housing market, mortgage originations are expected to rise to […]
Mortgage applications for newly built homes decreased 6% year over year in January 2025, according to a report released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). But application volume increased by 19% from December 2024. MBA’s Builder Application Survey (BAS) explores mortgage application data on a monthly basis across mortgage subsidiaries of homebuilders. MBA pulls […]
Chase Home Lending recently announced a limited-time, nationwide interest rate discount that is designed to help homeowners save on their monthly mortgage payments. The offer is in effect through March 7. The limited-time refinance rate discount applies to customers looking to refinance into a lower interest rate or reduce their monthly payment, as well as those […]
Digital homeownership company Better.com on Thursday announced a record 400% growth in its home equity line of credit (HELOC) and home equity loan businesses. In a press release, the company announced that its HELOC business channel increased its revenue from $15 million per month in January 2024 to $60 million per month by October 2024. […]
Mark Calabria is the latest addition to the leadership roster at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), despite the bureau’s near shutdown. Calabria, director of the FHFA in President Trump’s first term, will be serving a key role at the CFPB until Jonathan McKernan is confirmed as the permanent director. That’s according to tweets from […]
Staffing cuts at Ginnie Mae could table or delay the rollout of a complementary reverse mortgage securities program announced last year, according to an interview with a former Ginnie Mae official who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation and reports of staff cuts by multiple outlets. But a source familiar with HUD’s plans disputed […]
If a rumored large-scale layoff at the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) occurs, it could result in major damage to key programs that mortgage lenders and investors rely on, such as Section 8, Section 202 and even financial losses to the national mortgage insurance fund. This is according to a former high-level FHA official who spoke […]
Chris Franquemont Franquemont returns to Guaranteed Rate after a one-year stint as CrossCountry Mortgage’s senior vice president of mortgage lending, producing branch manager. The top-producing loan officer brings a proven track record of high-volume production and financing solutions for borrowers. Franquemont funded $38 million across 103 loans 2024 alone, according to Rate. He first joined […]
Mortgage applications decreased 6.6% from last week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Feb. 14, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, applications decreased by 4% compared with the previous week. The refinance share of mortgage activity, which had been strong for the past few weeks, […]
Reverse mortgage industry conferences are often seen as an effective way for professionals to meet up, discuss best practices from across their markets and assess the regulatory environment at entities like the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and within the states. Occasionally, U.S.-based reverse professionals also get the opportunity to connect with practitioners in other parts […]
As the 2025 spring homebuying season approaches — and the tone is set for what the rest of the year could look like — the long-term costs of a home loan are inching lower even as fears of inflation, unemployment and tariffs loom large. HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center showed that 30-year fixed rates for conventional […]
The oldest baby boomers are poised to turn 80 years old this year, which could bring the market of dedicated senior housing from a place of oversupply to a shortage. This is according to a report published this week by the Wall Street Journal. The projected aging of the U.S. population shows that by 2030, […]
ICE Mortgage Technology has released Ask Regi, an AI-assisted search tool for its AllRegs platform that helps users quickly find regulatory guidance using conversational queries in addition to traditional keyword searches. The mortgage technology company said Ask Regi is designed to streamline response times “by delivering precise search result summaries of complex questions applied to AllRegs, […]
Rocket Mortgage on Tuesday unveiled RocketRentRewards, which the company says is the homeownership industry’s first offer to provide closing cost credits for renters. Under the program, homebuyers who use Rocket Mortgage as their lender can earn 10% back on the last 12 months of rental payments, receiving up to $5,000 in lender credits toward closing […]
Independence Home Loans (IHL) tapped Gil Arbitsman for the role of chief financial officer where he will oversee IHL’s financial and long-term growth strategy. His leadership will play a key role in optimizing financial performance and enhancing the company’s operational efficiencies Arbitsman, who has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services sector, […]
Boston-based fintech Stavvy announced a new integration using the latest Encompass Partner Connect Application Programming Interface (API) framework from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) for mortgage technology. In an exclusive interview with HousingWire, Kosta Ligris, CEO and founder of Stavvy, explained that the news is the official transition from ICE’s legacy Software Development Kit (SDK), which ICE […]
In the most recent episode of the Power House podcast, host and HousingWire President Diego Sanchez sits down with Chris Vinson, CEO of Windsor Mortgage, a division of Plains Commerce Bank. The conversation covers Windsor’s growth and success in recent years, including its focus on wholesale lending, technology and coaching. This interview has been edited […]
A bill in the state of Hawaii that seeks to establish a state-run equivalent of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program appears to be dead in its current form, having failed to reach key deadlines following its submission to three different legislative committees. This is according to the office of […]
The White House and key leaders aimed at cost-cutting inside the federal government have reportedly trained their eyes on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and that reporting suggests it is culminating in a series of cuts that could include as much as 50% of the department’s workforce of roughly 9,600 people. […]
Older residents of the state of California, meaning those aged 65 or older, made up roughly 14% of the state’s population in 2020. That figure is poised to rise to 22% by 2040, marking a 59% increase, while the number of residents between the ages of 20-64 is projected to remain largely unchanged during that […]
MISMO, the real estate finance industry’s standards organization, on Thursday announced its board of directors for 2025. “MISMO brings key problem solvers together to collaborate on critical issues in the mortgage industry,” said Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), which oversees MISMO. “I welcome this talented group of industry executives […]
On Friday, Fannie Mae reported $17 billion in net income in 2024, down slightly from its $17.4 billion profit in 2023. The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) had net income of $4.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, marking its 28th consecutive quarter of positive earnings. Fannie Mae president and CEO Priscilla Almodovar said during Friday’s […]
The nomination of Jonathan McKernan to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) suggests that, despite the “delete” rhetoric around the bureau, the consumer watchdog isn’t going to be de-fanged and sent to the kill shelter just yet. McKernan, a well-respected, veteran financial regulator with prior stints at the Treasury Department, Federal Housing Finance Agency […]
If there are winds of change at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), small and midsized nonbank mortgage lenders are hoping to slip the clutches of the consumer watchdog they say is, in many ways, duplicitous and unnecessary. In a letter sent Wednesday to CFPB acting director Russell Vought, the Community Home Lenders of America […]
The White House has reportedly solicited information from staff at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to justify the existence of various contracts. According to reporting by NPR, a spreadsheet was sent to employees, asking them to assess the importance of contracts, whether or not they have diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) […]
In a Wednesday afternoon LinkedIn post by chief technology officer Jason Bressler, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced that it’s partnering with Sphere LOS to provide its first direct integration with the broker community. Bressler’s post offered reasons for the partnership. He noted that Sphere has an “all in one” workflow of the most-used products in […]
San Francisco-based private lender Kiavi announced on Thursday that it has secured $300 million in capital after another securitization of its residential transition loans (RTLs). As the 21st transaction made under the company’s LHOME Mortgage Trust, Kiavi’s total volume of notes offered sits at $5.8 billion since 2019. Kiavi reported that the offered notes were […]
Jonathan McKernan’s nomination to be the next permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) didn’t come out of left field, but it still surprised many housing finance insiders given all that’s happened at the consumer watchdog over the last two weeks. McKernan’s nomination came on the heels of Elon Musk‘s baby-faced DOGE lieutenants […]
Freddie Mac recorded a net income of $3.2 billion for Q4 2024 and $11.9 billion for the full year 2024, it reported this morning. The full-year net income figure marked an increase of 13% from 2023. Comprehensive income increased 11% from 2023 to $11.9 billion. In its earnings call, Freddie Mac’s Executive Vice President and […]
Loan locks for refinances rose more than 20% year over year while purchase lock counts saw a 6% decrease, according to Optimal Blue‘s January 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report released Thursday. Purchase lock volume climbed 16% from December, but year-over-year counts – which control for home-price appreciation – were down 6%. That marked the […]
Housing leaders are naturally interested in knowing how recent cost-cutting efforts by the federal government could be focused upon the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its wide array of programs, including reverse mortgages. In the first Trump administration, housing officials took a measured but disruptive approach to stem losses to the […]
New data from U.K.-based financial services firm Legal & General shows that as many as 11% of all couples over the age of 50 use their real estate wealth — either through the proceeds of a home sale or a home equity release product — to finance the costs of divorce. “The research, which explored […]
California-based mortgage lender loanDepot on Wednesday announced the expansion of its equityFREEDOM portfolio to provide nearly 50 million U.S. homeowners with access to their tappable home equity. The expansion adds 10- and 30-year fixed-term options to the company’s existing 20-year fixed-rate home equity loan, which the company has designed as complements to its first-lien and […]
Dallas-based Mr. Cooper Group presented its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings on Wednesday morning. The company had a robust end to the year in which it delivered a $204 million profit and $235 million in pretax operating income. “The fourth quarter capped off an outstanding year for Mr. Cooper, with an operating ROTCE (return on tangible common […]
Mortgage applications increased 2.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the latest MBA survey. This follows the prior week’s 12% increase in refinance applications, which marked the strongest refi week in months. The Mortgage Bankers Association‘s market composite index increased 6% on an unadjusted basis compared with the previous week. Continuing a strong streak was […]
Entering the mortgage industry as a loan officer can be both exciting and overwhelming. With a 100% commission-based structure, success isn’t guaranteed — it’s earned. The first year is crucial for developing the habits, relationships, and skills that lay the foundation for long-term success. I’ve spent years in the industry, and as my son prepares […]
The Oregon state senate’s Committee on Housing Development held a hearing last week on a piece of proposed legislation that seeks to limit the amount of equity a reverse mortgage lender can receive after the sale or transfer of a property. Industry representatives contend that if enacted, the bill could potentially halt the availability of […]
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Older Americans want to age in place in their own homes, and they also want to remain in their current communities. But these desires could clash with a reality that many communities across the country simply don’t have the resources to support seniors, according […]
Mortgage credit availability ramped up in January, according to a report released Tuesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) that analyzed data from ICE Mortgage Technology. The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) increased by 250 basis points (bps) on a monthly basis to 99.0 in January 2025. By comparison, the index rating was 92.7 […]