Despite some recent relief from mortgage rates, top executives at the parent of Rocket Mortgage continue to expect a challenging landscape for the industry in the coming months, mainly due to regulatory changes, low affordability levels and consolidation. What will be their playbook? Leaders at the Detroit-based Rocket Companies say they will continue to invest […]
Sen. Mike Braun, R-Indiana., and a coalition of eight other Republican U.S. Senators are taking aim at energy-efficiency standards for new housing construction, citing the additional costs they would add to the purchase of new homes. In April, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) settled […]
West Palm Beach, Florida-based Onity Group, the parent company of top-five reverse mortgage lender Liberty Reverse Mortgage, recorded a decline in income during the second quarter of 2024. Despite the financial result, Onity — formerly known as Ocwen Financial Corp. — is doubling down on the reverse mortgage space by entering into an agreement to […]
Connecticut-based Ellington Financial, the parent company of top-10 reverse mortgage lender and servicer Longbridge Financial, announced this week that it has completed a securitization backed by a pool of proprietary reverse mortgages. The $232 million securitization closed on Thursday and was backed by a pool of proprietary reverse mortgages, all of which were originated by […]
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.62% on Thursday, a new low for 2024 that appears to be tied to the expectation that the Federal Reserve could move to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September. This is according to data reported by Mortgage News Daily. On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell […]
The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) on Thursday issued a comment letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), saying that a major reason for the increase in mortgage closing costs from third parties is due to a lack of competition among third-party providers. On top of “click fees” that CHLA said are charged […]
Homebuyers often adjust their plans for the uncertainty that an election year can bring. With less than 100 days until the 2024 election, a majority of buyers are taking note. That’s according to survey results released Thursday by Veterans United Home Loans, which show that 60% of prospective buyers are taking the election into account. […]
Rapidly rising home prices are bad news for prospective buyers, but they’re proving quite beneficial for homeowner equity. That’s according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions that found that in the second quarter of 2024, 49.2% of mortgaged homes were “equity-rich,” defined as having a loan balance of less than half of the […]
Roughly one month ago, Ginnie Mae released a term sheet for a highly anticipated new development for the reverse mortgage industry: a new Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) product referred to as HMBS 2.0. The new term sheet detailed several differences from the existing HMBS program, including a reduction in the HMBS pool […]
Technology and outsourcing solutions company a360inc announced on Wednesday that it has acquired ProVest, a Tampa-based process and litigation information services provider for creditors. Some of a360inc’s key constituencies include mortgage lenders, servicers and investors, as well as title agencies. The deal includes an investment in a360inc by the funds managed by Morgan Stanley Investment […]
Like its peers, New York-based asset manager Rithm Capital, the owner of multichannel lender Newrez, has invested in building an extensive servicing portfolio over the past few years. This has occurred both organically and through acquisitions as Rithm aims to retain customers when mortgage rates decline from current levels. But Michael Nierenberg, the company’s chairman, […]
In the ever-evolving world of mortgage servicing, delivering an exceptional customer experience at every stage of the customer’s journey is a crucial differentiator. Having spent my career focused on transforming and maintaining an outstanding customer experience specific to our industry, I’ve learned that creating a customer-focused team isn’t achieved through policy, technology, or even training. […]
San Diego-based Smartfi Home Loans, which primarily is active as a wholesale lender in the reverse mortgage space, will launch a retail division that offers reverse mortgage products and has hired industry veteran Paul Fiore as its president of retail sales. “I am thrilled to announce that I have started my new role as president […]
As a majority of older adults continue to express an overwhelming preference for aging in place in their homes, any decision needs to be made with a full understanding of a particular senior’s needs, capabilities, and access to essential services and people. This was an idea shared by Wayne State University gerontology professor Amanda Leggett […]
Mortgage-related consumer complaints submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fell between the first and second quarters of this year, according to a review of the CFPB’s consumer complaint database conducted by HousingWire. A total of 5,652 mortgage-related complaints were submitted to the bureau between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2024. That total fell […]
As Federal Reserve policymakers meet this week amid a high likelihood they’ll keep benchmark interest rates unchanged, the recent downward movement in mortgage rates leveled off. HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center showed that the average 30-year conforming loan rate was at 7.01% on Tuesday. That figure was unchanged from the same time last week. The 15-year […]
As the mortgage and real estate markets continue to face challenges, nearly 800,000 low down payment home purchases in 2023 leveraged private mortgage insurance (PMI), with first-time homebuyers accounting for 64% of the total. This is according to a new report published by U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI). “Private mortgage insurance continues to help buyers qualify […]
Mr. Cooper Group has priced the issuance of $750 million in debt to refinance outstanding mortgage servicing rights (MSR) facilities, an announcement that comes only four days after making public its billion-dollar acquisition of Flagstar Bank‘s servicing assets. On Monday, the mortgage lender and servicer said that its debt offering to qualified investors through subsidiary […]
The NAHB analyzed census data and found that the median age of a U.S. home has grown from 31 years in 2005 to 40 years in 2022. The builder trade group also concludes that “over the long run, the aging of the housing stock implies that remodeling may grow faster than new construction.” The homes […]
Mortgage technology solutions provider CoreLogic on Tuesday announced that its AutomatIQ Borrower tool is expanding to include asset and liabilities analysis capabilities. The company aims to make the product a “one-stop analysis solution for mortgage lending financial institutions,“ it said in its announcements. AutomatIQ Borrower is designed to provide greater integrity and reliability in the […]
Officials in Montana continue to promote the specialized Reverse Annuity Mortgage (RAM) program for the state’s seniors, with one official saying that it could be a big difference-maker for those in Montana looking to age in place while gaining access to additional cash. The program was passed by the Montana Legislature in 1989 and offers […]
Home equity lending in 2023 grew by only 1.5% compared to the prior year, while outstanding debt increased by 8.3% in the same time period, according to a study released Monday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The data includes total originations of open-ended home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and closed-end home equity loans. […]
There are plenty of challenges for renters and homebuyers this year, especially when it comes to affordability. But technology — particularly leveraging generative AI — can help solve these challenges in new ways. At least, that was the premise of the FHFA’s 2024 TechSprint last week, which focused on innovative housing use cases for gen AI. […]
Mortgage lenders loanDepot and Movement Mortgage have agreed to end a one-year dispute over the poaching of employees, according to a document filed Friday in a district court in Delaware. In June 2023, California-based loanDepot accused its competitor of damaging its business by hiring more than 25 of its employees in a three-month period. According […]
The mortgage world is fast-paced and constantly evolving, driven by shifts in laws and economic conditions. Both lenders and borrowers need to grasp these changes to skillfully move through the maze of mortgage regulations. This guide will walk you through the need-to-knows, helping you thrive in today’s mortgage scene without getting bogged down in legalese. […]
Coinciding with the effective date for a previously announced reverse stock split, the price for shares of leading reverse mortgage lender Finance of America (FOA) stood well above the minimum threshold the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) requires to maintain trading activity. As of the close of trading on Friday — the day the reverse […]
Like most of its peers, top-five mortgage lender Newrez is prioritizing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to provide call center representatives with real-time information on its policies, procedures, and guidelines to improve customers’ experience, according to its president, Baron Silverstein. “From a prioritization perspective, we’re right now, with my management team, focused on customer […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Friday published Mortgagee Letter 2024-15, which extends a foreclosure moratorium on the Hawaiian island of Maui through Jan. 1, 2025, for FHA-insured forward mortgages and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs). The moratorium, initially scheduled to expire on May 6 after a previous extension, was pushed into August earlier this […]
Virginia-based Atlantic Coast Mortgage announced this week that residential and wholesale banking software company CRMNow’s mortgage-oriented customer relationship management (CRM) product, Nextwave CRM, will be used by its loan originators across the 30 states it operates in. “Nextwave CRM was the clear choice to drive our customer-centric culture and CRM initiative,” Patrick Collins, chief strategy […]
Home insurance premiums have risen by as much as $865 this year for homeowners who originally purchased their policies in 2021. In response, the mortgage industry and federal regulators are aiming to determine the best courses of action to mitigate the financial burdens on both homeowners and insurance carriers. This is according to a new […]
On a recent episode of the Power House podcast, HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins chatted with Craig Montgomery, chief strategy officer at Lower and former chief production officer at CrossCountry Mortgage. Collins and Montgomery discussed Lower’s plans for growth, its strategic partnerships and how it looks to adopt an originator-first mindset to push the company toward […]
Mr. Cooper Group has struck a deal to acquire a third-party origination (TPO) platform and $356 billion in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), advances and subservicing contracts from Flagstar Bank, owned by New York Community Bancorp (NYCB). As part of the deal, the Dallas-based servicer and lender will pay $1.4 billion in cash, funded via available […]
Attorneys general in 14 states have joined together to send a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director Sandra Thompson that urges the termination of the agency’s title waiver pilot program. The letter, which was sent on Monday, was spearheaded by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and co-signed by attorneys general in Alabama, Arkansas, […]
Reverse mortgage industry veteran George Morales has been appointed as the new chairperson of the dedicated reverse mortgage development workgroup (DWG) inside the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization. MISMO is a subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), which signaled its intent for more reverse mortgage involvement late last year. The reverse mortgage workgroup, which […]
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: older Americans overwhelmingly support aging in place in their own homes, with some recent survey data indicating at or over 90% of seniors supporting retirement living in their own homes. But sometimes the cost of renovations can exceed the amount of cash that a […]
Mortgage and real estate executives attending HousingWire‘s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit in Dallas on Tuesday have already begun to collect some lessons learned from Friday’s global tech outage as the world is still dealing with its consequences. Different companies were impacted to different degrees by the problem, but executives said it validates their decision to […]
Texas Capital Bank, after being granted an extension to respond to the federal government’s request to change the venue of the trial between the bank and Ginnie Mae, has filed an objection to the request saying that a “forum selection clause” cited by government attorneys is not enforceable. “Having lost its attempt to dismiss [TCB]’s […]
AARP, the interest group advocating for the wellbeing of older Americans, revealed in a policy paper this month its priorities for a national plan on aging that sufficiently recognizes the changing demographics of the U.S. population, and the trend that will see 20% of all Americans become at least the age of 65 by 2030. […]
Real estate lending shop Dunmor has promoted two employees to senior leadership positions. Andy Thienkosol, a veteran in business-purpose lending (BPL), has been named chief operating officer of the California-based lender. Melissa Perez, a former director of operations at First Republic Bank, has joined Dunmor as senior vice president of operations. Thienkosol previously served as […]
Blueprint Solutions, a mortgage technology company that offers income verification tools for the industry, announced this week that it is implementing Fannie Mae’s Income Calculator into its two primary software offerings. This will help the company’s clients to more efficiently access the Fannie Mae tool, the company said. Blueprint offers two variations of mortgage income […]
Credit: Fannie Mae The company’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group noted that many large metro areas in the Sun Belt now have inventory levels that match or even exceed for-sale inventories of 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused Fannie Mae to downwardly revise its forecasts for housing starts and Home price […]
The number of down payment assistance (DPA) programs for homebuyers has reached an all-time high. That’s according to the second-quarter 2024 Homeownership Program Index report from Down Payment Resource, which tracks homebuyer assistance programs. In Q2 2024, the number of down payment assistance options rose 2% relative to the previous quarter, while the number of […]
Dominic Iannitti “As we mourn the loss of our friend and business inspiration, DocMagic’s longtime leadership team is well-prepared to remain steadfast in our mission and commitment to excellence in the mortgage technology space,” Lori Johnson, DocMagic’s chief operating officer, added. “We have already implemented a comprehensive succession plan to ensure a seamless transition.” Iannitti, […]
Last April, Erik Morin made a return to the reverse mortgage valuation space by joining appraisal and valuation company Atlas VMS. Morin founded Landmark Network in 2007, a company that quickly became a key player on the valuation side of the reverse mortgage space before being acquired by Class Valuation in 2018. After leaving that […]
The consumer purchasing power of U.S. Social Security program benefits in 2024 is roughly 80 cents on the dollar when compared to the power of these benefits in 2010, illustrating the continued bite that inflation is having on American households as well as the diminished buying power of those living on a fixed income. This […]