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Government sponsored-enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will each have a $70 billion cap for multifamily loan purchases in 2024, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Tuesday.  The combined $140 billion volume considers the given market condition. Still, it can increase if necessary, as the FHFA will continue to monitor the multifamily mortgage market, it says in a recently published fact sheet. […]

Better Home & Finance Holding, the parent of digital lender Better.com, delivered a massive loss in the third quarter of 2023, its first earnings report since it became public in late August. Executives at the company told analysts that more cost-cutting initiatives are needed in a shrinking market to reach profitability.   Better reported a GAAP net […]

Big Four title firm Old Republic is selling its mortgage insurance business to Arch Capital Group Ltd., according to an announcement on Monday. As part of the $140 million transaction, Arch will acquire all of the capital stock of Old Republic’s wholly owned subsidiary RMIC Companies Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiaries that together comprise Old […]

The automated phone systems and website of lender and servicer Mr. Cooper are running again following a cybersecurity incident that forced the company to lock down certain technology systems. On Oct. 31, the company suffered a cyberattack that disrupted loan payments. Mr. Cooper restarted servicing operations on Nov. 4 by taking customer calls and payments, […]

In the world of mortgage lending, there’s an all-too-common sentiment that echoes through the industry: “My loan origination system (LOS) sucks.” Regardless of the specific LOS in use, this feeling seems pervasive among lenders, and the dissatisfaction stems from lenders’ desire to deliver more digitally driven, bespoke borrower experiences.  In reality, the LOS is not […]

Total housing inventory growth has been slow in 2023, but with rising mortgage rates over the last few months, inventory has grown a bit faster than average. The question now is: Have we hit the seasonal peak in inventory for 2023? The housing inventory growth rate has decelerated for three weeks, and we were barely positive […]

Mortgage rates this week saw the biggest one-week decline in a year and potential homebuyers waiting for rates to drop responded, said Josh Mettle, division president and co-creator of NEO Home Loans. “I think we were up right around 15% increase in the number of initial mortgage applications. That doesn’t take into consideration the number […]

With soaring home prices and mortgage rates putting a damper on the market for new home loans and refinancing options, it’s a challenging time for homebuyers and lenders alike.  But it’s not all grim news.  While the current climate may be causing existing-home sales and inventory to fall, it’s driving renewed interest in home equity […]

CoreLogic announced on Thursday the launch of “ScanToSketch,” an augmented reality (AR)-based property measuring and sketching tool to create home appraisal reports. Developed using CoreLogic’s appraisal software brand “a la mode,” the tool has been used to complete roughly 20,000 property sketches. So far, its data has been featured in over 12,000 appraisal reports, according […]

A total of 2,256 homebuyer assistance programs are available in the U.S. housing market after 54 programs were added in the third quarter, according to Down Payment Resource (DPR), a homebuyer assistance program data and solutions firm. Among the available homebuyer assistance programs were 295 that allow borrowers to lower their interest rates by paying […]

As 10-year Treasury yields tumbled, the average 30-year fixed mortgage fell 26 basis points in the week ending Nov. 9, the largest one-week decrease since last November. The 30-year, fixed mortgage averaged 7.5% as of Nov. 9, according to Freddie Mac‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s down significantly from last week’s 7.76% and up from […]

New York-based digital lender Better Home & Finance Holding Company has partnered with information technology consulting company Infosys on a mortgage-as-a-service platform. The integrated end-to-end digital mortgage white-labeled platform aims to cut origination costs and helps partners limit operational volatility in the current interest rate environment, Better said Thursday in announcing the launch. “Better’s mortgage […]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac jointly announced this week that they have entered a new critical edit phase for their Uniform Closing Dataset (UCD) as of Nov. 6, informing lenders that they must address quality issues for “fatal data points” before delivering loans to either of the government-sponsored enterprises. The UCD is a reference file […]

California lender Guild Mortgage reported an increased profit in the third quarter despite high mortgage rates and limited home sales inventory.  The purchase-focused lender with a distributed retail model emphasized its growth strategy of gaining purchase market share through acquisitions and bringing on high-performing originators as the industry continues to see muted demand for mortgages. […]

While the last months of the year can be a hectic time in your professional and personal life, it’s also the ideal time to make strategic money moves for a more prosperous New Year. Here’s a financial checklist that real estate agents and mortgage professionals should complete before the end of the year for more […]

UWM Holdings Corporation, the parent of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), produced lower mortgage origination volume in the third quarter of 2023 than the previous quarter – and more declines are expected to come. But volumes in Q3 came in at higher margins, close to the levels seen prior to the company’s Game-on pricing initiative that squeezed competitors out of […]

Mortgage applications picked up for the first time in four weeks as mortgage rates dropped by 25 basis points, to 7.61%. The Fed’s rate hike pause, combined with a softer October jobs report and the U.S Treasury’s issuance update, paved the way for rates to come down.  For the week ending Nov. 3, total home […]

loanDepot, the California-based lender targeting profitability next year, delivered its sixth consecutive quarterly loss in the third quarter of 2023, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday.  Total revenue declined as a result of lower origination volume. Still, there were financial improvements. Higher margins aided by an aggressive cost-cutting strategy shrunk […]

loanDepot has appointed David Smith to the newly-created position of vice president of national VA lending, the company announced on Monday.  In this role, Smith, a former Army sergeant, will oversee the lender’s VA lending strategy. Additionally, he will spearhead the company’s VA Council, a group of loanDepot originators who specifically serve veterans and military […]

Banks have tightened lending standards for most categories of residential real estate (RRE) loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOC) over the third quarter of 2023. The tightening came amid elevated interest rates and uncertainty in economic conditions.  A survey taken by the Federal Reserve showed that a 20%-plus share of banks reported having […]

In September, the nation’s banking regulators released a proposal to increase the capital required of banks with more than $100 billion in assets. The effort was intended to decrease systemic risk, but by focusing narrowly on the risk posed by banks, it would likely increase risk in the mortgage market. The proposal would make it […]

Freddie Mac announced Tuesday that Lance Drummond will be the chair of its board of directors due to Sara Mathew’s retirement in February 2024, as required by the company’s bylaws.  Drummond, who joined the board in 2015, is currently the chair of the compensation and human capital committee. He also serves as a member of the […]

In many communities, homeowners and homebuyers have been hit with eye-popping property tax increases. It is costing more for schools and governments to pay for services. And homes in many communities have shot up in value in recent years, leading to tax increases through reassessments.  But opinions differ on how much impact higher taxes are […]

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to grow amid higher origination costs and greater competition, but without correcting the underlying causes of bias in data, AI models can embed racial equity inequality on a larger scale, a recent report from the Urban Institute concluded. “It must first, however, overcome the biases and inequities […]

Stubbornly elevated mortgage rates created more affordability pressures for homebuyers in October, according to ICE Mortgage Technology’s November Mortgage Monitor report. In October, the monthly payment needed to purchase a median-priced home exceeded the $2,500 threshold for the first time ever. It now takes 40.6% of the median household income to afford monthly mortgage payments, […]

Between rising mortgage rates and soaring loan production costs this year, many lenders and brokerage leaders are reducing headcount to preserve their bottom line. As a result, many mortgage and real estate professionals may find themselves checking out LinkedIn, whether to search for a new position or make connections in anticipation of the future. No […]

After mortgage rates spiked to 8% in October, causing a riot in the real estate industry, we had an epic move lower in mortgage rates last week. Does this mean we’ve hit the peak in mortgage rates for this economic cycle? The history of economic cycles and mortgage rates would say yes, but only if the […]

Texas-headquartered lender and servicer Mr. Cooper pointed to a cybersecurity incident that forced the company to lock down certain technology systems including access to its online payment portal.  “On October 31, Mr. Cooper became the target of a cyber security incident and took immediate steps to lock down our systems in order to keep your […]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) this week published a report analyzing state-level community reinvestment laws and ways they promote reinvestment activities for entities including mortgage companies. The 32-page report features details about the ways state governments aim to ensure financial institutions’ lending, services and investment activities meet the credit needs of their local communities, […]

The jobs report today which should move mortgage rates lower, demonstrates why it’s time for the Federal Reserve to land the plane. The labor market doesn’t show wages spiraling out of control as it did in the 1970s because the inflation data doesn’t look like anything in the 1970s. We had a solid job openings […]

Amid the most challenging mortgage market in decades, Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, remained profitable in the third quarter of 2023, showing higher margins in the direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels.  This was the first earnings delivered by Rocket’s new CEO, Varun Krishna, who focused his conversation with analysts on the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and […]

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Mortgage Technology reported an adjusted operating income of $131 million in the third quarter of 2023, up from Q3 2022’s $126 million — despite the headwinds the mortgage industry is facing. ICE attributed “an analog to digital conversion occurring in the U.S. residential mortgage industry” for its mortgage business outperforming in Q3 […]

HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with David Coleman, president of MISMO, to talk about what’s changed in technology over the last 15 years, and what still needs to change. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Sarah Wheeler: The cost to originate is still high when you consider all the tech […]

Mortgage rates stabilized this week as the Federal Reserve decided to keep its rates unchanged Wednesday. However, mortgage rates still remain at a 23-year high. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.76% as of Nov. 2, according to Freddie Mac‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s was down slightly from last week’s 7.79% and up from 6.95% the […]

California-based nonbank lender loanDepot is suing former chief operations officer Tammy Richards for breach of contract and fiduciary duty, accusing her of stealing confidential information concerning the lender’s customers.  The move is part of a legal battle that started in September 2021 when Richards filed a lawsuit alleging the lender closed thousands of loans without proper documentation to boost its performance […]

New York-based digital lender Better Home & Finance Holding Company launched Better Insurance to allow customers to shop for homeowners insurance through a fully digital platform. Better Insurance is the latest innovation available through the company’s insurance arm, Better Cover, which partners with more than 20 different insurance providers, according to the firm. The white-label […]

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell left the door open to a future interest rate hike on Wednesday, but most housing professionals are hopeful that the Fed may be done hiking interest rates for 2023. Tight financial and credit conditions, slowing inflation and high 10-year Treasury yields – the primary driver in the rise of longer-term […]

The newly-updated Fannie Mae November Selling Guide now bars job offers or contracts for future employment from family members or interested parties involved in a transaction. “We revised our policy to make it clear that when a borrower is scheduled to begin new employment under the terms of an employment offer or contract, the offer […]

Michael Gifford and David Zvaifler‘s home equity investment company, Splitero, lost its main investor, Redwood Trust, HousingWire has learned. According to an internal presentation deck, the startup had secured more than $1 billion in committed capital. Out of that figure, $750 million was supposed to come from Redwood, representing 75% of the total capital. Atalaya […]

The coming winter is expected to be an existential test of survival for many independent mortgage banks (IMBs), according to leaders of several mortgage advisory firms. It’s expected to be dark, difficult doldrums ahead, one marked by unyieldingly high mortgage rates — now hovering near 8% — and a dearth of mortgage-origination opportunities. “We’re really […]

Zillow Group has entered into an agreement to acquire CRM system, Follow Up Boss, according to an announcement on Wednesday. The acquisition purchase price includes $400 million of initial cash consideration and up to $100 million in potential cash earnout. “Follow Up Boss is beloved by agents across the industry, including many Zillow Premier Agent […]

Rates for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage are the highest in over 20 years and may stay elevated for some time. As borrowers reel from the sticker shock of conventional mortgages, lenders could see a surge of demand for alternative lending products, such as adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), for the first time since the financial crisis. Most […]

Mortgage applications fell for the third week in a row as mortgage rates surged toward 8%. For the week ending Oct. 27, total home loan applications fell 2.1% compared to the week prior, according to weekly mortgage application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). “The impact of higher rates continued to be felt across […]

The finances at nonbank mortgage companies will remain under pressure in 2024, despite some relief in mortgage rates, according to a new Fitch Ratings report. But the credit ratings agency has a “moderately deteriorating” outlook for the sector because earnings – along with origination volumes – “have likely reached trough levels.” In addition, companies should see modest […]

loanDepot has rolled out a new down payment assistance program for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan borrowers that enables them to put zero money down upfront. In loanDepot’s program, dubbed AccessZERO, the down payment assistance is structured as a 10-year fully amortized repayable second mortgage. Borrowers must have a minimum credit score of 600 to qualify for […]