Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) and Black Knight announced late Friday an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the $11.7 billion merger deal to go through. The settlement comes months after the FTC sued ICE alleging antitrust concerns surrounding a buyout of Black Knight. According to the agreement, ICE is expected to complete the […]
Retail lender Guild Mortgage announced Monday the acquisition of First Centennial Mortgage, a privately-held Illinois-based lender with 15 branches predominantly in the Midwest and a presence in 17 states. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Guild has been acquiring lenders to expand in local markets in a purchase mortgage-focused environment. Since December 2022, Guild has closed deals with Inlanta Mortgage, Legacy […]
Zillow‘s mortgage arm launched a down payment assistance program where the company will cover 2% of the borrower’s down payment at closing, allowing buyers to pay just 1% upfront. The program is available for eligible borrowers in Arizona and will expand to additional markets, Zillow Home Loans said in a release. The 2% portion of the […]
In a hawkish tone, Jerome Powell said that Federal Reserve (Fed) officials are prepared to raise the federal funds rate further and hold it at high levels until they are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down to the 2% target. And that’s unclear at this point. There are some sources of pressure on U.S. prices — among […]
Homebuyer affordability remained unchanged in July from June, according to Mortgage Bankers Association‘s (MBA) Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI). The index measures how new monthly mortgage payments vary across time, relative to income, drawing from data from MBA’s weekly applications survey. The national median payment applied for by purchase applicants was $2,162 in July, up […]
Strong consumption data combined with slowing inflation points to a “soft landing” for the economy, Fannie Mae‘s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group said Thursday. But the government sponsored enterprise still expects a recession next year. “In order to achieve a soft landing, economic growth will have to slow to a rate that is below […]
Mortgage rate shot up again last week as the bond market continues to grapple with a growing economy in the run up to the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Investors are concerned that the central bank will continue raising the funds rate, pushing borrowing costs even higher. For many, there is worry that the Fed […]
Rep. Maxine Waters, the ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services, is concerned about the Federal Trade Commission settlement agreement that will allow Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) and Black Knight to merge. “In addition to potentially creating a housing finance conglomerate that would dwarf all other players in the industry, I remain concerned […]
New York-based digital lender Better.com announced Wednesday the closing of its business combination with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Aurora Acquisition Corp,, ending a two-year journey to make the business public. Better HoldCo, Inc. and Aurora are creating Better Home & Finance Holding Company, which will have Class A common stock listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker “BETR” starting […]
Two weeks since the first report of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii, the scope of the tragedy is coming into focus. Search teams looked through every single-story residence in the disaster area and found the remains of 115 people. The death toll is likely to grow as teams now look through multi-story residences and commercial […]
Mortgage applications fell for the fifth consecutive week as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.31%, its highest level since December 2000. For the week that ended August 18, mortgage applications fell 4.2% from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. This decrease in applications comes on the heels of a drastic […]
Foreclosure inventory hit a 15-month low in July representing the continued strength of mortgage performance. Loans in active foreclosure fell to 220,000 – the fewest since just after the end of federal foreclosure moratoria – and were down 63,000 or 22% from February 2020, prior to the pandemic, according to Black Knight’s mortgage performance statistics. […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) sent a letter to regulators on Monday warning of the “unintended consequences” of new quality control standards for automated valuation models (AVMs). On June 1, six federal agencies requested comments from the public on a rule designed to ensure the credibility and integrity of models used in real estate […]
The total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 5 basis points to 0.39% of servicers’ portfolio volume in July from 0.44% May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly loan monitoring survey. The MBA estimates about 195,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to about 7.9 million borrowers […]
Ohio-based lender Union Home Mortgage denied sex discrimination claims made by a former employee whose employment was terminated while she was pregnant. The lender acknowledged employment termination but denied any unlawful conduct. Elizabeth Martin, a former loan officer assistant of UHM, filed suit against the lender alleging sex and/or pregnancy under the Missouri Human Rights […]
The past year hasn’t been particularly good for tech or housing. As a consequence, the number of real estate, mortgage and general housing tech firms to make the annual Inc. Magazine list of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in America declined in 2023. In all, 37 companies made the cut this year, down from […]
Last week, mortgage rates hit a 21st-century high, the 10-year yield closed slightly higher than my peak forecast for 2023, and housing inventory growth was still slow. Purchase application data didn’t budge much on the week-to-week data. Weekly active listings rose by only 4,401. Mortgage rates went from 7.19%% to 7.37%. Purchase apps were flat […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this week announced a package of regulatory and administrative waivers that will allow the use of HUD funding to assist with the recovery of Maui after the island endured a series of devastating wildfires. The waivers come as thousands of government-backed mortgages on the island have […]
The 10-year yield closed today above my key level of 4.25%: Does that mean mortgage rates will hit 8%? To understand what’s happening, here’s how I look at the bond market and mortgage rates in my forecast for 2023. In my 2023 forecast, the range on the 10-year yield was between 3.21%-4.25%, emphasizing that the […]
Bank of America (BofA) prevailed in a court case brought against it by Cook County, Illinois, which sued the bank alleging predatory mortgage loans to Black and Hispanic borrowers in the Chicago area. The news was first reported by Bloomberg Law. Cook County initially sued BofA and other banks in 2014, alleging that the company […]
Reflecting the housing industry’s headwinds, just 16 mortgage lenders and brokers made the annual list of Inc. Magazine‘s 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. for 2023. It’s a sharp decline from 2022, when nearly 70 mortgage lenders and brokers were named. The companies are U.S.-based, privately held and independent as of Dec. 31, 2022. […]
Independent mortgage banks (IMB) reported an average net loss of $534 on each loan originated from April to June, down from $1,972 per loan in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The average pre-tax production loss was 18 basis points in Q2. Including both the production and servicing business lines, 58% of retail […]
Mortgage rates continued to climb this week as U.S. bond yields hit their highest level since 2008. Despite the turbulence, some analysts said a debt crisis is not imminent. According to those analysts, investors in the bond market are reacting to the government issuing debt and expecting the Federal Reserve to increase rates in September […]
Have homebuilders reached their limit on how much they can lower mortgage rates to boost demand? Today we got the housing starts data, which was a beat of estimates, but total housing activity isn’t booming here. I firmly believe that the builders can’t solve the housing inventory situation when it comes to single-family units because […]
The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) this week submitted a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in response to a recent request for input (FRI) on GSE single-family pricing framework. Its message? The trade group asked the regulator to “make no further changes for an extended period of time.” The original RFI […]
The biggest nonbank mortgage lenders in America saw improved performance in both origination and servicing segments in the second quarter, capitalizing on the continued mortgage pullback from banks. As we’ve reported, that trend looks sticky, which could help change the fortunes of top independent mortgage banks sooner than expected. In this week’s edition of DataDigest, […]
Mortgage applications fell for the fourth consecutive week as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to its highest level since 2001, reaching 7.16%. For the week that ended August 11, mortgage applications fell 0.8% from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Last week, treasury yields and mortgage rates remained elevated following […]
The Housing Policy Council (HPC) is urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to modify its proposed government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) single-family pricing framework, including coordination with banking regulators to streamline capital requirements and retention of upfront guarantee fees. The original request for input published in May was designed to gather public feedback on goals and […]
Gary Keller took to the stage at the 2023 Keller Williams Mega Agent Camp in Austin, Texas, Tuesday morning with his usual bravado: a black-and-white video featuring his favorite animal, the buffalo, in a thunderstorm, alongside a motivational message for agents. Rather than fear the storm, Keller Williams agents embody resilience and adaptability to conquer […]
Non-QM lender Acra Lending is projecting mortgage originations will increase in 2023 to about $2.6 billion, up from $2.1 billion last year, says CEO Keith Lind, “and we’ve been profitable every month this year, and every quarter.” Lind says Acra’s success in a punishing operating environment that has caused a number of non-QM mortgage lenders to exit […]
Two former employees have filed a class-action lawsuit against Rocket Mortgage for allegedly failing to pay overtime wages. That’s at least the second case that targets the Detroit-based lender for unpaid wages. Brittany Roseboro and John Glover claim that Rocket’s leadership required them to attend unpaid pre-shift meetings and, due to technological delays and other problems, they usually […]
The regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac improperly amended stock purchase agreements in 2012 when it allowed the U.S. Treasury to sweep up the companies’ net profits, a jury in Washington, D.C. found Monday. The jury awarded shareholders of the government sponsored enterprises a total of $612.4 million in damages. Fannie Mae will pay […]
Swiss bank UBS AG announced Monday it has agreed to pay $1.43 billion in penalties to settle a civil action alleging misconduct related to the underwriting, issuance and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) before the 2008 financial crisis. The settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which refers to a civil action filed in November 2018, does […]
Rate lock activity fell for the second month in July as mortgage rates topped 7% for the first time since November 2022. Overall rate lock volume was down 7% month over month, with purchase lending accounting for 88% of total lock activity, according to Black Knight‘s originations market monitor report. Even so, purchase lock counts […]
The mortgage industry continues to be battered by negative headlines amid the slow in demand, the challenges of housing supply, and rising interest rates. It’s no secret that refinance (refi) volumes dropped off a cliff, and the number of homebuyers in the market has shrunk since 2022. That leaves you with a small pool of […]
Last week ended with a wild ride for mortgage rates. We anticipated the two inflation reports could help mortgage rates, however, we had a bad bond auction last Thursday, and the 10-year yield rose sharply. Weekly active inventory grew slowly again and purchase apps were down week to week again. Weekly active listings rose by […]
New York-based digital lender Better.com will be going public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Aurora Acquisition Corp. nearly two years after Better’s initial timeline to IPO. “At least 65% of the outstanding ordinary shares of the company entitled to vote at this meeting have voted in favor of (the) proposal,” Arnaud […]
AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement Tuesday to merge with Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corp., beating its competitor Terra Property Trust, Inc. AG Mortgage, a pure-play residential mortgage REIT controlled by Angelo, Gordon & Co. and owner of mortgage lender ARC Home, made a stock-and-cash offer for its peer Western Asset, […]
In accordance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Freddie Mac has released its 2023 Stress Test Disclosure, which reflects two hypothetical economic scenarios, including a “severely adverse” scenario. Under the latter, Freddie Mac would face a credit loss of $13.7 billion — or 0.4% of its total portfolio — under the […]
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate continued its upward trajectory for the third consecutive week, rising to 6.96%, according to Freddie Mac. Since the last FOMC meeting in July, all eyes have been fixed on Thursday’s Consumer Price Index release. Another rate hike in September would move the target federal funds rate to its highest level […]
Wells Fargo rolled out a down payment grant program that will offer $10,000 to eligible buyers or homeowners who currently live in or are purchasing homes in underserved communities in eight metropolitan areas. The Homebuyer Access grant program is available to those who have a combined 120% or less of the area median income (AMI). […]
However, once you strip out rent — which is what the Fed has told us they want to focus on because of the lag in rent data — the growth rate of inflation is falling more noticeably. The Fed is focused on core service inflation less shelter. If you take CPI data in total and […]
Mortgage tech firm Blend Labs narrowed its financial losses in the second quarter on the strength of its platform business as well as cost-cutting measures. Blend, whose white-label software processes billions in mortgage transactions for lenders, reaffirmed its goal of reaching profitability by 2024. The San Francisco, California-based company reported a non-GAAP net loss of […]
Over the last year, the nation’s largest banks, spooked by surging rates and increased regulatory risks, have shied away from the jumbo mortgage market. A select group of regional bank challengers have suffered a worse fate: dead, sometimes directly because of their own calamitous jumbo strategies. And to compound matters, Wells Fargo, the biggest lender […]
UWM Holdings Corporation, the parent of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), was another mortgage lender that returned to profitability in the second quarter of 2023, just like its primary competitor Rocket Companies and the origination segments of Mr. Cooper and Pennymac. UWM’s performance was boosted by an increase in the fair value of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) and higher origination volumes, despite lower […]