The federal government’s signature program to help homeowners from falling behind on their mortgage, having utilities shut off, or being forced out of their homes, is finally being rolled out across America through pilot programs. But servicers say that dealing with the $10 billion fund, dubbed the “Homeownership Assistance Fund,” has been chaotic and cumbersome. […]
Black Knight this week launched a tool that enables lenders to compare loan estimates and closing disclosures from closed loans to minimize expenses in a higher rate environment. Dubbed the Black Knight “fee cures suite,” the program combines loan information from the lender’s loan origination system with the firm’s Ernst fee data, as well as […]
Mortgage consulting firm LendArch has hired Karthik Kumar, the former global mortgage practice head at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). He will serve as LendArch’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. Kumar was a manager at Standard Chartered Bank from 2002 to 2004. He then spent 18 years at TCS, where he focused on solution […]
Just how bad was the mortgage market in June, when rates climbed north of 6%? Rate locks fell across all loan types last month, and were down 11% overall from May, according to Black Knight. The company’s monthly mortgage originations report also revealed that 82% of locks in June were purchases, the lowest share of […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is making it easier for homebuyers financially affected by COVID-19 to qualify for a loan. The administration told lenders Thursday it will grant underwriting flexibility in cases in which a borrower experienced a gap in employment or a reduction of income as a result of the pandemic — but has since […]
Just two days after it abruptly shut down its operations, non-QM lender Sprout Mortgage became the target of a class-action-seeking lawsuit. Two former employees are suing the Long Island-based Sprout, its affiliated company Recovco Mortgage Management LLC and chief executive officer Michael Strauss, alleging they laid off around 100 employees at the New York office […]
Institutional players in the single-family rental (SFR) market have been expanding their reach into select American neighborhoods since the global financial crisis of 2008, but they now find themselves in an uncomfortable limelight. They are under scrutiny in Congress and accused of gentrifying minority neighborhoods and allegedly displacing large numbers of people of color — […]
Recently, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that mortgage lenders will be required to include in loan packets the Supplemental Consumer Information Form (SCIF), which registers a borrower’s language preference, in order for those loans to be eligible for sale to Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. While the requirement may seem fairly innocuous, it’s […]
Can Fannie Mae’s housing equity plan make a meaningful dent in the 30 percentage point racial homeownership gap without a broad review of loan pricing? Top brass at Fannie Mae, in a Thursday webinar discussing its new equitable housing finance plans, argued it can. “The list of potential obstacles across the Black housing journey — […]
Roughly eight in 10 consumers participating in a recent survey are frustrated with the housing market, inflation and the increasingly worsening economy — reflecting record-setting dissatisfaction from respondents of Fannie Mae‘s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI). The index, which tracks consumer confidence in the housing market, fell 3.4 points from May to June, dropping to 64.8 […]
Enact Holdings Inc., the holding company for Enact Mortgage Insurance Co., has inked a deal with five lenders that have agreed to extend a $200 million revolving line of credit to the company. The credit facility will be used for working capital and other corporate purposes as well as for capital contributions to its insurance subsidiaries. […]
In May, we announced our intention to acquire Black Knight. Since the announcement, we have heard from a number of lenders and partners about their excitement over our ability to accelerate the digital journey of our industry, our ability to invest in the modernization of the MSP servicing platform, and the open technology approach we […]
We are in a unique moment in the history of housing. With a rapid spike in interest rates, inventory at historic lows, home prices rising at unprecedented levels above income, and a purchase market that is both highly anxious and digitally reliant, mortgage and real estate professionals must be strategic to capture the market opportunity […]
Non-QM lender Sprout Mortgage is shutting down operations, multiple workers said on Wednesday. The company informed workers of the shut down in a conference call on Wednesday, a former staffer said. Sprout had already instituted several rounds of job cuts in the months leading up to the shutdown, the ex-employee said. The closure of Long […]
Subsidiaries of Pennymac Financial Services Inc. (PFSI), which ranks as one of the top five mortgage lenders nationally, are seeking to raise more than $700 million in the debt markets through the sale of notes secured by mortgage servicing rights. The transactions include a note offering of $305 million sponsored by PFSI subsidiary PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust that is […]
The federal banking regulators responsible for overseeing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) obligations of lenders they regulate have released the 2022 list of distressed or underserved rural census tracts where community-development loans, investments and services are eligible for special CRA consideration. Community-development efforts eligible for the special consideration include affordable-housing lending in these lower-income rural […]
Lender and servicer New Residential Investment Corp. laid off originations staffers last week, sources told HousingWire. The lender has made several rounds of cuts since February. Employees in processing, underwriting, and closing jobs were the main targets in the last week’s layoff round, according to multiple interviews with former employees. The latest layoff affected employees […]
As recession talk becomes more prevalent, some people are concerned that mortgage credit lending will get much tighter. This typically happens in a recession, however, the notion that credit lending in America will collapse as it did from 2005 to 2008 couldn’t be more incorrect, as we haven’t had a credit boom in the period […]
Fewer applications show borrowers’ demand for mortgage loans fell this week, despite a decline in rates due to concerns of an economic recession, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The survey, which includes adjustments to account for the long Fourth of July weekend, shows mortgage applications down 5.4% for the week ending July 1, compared to […]
Real estate valuation technology company Clear Capital rolled out two application programming interfaces (APIs) that aim to make adopting and deploying modern valuation solutions easier, ultimately closing loans faster. Property valuation API and risk assessment API, released late last month, connect directly into existing systems through a single integration for lenders, investors and system providers, […]
Less than a month after Wyndham Capital Mortgage said it planned to pink slip more than 40 employees, the consumer direct lender conducted another round of layoffs. Wyndham notified “a number of employees” about the layoffs Thursday, including those working in the Charlotte, North Carolina headquarters, and employees who work remotely, according to a layoff […]
Seattle-based real estate investment platform Arrived Homes is flush with cash after recently raising $25 million in a venture-capital funding round, and is working to expand its reach in the still-hot single-family rental market. Arrived Homes is currently on a pace of acquiring about 30 single-family rental properties per month, with an existing portfolio across 19 cities of […]
Home price appreciation, which skyrocketed during the pandemic, is showing signs of slowing, according to a monthly report published by CoreLogic Tuesday. In May, home prices increased by 20.2% year-over-year, the report said. But come next May, the data vendor predicts home price appreciation will dip to 5%. The recent hikes in mortgage interest […]
Specialty finance company Redwood Trust Inc. has completed its acquisition of bridge lender Riverbend Funding LLC, which has a funded portfolio of more than $1.5 billion single-family and multifamily loans nationwide. The acquisition of Portland, Oregon-based Riverbend and its subsidiaries, announced originally in late April, is expected to fit in well with Redwood’s existing business-purpose lending platform, […]
Three former employees are suing First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation (FGMC) and financial backer Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), alleging they were discriminated against on the basis of their gender and then retaliated against for complaining. Lynley VanSingel, Melanie Meyer, and Jessie Palmer filed the lawsuit against FGMC and PIMCO in the Eastern District of Texas U.S. […]
The mortgage-servicing rights (MSR) market continued to defy gravity and remained upward bound as June came to a close. On the last day of the month, the New York-based Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. (or MIAC Analytics) released bid documents for an MSR offering it is brokering that exceeds $5 billion in value. “MIAC Analytics, as exclusive representative […]
Banks reported an increase in foreclosures during the first quarter of 2022, according to a quarterly survey published by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency this week. The survey, which examined servicing metrics provided by seven undisclosed national banks, found that 19,542 new foreclosures were initiated in the first quarter of 2022. The OCC […]
First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. (FGMC) and its holding company, Maverick II Holdings LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday, June 30, leaving one of the country’s major warehouse lenders as its largest unsecured creditor, according to court filings. Pennsylvania-based Customers Bank, which has warehouse lending operations located in Hamilton, New Jersey, is listed as the largest unsecured creditor […]
Purchase mortgage rates this week dropped 11 basis points to 5.70%, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Index, ending a two-week climb following the Federal Reserve’s rate hike earlier this month. A year ago at this time, 30-year fixed rate purchase rates were at 2.98%. The PMMS, a government-sponsored enterprise index, accounts solely for […]
Redwood Trust’s CoreVest division has closed a $313 million private-label offering backed by 82 loans that are in turn collateralized by some 1,800 properties located in 24 states and the District of Columbia. The transaction, CAFL 2022-1, represents CoreVest’s second securitization deal this year and its 21st to date. The collateral includes single-family rental (SFR) […]
Angel Oak Home Loans named Steven Valladares as vice president of correspondent sales, a move that comes as the firm increasingly works to grow its correspondent channel. Valladares will be responsible for creating a sales infrastructure to support the internal and external sales teams as Angel Oaks expands its focus to include both the agency […]
The real estate market is cooling down, observers say. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”675″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?w=1024″ alt=”rent falling” class=”wp-image-263090″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?resize=150,84 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?resize=300,169 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?resize=768,432 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/rent-falling.jpeg?resize=600,338 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>The real estate market is cooling down Reports released this week by several respected market observers point to less good and increased […]
Freddie Mac announced Wednesday that on-time rental payments will be included in its underwriting system. The government-sponsored enterprise said that it hopes to incentivize “responsible” renters to make a leap into homeownership. According to Freddie, this option will be available starting July 10 and will allow mortgage lenders to submit a borrower’s bank account data […]
Boston fintech firm Knox Financial plans to expand its lending business and loan products with $50 million in funding it received from a real estate advisory firm. New York-headquartered Saluda Grade provided the capital, which Knox will use to expand its lending business into Georgia, Knox representatives said Wednesday. The fintech also will offer additional […]
A drop in mortgage rates led refinancing applications to increase slightly last week, back to a 30% share of the total, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey for the week ending June 24. Overall, mortgage apps increased 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, though they came in 49.4% lower than the […]
Tech-fueled mortgage lender UpEquity just wants answers. Roughly a year ago, the Austin-based fintech began to sell its loans to First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation (FGMC), a lender and investor that specializes in non-qualified mortgage loans and is controlled by behemoth investment management firm Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO). UpEquity sent between 30 and 40 […]
The Prestwick Mortgage Group, an Alexandria, Virginia-based advisory and brokerage firm, has unveiled an offering for a $1.6 billion package of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage-servicing rights (MSRs). The bulk of the 7,189 loans in the MSR offering put out to bid this week were originated in Florida and the Midwest, according to the offering documents — which […]
Kiavi, formerly LendingHome, recently closed a $218 million private-label securitization of unrated short-term mortgages — described as “residential transition loans” (RTLs) by the lender, which serves the fix-and-flip market. The deal represents Kiavi’s ninth such securitization under its LHOME shelf since launching its revolving securitization program in 2019, according to the company. The offering includes a […]
Mortgage technology provider Roostify is hoping to bring in more self-employed borrowers by adding mortgage automation provider Indecomm‘s automated income calculation technology, it announced Tuesday. Indecomm’s IncomeGenius integration into Roostify’s data intelligence solutions will expand Roostify’s existing income calculation capabilities for self-employed borrowers, according to a company statement. The partnership is aimed at reducing the […]
Mortgage fintechs Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach have merged, roughly six months after a Philadelphia-based private equity firm bought a controlling stake in each company. The two companies have been working toward the merger since LLR Partners’ made an investment in each in January. Richard Harris, former chief executive officer at email sending and delivering […]
Housing Market Crash image ” data-image-caption=”” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”713″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?w=1024″ alt=”Housing Market Crash image” class=”wp-image-283329″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?resize=150,89 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?resize=300,178 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?resize=768,456 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?resize=1024,608 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/house-row-HW.png?resize=600,357 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”> The last two years have been good to Christian Dicker. Like many loan officers, Dicker was working nights and weekends, banging out refinancings […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association and the Housing Policy Council sent a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs urging the department to delay the expiration of its COVID-19 assistance partial claim program. If it doesn’t heed the letter, the VAs partial claim program will sunset in late October. In the joint letter, the MBA and […]
The national mortgage delinquency dropped to an all-time low in May, continuing two consecutive months of a decline since March. The overall delinquency rate slightly dropped five basis points from April to 2.75% in May, according to Black Knight. The delinquency rate is 42% lower than the same period a year ago. A total of […]
Less than a month after announcing its sixth Connecticut Avenue Series (CAS) credit-risk transfer deal of 2022, Fannie Mae is unveiling its seventh CAS transaction of the year — an $866 million note offering backed by a reference pool of single-family mortgages valued at $30.6 billion. Earlier this month, Fannie Mae launched its a sixth CAS credit-risk transfer (CRT) deal […]
Texas lender Mid America Mortgage rebranded as Click n’ Close to expand into the mortgage technology industry following the sale of the majority of its retail lending operations. Click n’ Close will retain retail operations related to its reverse mortgage and lending business for Native Americans, the company said Monday. The lender will also focus […]