Costco might have everything you need for a housewarming party, but as of this week it can’t help you buy the house. Homebuyers will have to look elsewhere to secure a mortgage, as the members-only big box store announced it’s no longer in the business of financing homes. The retailer recently decided to discontinue its […]
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. must convince regulators that the $13.1 billion mega-deal announced on Wednesday to acquire Black Knight will not harm competition in the mortgage tech solutions market. The software and data company also needs approval from Black Knight’s shareholders to move forward with the transaction, which valued the business at $85 per share, a […]
The cost of a home mortgage may be going up, but perhaps some good news: Fewer people who already own a home are missing payments. Mortgage delinquency rates dropped for the seventh straight quarter, hitting the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Delinquency rates for mortgage loans […]
Freddie Mac is bringing another credit-risk transfer offering to market, its fourth of the year, through the agency’s Structured Agency Credit Risk (STACR) program. The credit risk transfer (CRT) offering, STACR 2022-DNA4, involves a $1.5 billion note backed by a reference loan pool of 118,055 residential mortgages with an outstanding principal balance of $35.4 billion, […]
Black Knight, the Florida-based mortgage tech and analytics behemoth, increased its profits six fold in the first quarter of 2022, compared to the same period of 2021, propelled by the investment in the credit reporting services company Dun & Bradstreet Holdings. The company’s latest earnings became public on Thursday, less than 24 hours after Intercontinental […]
Mortgage rates surged to 5.27% over the last week, the highest average since 2009, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS. This week’s average purchase mortgage rate rose 17 basis points from the prior week’s 5.10%. A year ago at this time, 30-year fixed-rate purchase rates were at 2.96%. The government sponsored enterprise’s index accounts […]
Mortgage rates are increasing and demand is beginning to level out. The residential real estate market is shifting, creating uncharted territory for lenders who’ve relied on a housing boom and refinancing to keep them in business. As existing home owners potentially put the brakes on buying new homes or on refinancing their existing ones, lenders […]
In a move with ramifications for an untold number of mortgage lenders and service firms, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., a software and data company whose mini-empire includes ICE Mortgage Technology, has bought Black Knight. The $13.1 billion mega-deal was announced in a press release Wednesday afternoon. The move between what are generally regarded as the two […]
The Federal Reserve Wednesday approved a 50 basis point increase to its policy interest rate in an effort to reduce inflation, in conjunction with a plan to shrink its $9 trillion asset portfolio beginning next month, according to Chairman Jerome Powell. During a news conference following the Fed’s committee meeting, Powell announced the increase and […]
Black Knight’s Optimal Blue is looking to court mortgage brokers with its new pricing feature that provides up-to-date rates on its cloud-based loan servicing platform. Dubbed Quick Quote, the feature was added to Loansifter – its product, pricing and eligibility engine – and enables brokers to make accurate quote offers for products available to consumers […]
Don Layton, the former CEO of Freddie Mac recently penned what can only be described as an attack piece on mortgage originators from his seat as a fellow at the JCHS, Harvard’s Joint Center For Housing Studies. But what Mr. Layton has done is simple: perpetuate his ongoing disdain for the participants in the manufacturing […]
Individuals across the country chasing the American dream of homeownership helped to push mortgage-application volume up by 2.5% for the week ending April 29, compared with the prior week. The uptick, as measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s (MBA’s) Market Composite Index, was propelled primarily by purchase-application activity, as rates remain elevated, hovering in the […]
Nonbank heavyweight loanDepot will unveil a home equity line of credit (HELOC) product in the third quarter of 2022, the first offering of its recently launched mello business unit. Fast-rising mortgage rates, recently cresting above 5%, have reduced refinance volumes by 70% year over year as of the end of April. The lender seeks to expand its […]
A Palo Alto, California-based fintech startup Point, which bills itself as allowing homeowners to tap into future home appreciation, closed on a $115 million Series C funding round, the company announced Tuesday. Point now says it has raised $170 million in equity capital. WestCap Group, a New York City-based investor, led the funding with existing […]
Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise that backs the majority of conventional mortgages, is not immune to the sharp decline in mortgage refinances. The enterprise reported $7.5 billion in first quarter revenue, a $700 million jump from 2021. But net income income was down 12% from nearly $5 billion first quarter 2021, to $4.4 billion this […]
Between February 2020 and January 2022, we witnessed something in the mortgage industry that we thought we’d never see — 30-year fixed-rate mortgages under 3.5%. These rates drew a record number of people refinancing their homes, with cash out refinances reaching $1.2 trillion in 2021. Then, in what felt like an instant, in Q1 2022 […]
U.S. home prices in March climbed a record 20.9% year over year, but the explosive pace of appreciation is expected to cool down to the single digits by the same time next year. The jump in March marks the 122nd consecutive month that the annual housing-price measure has increased, according to CoreLogic‘s recent national Home Price […]
Fannie Mae has priced its fifth Connecticut Avenue Series (CAS) credit-risk transfer deal of 2022, a $952 million note offering backed by a reference pool of single-family mortgages valued at $38.5 billion. The offering is slated to close May 11, according to a presale review by the Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA). A credit-risk transfer deal involves transferring […]
Surging interest rates and home price appreciation made March one of the most challenging months for prospective homebuyers looking to make purchases, according to a recent report. Annual home price gains saw 19.9% annual appreciation in March, down from an upwardly revised 20.1% in February, which was the first month to see price growth greater […]
Add Mr. Cooper Group to the list of mortgage originators and servicers reducing staff: pink slips arrived for 250 employees in the first quarter, as the company faced declines in the earnings from loan originations. And the company is forecasting a few tough origination quarters ahead. “While the mortgage industry experienced record high origination volumes […]
Total Expert team members took a trip to Louisiana earlier this year to help the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity organization. In partnership with the nonprofit, the team was able to rebuild a home that was destroyed by Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane that made landfall in Louisiana at the end of […]
Connecticut-based mortgage servicer and lender Planet Home Lending has entered into an agreement to acquire assets from Homepoint‘s delegated correspondent channel for $2.5 million in cash, the companies announced on Friday. The move signals Homepoint’s exit from the correspondent channel to focus on wholesale. Homepoint was the 11th biggest residential mortgage lender in the country last year, […]
While other “big four” title insurers discussed the “transitional period” in the housing market during their first quarter 2022 earnings calls with investors, Old Republic International Corp.’s president and CEO, Craig Smiddy decided to take a bolder stance. “I think the way we are looking at refinancing activity right now, is that it is dried […]
Planet Earth has has gone from a ball of molten rock to ice, and then, to the climate we have today. Just like Earth, mortgage rates and housing markets are cyclic and we’re heading into another Ice Age. Find me a sales meeting in the U.S. that didn’t talk about the cycle. There is a […]
Nonbank mortgage lender and servicer Mr. Cooper Group reported net income of $658 million in the first quarter of 2022, increasing its profits by a factor of four compared to the $155 million recorded in the previous quarter. The performance reflects gains with mortgage servicing rights (MSR) and a deal with the fintech Sagent, which offset lower profitability […]
For the fifth consecutive month, pending home sales declined in March from February, down 1.2%, signaling a potential return to “much calmer” conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors. Only the northeast region saw an increase in pending sales in March from February, according to an NAR news release based off data from its […]
Homebuyers can secure a home mortgage using cryptocurrency as collateral through a new partnership between blockchain real estate platform Propy and crypto wallet service Abra. The Abra Borrow platform allows customers to use crypto as collateral to borrow U.S. dollars with flexible repayment terms and interest rates as low as 0%, Propy, a real estate […]
#2022 ” data-image-caption=”” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”700″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?w=1024″ alt=”2022 Layoff” class=”wp-image-335200″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?resize=150,88 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?resize=300,175 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?resize=768,448 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?resize=1024,597 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/newsroom-template_layoffs.png?resize=600,350 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”> Ohio-based Union Home Mortgage is the latest in a string of lenders this week to institute workforce reductions. “The residential housing market has turned quickly due to historically […]
Freddie Mac reported net income of $3.8 billion for the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 37% year-over-year, even as purchase and refinance activity continued to decline. The company’s net worth climbed to $31.7 billion, up nearly $13 billion from the same time last year. Its single-family mortgage portfolio now stands at $1.9 trillion, […]
A combination of home price appreciation, inflation, and low housing inventory continued to dent homebuyers’ ability to buy homes in March. The trend of a decrease in homebuyer affordability is forecast to persist in the coming months, hitting first-time buyers the most. The national median monthly mortgage payment settled in loan applications rose 5% to […]
As the first quarter unfolded, macroeconomic risks created strong headwinds for mortgage companies. The greatest concern is quickly rising mortgage rates, resulting in overall margin compression and essentially a nonexistent market for refinances. Fannie Mae forecasted in early March that mortgage rates would approximate between 3.7% and 3.9% this year, but by April 7, the […]
The pace of purchase-loan originations as well as transactions in the private-label securities market started to slow by the second quarter of this year as interest rates continued to spike, according to mortgage industry experts. One bright spot in the market, however, has been the investment-property sector, where deal flow appears to be holding up, and […]
Amid a challenging time for would-be homebuyers, FinLocker released an updated web experience that aims to make it easier for consumers to see their progress in qualifying for a mortgage loan. The main feature of the firm’s web v3.0 includes the redesign of the dashboard to make frequently used financial tools easier to access for […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency today released Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s long-awaited duty to serve underserved markets plans. In the plans, both government-sponsored enterprises explain how they will provide financing for manufactured and rural housing, and support affordable housing preservation. Although the lesser of the two government-sponsored enterprises by size, Freddie Mac was alone […]
Better.com CEO Vishal Garg ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”726″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?w=1024″ alt=”HW+ vishal garg” class=”wp-image-330967″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=150,91 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=300,182 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=768,465 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=1024,620 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-vishal-garg.png?resize=600,363 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>Better.com CEO Vishal Garg Struggling to cope with the rising mortgage rate landscape, mortgage lender Better.com reported a loss of $303.8 million in 2021, a stark […]
Michigan-based Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., parent company of Flagstar Bank, has reduced its mortgage staff by 20% since the calendar turned to 2022, laying off 420 employees amid a significant drop in origination volumes and margins. Overall, the bank’s net income in the first quarter of 2022 dropped 60.4% from the prior quarter, to $53 million. […]
First Community Mortgage‘s wholesale division named a new regional sales manager in hopes to continue growth for the firm’s mortgage boutique division. Murfreesboro, Tennessee-based firm tapped Jeff Raich for the position, FCM said Wednesday in a release. Raich has been in the mortgage lending business for more than 25 years and focused on Third-Party Originator […]
Interest in residential mortgage loans fell 8.3% for the week ending April 22, including a sharp decline in purchase applications, which indicates a potential weakness in home sales in the coming months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s (MBA) latest survey. Mortgage rates are now firmly above the 5% mark, at the highest level since 2009, […]
Nonbank heavyweight loanDepot announced on Tuesday changes in its top management, with founder and chairman Anthony Hsieh no longer leading daily operations to instead take a more strategic role in the company. Hsieh, who is also the loanDepot’s main shareholder, will be the executive chairman, responsible for guiding the company’s strategy. The executive founded the mortgage lender in […]
Rocket Companies CEO Jay Farner ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jay-Farner-Quicken-Loans-HW.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jay-Farner-Quicken-Loans-HW.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”713″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jay-Farner-Quicken-Loans-HW.png?w=1024″ alt=”Jay-Farner-Quicken-Loans-HW” class=”wp-image-281600″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jay-Farner-Quicken-Loans-HW.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jay-Farner-Quicken-Loans-HW.png?resize=150,89 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jay-Farner-Quicken-Loans-HW.png?resize=300,178 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jay-Farner-Quicken-Loans-HW.png?resize=768,456 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jay-Farner-Quicken-Loans-HW.png?resize=1024,608 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jay-Farner-Quicken-Loans-HW.png?resize=600,357 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>Rocket Companies CEO Jay Farner Even the biggest mortgage players aren’t immune to the effects of higher rates and tight housing inventory. Rocket Companies, the parent of […]
A rising player in the world of crypto-mortgages and blockchain-enabled financing, LoanSnap, plans expand its reach in the market by opening its lending platform to licensed mortgage brokers across the country in the near future. Karl Jacob, CEO and co-founder of LoanSnap, said the cyrpto-mortgage system his company has developed can originate more than just loans […]
During the market disruption in March 2020, the value of mortgage servicing rights became temporarily disconnected from mortgage rates. Large mortgage sellers and servicers faced severe margin calls, and it took several weeks for them to get the go-ahead from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to draw on their liquidity buffers. It’s a scenario that […]
Ohio-based CrossCountry Mortgage has entered into an agreement to acquire California-based retail lender LendUs, multiple sources familiar with the deal told HousingWire. Founded in 2003 by mortgage broker Ron Leonhardt, CrossCountry originated $52 billion in mortgages in 2021, up 22% year-over-year, checking in as the 17th biggest lender in the country, according to Inside Mortgage […]
Jim Linnane, the former head of retail at Stearns Lending, has joined Flagstar Bank as the president of the company’s distributed retail mortgage division. Linnane, who worked at Wells Fargo for 15 years and also ran national sales at Guaranteed Rate, will head Flagstar’s efforts in strategy, sales, growth, recruitment and operations for the division. […]
In Spokane, Washington, a mortgage loan officer at a regional bank has seen five borrowers qualify for a mortgage for one amount, only to have that number slashed a few months later. “They were approved in December,” he said. “Now they’ve gone from $450,000 down to $325,000.” The reason behind the change, he said, is […]