The Housing Policy Council (HPC) announced on Wednesday that it has appointed Michael Drayne as its new senior vice president of capital markets, effective July 1. Drayne has three decades of capital markets experience. He served from 2011 to 2023 in various roles at government-owned company Ginnie Mae, where he helped to manage different elements […]
Craig Stammler In a statement, Stammler said that NAF’s “excellent culture and leadership,“ supported by top executives Craig Stammler has joined New American Funding (NAF) as a regional vice president, the California-based mortgage lender announced Tuesday. Stammler, who previously worked for loanDepot, Wells Fargo and Countrywide, will be responsible for overseeing the company’s southern Idaho […]
Customer engagement platform Total Expert is launching a marketplace this week for financial institutions to build their marketing technology stack. Partners will plug into the Total Expert platform to offer solutions such as chats and texts supported by artificial intelligence (AI), targeted mail campaigns, and management of their online reputation. Customers, including banks, lenders and […]
Joseph Peterson “We are excited to have Joe join our leadership team,“ Xactus President Xactus, a Pennsylvania-based mortgage technology firm that specializes in borrower verifications, announced Tuesday that it has hired Joseph Peterson as chief financial officer. Peterson will be responsible for the company’s overall financial operations. He will manage the strategic direction of the […]
The number of homebuyers who enjoy the process of getting a mortgage might be able to be counted on one hand. And while taking out a six- or seven-figure loan is probably never going to be fun, Rocket Mortgage has a plan to at least make it easier. The country’s largest mortgage lender announced a […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) this week announced the approval of a new rule that aims to govern “current and future applications of complex algorithms and artificial intelligence used to estimate the value of a home.” The rule specifically targets automated valuation models (AVMs), according to an announcement from CFPB Director Rohit Chopra and […]
Anaheim, California-based nonbank Change Lending on Tuesday announced the hiring of Madison Simm as its new chief financial officer. Simm has more than 25 years of experience in financial services and has held multiple executive roles at banks and mortgage companies. He comes to Change Lending after a stint as president of real estate at […]
Mortgage rates have leveled off in the past week, according to data on HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center. The average 30-year rate for conforming loans sat at 7.08% on Tuesday, unchanged from one week ago, while the 15-year rate rose 1 basis point to 6.63% during the week. There has been considerable downward movement in rates […]
The year was 2019. I was working hard to make my mark as the Midwest Regional Director for Franchise Sales for Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC, the national franchisor. It wasn’t a job I was overly excited about, but I knew the training and field work would help round out my resume. It was the […]
In an era where businesses are increasingly expected to contribute to the well-being of their communities, finding the sweet spot between local engagement and national growth can feel like an impossible challenge. However, tailoring your business model to resonate with the communities you serve builds trust and unlocks benefits such as heightened brand visibility and […]
Top 10 reverse mortgage industry lender South River Mortgage is aiming to focus on its strengths. In addition to offering a proprietary reverse mortgage product option and transitioning last year from a broker to a direct lender, the company is focusing on its core business while staying engaged with the broader industry dynamics. South River […]
An executive refinance banker formerly employed by Rocket Mortgage is suing the company for treating her unfairly in the workplace. She alleges that the company refused a transfer request, cut her salary and demoted her when similarly situated white male employees were not given similar treatment, according to court documents reviewed by HousingWire. Zara Northover, […]
Nominations for the 2024 HousingWire Insiders award are open throughout the month of June. This prestigious award recognizes the operational leaders who are driving the growth and success of their organizations behind the scenes. Over the years, Insiders have shared how this recognition has positively impacted their careers and professional growth. Here’s what some of […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Monday announced $469 million in new funding that will go toward fixing up older homes, renovating existing stock with new safety features and preserving affordable housing. The funds will be allocated to state and local governments under HUD’s lead-hazard control grant programs, which are targeted […]
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) issued a statement on Monday that opposes the conditional approval of Freddie Mac’s plan to buy closed-end second mortgages. The plan was approved on Friday by Freddie Mac’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which said that it reached the decision to begin the pilot program following […]
The Biden administration, through the U.S. Department of the Treasury, announced the launch of multiple initiatives on Monday to increase funding sources for housing production. The announcement comes as high mortgage rates and a lack of supply have created affordability challenges. In a speech in Minneapolis, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will announce the new funding […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) is fighting back against a group of borrowers who filed a class-action lawsuit in April that accuses the lender of structuring a “corrupt” scheme with brokers to steer loans. On Friday, the top U.S. mortgage lender filed a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice in a district court in Michigan, […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Friday announced that it has given conditional approval for Freddie Mac to begin purchasing closed-end second mortgages through a pilot program. The pilot program includes several limitations to the types of loans the government sponsored enterprise will be allowed to purchase. The program is only for primary residences […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Friday announced a new round of disaster relief in the state of Hawaii that is targeted for the island of Kauai following severe storms, flooding and landslides that took place there in April. On June 17, President Joe Biden issued an executive order approving a […]
In survey after survey in which Americans are asked about their preferred living situations in retirement, recent data is clear — they want to age in place in their current homes and remain in the familiar environs of their house and community. But a closer look at aging in place by NextAvenue asserts that there […]
Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group said on Friday that it expects a slower recovery of the U.S. housing market than previously forecast. That’s because volatility in inflation readings and resilience in nonfarm payroll growth may provide the Federal Reserve confidence to cut benchmark rates only once in 2024. “Unfortunately, we’re still not […]
On Thursday, two U.S. regulators — the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) — announced their approval of a final rule imposing quality control standards for automated valuation models (AVMs) used by mortgage originators and secondary market issuers. AVMs, which value residential real estate used as […]
Finance of America (FOA), the leading U.S. reverse mortgage lender, has received shareholder approval upon recommendation of its board to perform a reverse stock split at a 10-to-1 ratio in a move designed to boost the company’s stock price. This is according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviewed by […]
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking to provide more support to military veterans who want to age in place in their current homes. This includes exploration of the smart-home technology sector, according to reporting at the Federal News Network. Smart home tech, including wearable devices like smart watches, could help flag instances […]
The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) is calling on both houses of Congress to adopt a mortgage interest credit as the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is currently set to expire in 2025. This is according to a letter the organization submitted to leaders in both the U.S. House of Representatives and […]
Oklahoma-based Adfitech, a mortgage industry partner for quality control and risk management services, has changed its name to Mortgage Connect Risk Solutions. The move reflects the company’s 2022 acquisition by Pennsylvania-headquartered Mortgage Connect LP. Mortgage Connect, a nationwide services provider for lenders, institutional investors and servicers, acquired Adfitech two years ago to expand its efforts […]
Michael Saleh, a former senior vice president of Rocket Mortgage who spent about two decades at the company, has transitioned from the retail lending channel to wholesale by launching independent brokerage firm Zoom Home Lending. Saleh opened the Livonia, Michigan-based firm alongside Henri Houmani and Issa Al-Sheleh, who previously worked for Rocket and migrated to […]
Real estate technology firm Knock announced Thursday that its bridge loan product is being integrated into the borrower application process at Baltimore-based NFM Lending. The bridge loan estimate is being integrated into the lender’s workflow through an Encompass plugin. NFM loan officers will be automatically notified when a homeowner can tap into the equity of […]
California-based loanDepot has concluded the transaction to extend $497.7 million in senior notes due in the fourth quarter of 2025, resulting in new debt with a higher interest rate and a shorter maturity period than usually seen in the market for similar companies. A loanDepot subsidiary, LD Holdings Group LLC, will exchange its outstanding senior […]
Members of Generation X are more concerned about their post-retirement ability to support the lifestyles they’ve grown accustomed to when compared with other generations — including baby boomers and millennials — according to the results of a recent survey conducted by Allianz Life. In the company’s 2024 Annual Retirement Study, respondents indicated that 62% of […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Tuesday announced its submission of a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which urges the department to avoid reprimanding mortgage servicers for compliance lapses with the new National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) system until it is “fully accessible and […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) this week announced a proposed Mortgagee Letter (ML) that would add fraud and misrepresentation to its defect taxonomy list for Title II FHA-sponsored mortgage financing. The defect taxonomy includes a list of attributes that FHA can use to identify potential defects at the loan level based on policy requirements from […]
CoreLogic noted that depreciation in the attached-rental segment is mainly being driven by a subset of markets in Florida, along with other Sun Belt hubs such as Austin, New Orleans and Phoenix. “As multifamily apartments are being completed, some markets are gaining increased rental supply, which competes with the attached segment of the single-family rental […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday announced a series of enforcement actions against two companies for what the bureau called “illegal activities that harmed older homeowners and caused them to fear losing their homes.” The actions were taken against Pittsford, New York-based Sutherland Global and Landover, Maryland-based NOVAD Management Consulting, which together formed […]
Mortgage rates continued to inch toward the 7% mark following last week’s meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers and new inflation data that showed further cooling of consumer prices. On Tuesday, HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center showed that the average 30-year rate for conforming loans was 7.08%. That was down 11 basis points from the same time […]
The Carrington Companies has promoted Brett Wilbur to the position of chief information officer. He will succeed Brent Rasmussen, who will retire in early July. It’s the second leadership change for the company this year. Wilbur will report directly to Andrew Taffet, the company’s chief investment officer, who was also tapped as CEO in March. […]
Having built and led mortgage operations for nearly three decades, planning for the future stands out amongst the most challenging components a leader faces. Accurately predicting housing trends, mortgage rates, technology, elections, the impact of the broader economy , or how consumers will behave tests the best of us at some point in our career. The approach I […]
After first entering the housing business to sell real estate, Jim Cullen transitioned into the mortgage industry in 1997. It would be a few more years before he made the jump into the reverse lending space, but once he did, he found a business that he connected with until his retirement this year. After most […]
Dozens of former employees at Guaranteed Rate say the mortgage lender has fostered a toxic work environment — including verbal abuse, misogyny and bullying — amid the laser focus of its founder and CEO, Victor Ciardelli, on making money and growing the business, according to a report published Saturday by the Chicago Tribune. According to […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Monday the availability of $10 million in new grants to be distributed to 23 HUD-approved counseling agencies nationwide, which will help the department boost homeownership rates within historically underserved communities. Announced Monday morning in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, by Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Julia Gordon, the […]
Wells Fargo’s program that provides up to $5,000 in closing costs for low- and moderate-income families to purchase a home has been extended to an additional 16 metro areas, the bank announced on Monday. The credit is available for borrowers with combined incomes of up to 80% of their area’s median income who are seeking […]
Freddie Mac’s chief financial officer, Christian Lown, notified the company of his intention to resign at the end of this month. The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) will “begin the process of identifying a successor,” Freddie Mac said in an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday. Lown’s resignation, was was announced on June […]
Attorneys for the federal government have issued an extensive new filing in the ongoing litigation between Texas Capital Bank (TCB) and Ginnie Mae, including a raft of correspondence that took place immediately prior to the seizure of the Reverse Mortgage Funding servicing portfolio by Ginnie Mae. Separately, a magistrate judge has approved the government’s request […]
Incenter Lender Services, a Philadelphia-based family of companies that works with nonbank and depository lenders across the country, announced this week that it has promoted Shelley Duffy to the role of executive vice president of national sales. Duffy first joined Incenter in February 2022 as its senior vice president of national sales. She will now […]
Record-high home prices and elevated interest rates have weighed down mortgage markets. The Federal Reserve signaled its intention to maintain higher-for-longer rates, confirming that a reprieve is not on the horizon for borrowers and originators alike. Recent stagnation in refinancing loans, coupled with supply and demand discrepancies in housing, means originators still find themselves in […]