Top wholesale lender United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) is yet again ramping up efforts to gain more market share at the cost of potential profits. On Wednesday, the Detroit-based lender announced that it is reviving the conventional 1% down loan option, which allows homebuyers to purchase a home with a 1% down payment. Known as the […]
Olufolajimi Abegunde, a Nigerian citizen living in Atlanta, and Javier Luis Ramos-Alonso, a Mexican citizen living in Seaside, California, were each convicted in 2019 in federal court in Tennessee of participating in a sophisticated international email-hacking scheme that bilked its targets out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Among those targets were a Memphis-based real […]
Mortgage rates tumbled downward by nearly 1% last week on the heels of a lackluster jobs report, which helped to spur renewed interest in mortgage loans by potential homebuyers. The uptick in mortgage applications was a welcome change for the struggling housing market, which has been plagued by affordability issues that have kept many would-be […]
With the mortgage industry still rightsizing, mortgage professionals are worried about regulation of the industry and inflation that thins already tiny margins. Industry players are largely pessimistic about the economic climate and expect interest rates to trend up in the near term future, according to the HousingWire Q2 2023 LenderPulse survey. Roughly 30% of 155 […]
Consumer price increases cooled further in March, which is welcome news for the Federal Reserve, which made the challenging choice at its March meeting to continue with its federal funds rate hikes despite the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 5.0% in March, before seasonal adjustment […]
Misinformation is spreading on TikTok about the Federal Housing Administration‘s (FHA) recent increase to the maximum mortgage modification term, causing confusion for homebuyers. The FHA announced a final rule last month that allows mortgagees to increase the maximum FHA-insured mortgage loan modification term from 360 months to 480 months following a default. That change is slated […]
Forbearances granted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) due to pandemic-related financial hardships will soon come to an end, according to an announcement on Tuesday. The forbearances are now slated to end on May 31, according to the announcement. […]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a new front in the fight against Intercontinental Exchange‘s (ICE’s) planned acquisition of Black Knight. The agency petitioned a California federal court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) and preliminary injunction (PI) that prevents ICE from going forward with the deal to buy Black Knight. The goal […]
Friday, April 7, marked a day for celebration. After four years of Congress hiking Veterans Administration (VA) so-called “Bluewater Navy” mortgage loan fees as an offset to pay for other critical veterans’ benefits, Congress has finally let those excessive VA mortgage loan fees expire. This good news for homebuyers comes on top of FHA action in […]
Rate lock volume jumped 43% in March on the back of seasonal tailwinds, falling interest rates and stronger purchase market performance. Lock volumes increased across the board, led by purchase locks jumping 44% in March — well above the 30% average February to March gain seen across the past 5 years, Black Knight’s originations market […]
The housing market welcomed the news of lower mortgage rates last week after four reports showed that the labor market isn’t as tight as it seems and that the fear of 1970s-entrenched inflation was a lousy narrative. The 10-year yield finally broke below a critical technical level it had difficulty breaking for many months and we […]
Given Friday’s job report, those who have been concerned with entrenched 1970s inflation — which would lead to double-digit mortgage rates — can put their disco shoes back in the closet. I have tried to explain that the 1970s inflation isn’t a reality, and Friday’s report should ease the fear that wage growth is spiraling […]
Rate lock volume activity in the residential mortgage industry increased across the board in March after dipping in February, according to data compiled by the Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT) MCTlive! Lock Volume Indices report. In March, purchase lock activity increased 23% compared to February, according to the report, while rate/term refinance volume grew by […]
The spring homebuying season is here, but a large majority of consumers are pessimistic about making the purchase, citing unfavorable mortgage rates and rate lock-in effects as the cause, according to Fannie Mae. The government-sponsored enterprise’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), which tracks the housing market and consumer confidence to sell or buy a home, […]
Signs of a slowdown in the labor market have emerged, sparking hope that the Federal Reserve may stop its ongoing tightening monetary policy, which has spurred increasing mortgage rates. But industry observers say it’s prudent to wait for inflation figures in order to bet that the Fed’s rate hikes are over. The slowdown in the labor market […]
Shrinking wholesale lender Homepoint is closing its mortgage origination business and will sell its origination-focused assets to competitor The Loan Store, the company announced on Friday. Michigan-based Homepoint is “winding down” its tenure as a direct participant in the mortgage origination business and becoming an investor in the market, as the company will hold an […]
After a few years of nothing less than an automation revolution in the title industry, market uncertainty and declining volume are now testing just how effective our efforts have been. If the primary purpose of employing technology is to streamline the workflow, reduce unnecessary expenses and drive greater productivity, the efforts of title agents and […]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has decided, in a “gradual and orderly” move, to sell a portfolio of $114 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) it retained after seizing control of failed regional banks Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The face values of SVB’s portfolio is approximately $87 billion, while Signature Bank’s assets […]
Mortgage rates fell again this week, but the primary cause was not the banking crisis fiasco. It was the expectation that the U.S. economy is slowing down. According to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 6.28% as of April 4, down from 6.32% the previous week. The survey focuses […]
Independent mortgage banks (IMB) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks received a disappointing sales report card for 2022, which was led by a rapid rise in mortgage rates, low housing inventory and affordability challenges. These companies reported a net loss of $301 on each loan originated in 2022, down from an average profit of $2,339 […]
Black Knight‘s Optimal Blue released a product comparison feature in the company’s cloud-based Loansifter product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine for mortgage brokers. Dubbed the “product comparison,” the feature provides a side-by-side breakdown of various mortgage options. The new addition is geared toward giving brokers the flexibility to come up with reports for their clients […]
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced on Wednesday new updates to their equitable housing finance plans, which outline the expansion of accessible and affordable housing available to underserved communities. Fannie Mae is expanding a series of pilot programs, launching new initiatives and applying new research to its understanding of its consumer housing journey roadmap. Freddie […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced several new relief provisions on Wednesday that are designed to assist Arkansa homeowners that were impacted by the tornadoes that swept through the region at the end of March. Relief provisions are available immediately, including a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures for homeowners with mortgages insured […]
loanDepot’s founder Anthony Hsieh won his battle to nominate Steve Ozonian as a member of the lender’s board of directors. However, the two-month nomination dispute had its consequences: Hsieh was fired from the executive chairman position – but remains the chairman and largest shareholder. loanDepot announced Monday it will promptly increase the size of its […]
Mortgage rates declined last week as headlines on the bank crisis slowed, which could have spurred borrowers’ demand for home loans. But that did not happen, as the affordability issues that remain on the horizon challenged mainly first-time homebuyers. Overall, mortgage applications declined 4.1% last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from one week […]
The investment community is still trying to unpack what Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has in mind with the potential acquisition of Black Knight. Mortgage analysts expect to see consolidation if the deal were to go through, but also forecast that strong players in the servicing and loan origination system side will emerge. This, in turn, would […]
Add Moon Mortgage to the list of fintechs offering crypto-backed mortgages. Six months after raising $3.5 million in a seed round, the Miami-based cryptocurrency lending platform announced on Tuesday that it launched a product that allows investors in Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDC to use their assets to secure funding for real estate purchases. “The use […]
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) present incredible opportunities to expand homeownership and housing in the U.S. But for potential homebuyers to benefit from new technology, the industry must figure out a way to keep bias out of decision-making models, experts said Monday. “The biggest opportunity in my mind in the near to medium […]
When prospective clients operate in highly regulated financial markets, enterprise sales don’t come easy. Blend co-founder and CEO Nima Ghamsari knows this perhaps better than anyone. It wasn’t until 2014 – two years after his cloud banking platform launched – that Movement Mortgage took the leap and digitized its mortgage origination and underwriting process with Blend’s […]
The mortgage industry still faces the same cyber security threats as it did over the last 10 years. In turn, efforts to strengthen infrastructure and security are becoming even more important, experts emphasized on Monday at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Technology Solutions Conference Expo in San Jose, California. Phishing — a form of social […]
The tumult in the banking industry set off by the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10, followed two days later by the collapse of Signature Bank, has sparked fear in the markets over a potential broader contagion infecting the entire financial industry — and ultimately the U.S. economy. For independent mortgage banks [IMBs], the uncertainty […]
Last week was relatively calm for the housing market after the fiasco of the banking crisis. Housing demand grew and inventory levels fell again while mortgage rates rose. Here’s a quick rundown of the last week: The 10-year yield battle continues as bond yields rose early in the week only to close below 3.50% on Friday. […]
Rocket Mortgage is throwing a big incentive at spring homebuyers, offering them up to $10,000 in closing cost credits if they work with a real estate agent through its affiliate, Rocket Homes. Through Rocket’s new “BUY+” program, clients who obtain purchase financing from Rocket Mortgage and find a home with a Rocket Homes partner real […]
SoFi Technologies announced Monday that it had acquired fellow digital lender Wyndham Capital Mortgage in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition will allow SoFi to broaden its suite of mortgage products available to members, enhance unit economics, and take ownership of a scalable digital mortgage platform, the company said in a statement. In doing so, SoFi […]
Profitability has been a sore spot for Robert Reffkin and his brokerage, Compass. In media interviews and on earnings calls, Reffkin is forced to defend Compass’s mounting losses and the underlying strength of its business – in 2022, Compass recorded a net loss of $601 million despite raking in revenue – up 6% to $6.02 billion. Reffkin […]
Mortgage lenders are fighting brutal market conditions, but lenders shouldn’t be pulling back on tech investments. That was the message mortgage and solutions executives emphasized on Sunday during the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA’s) Technology Solutions Conference & Expo in San Jose, California. Consumers’ demand for a digitized mortgage experience that cuts time and costs is […]
Declining mortgage rates could have improved affordability for buyers in the housing market in February, but instead spurred a demand that, combined with a persistent lack of inventory across the U.S., put more pressure on home prices. According to the Black Knight’s mortgage monitor report, home prices rose 0.16% nationally in February compared to the month prior, marking the […]
The use-cases for AI-powered chatbots just keep growing. Big Purple Dot (BPD), a mortgage and real estate customer relationship management (CRM) and recruiting solutions company in Irvine, California, announced this week the integration of ChatGPT into its CRM ecosystem. According to Big Purple Dot, it is one of the first CRM companies in the mortgage […]
The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO), the real estate finance industry’s standards organization, is currently seeking public comment on the latest version of the MISMO Servicing Transfer Catalog (MSTC), according to an announcement on Thursday. According to MISMO, the catalog, which was created through the collaboration of the MISMO Servicing Transfers Development Workgroup, will support the […]
Donny Kirby, former vice president of national direct-to-consumer sales at Wyndham Capital Mortgage, spent more than 12 years at Charlotte, North Carolina-based company before leaving to start a mortgage broker shop, Cornerstone Home Loans. At Wyndham, Kirby led the expansion of the lender’s branches from Charlotte, North Carolina into Arizona, Texas, Utah and Missouri. When […]
Because the U.S. has no more exotic loan debt structures, we don’t have large-scale risk tied to homeowners and banks. Over time, the With the banking crisis spurring more talk of a recession, the question now is: What would housing credit look like in a recession? Many people predicted that the U.S. housing market would crash […]
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and 42 affiliated state banking associations are calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to approve language that allows community banks to test out different consumer construction and construction-to-permanent loan disclosures, which the group describes as “a core offering of community banks in many local communities.” The […]
The demand for home-equity loans, particularly home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs) as well as shared-equity investment products, is now stronger than at any time since before the global financial crisis some 15 years ago. Securitization channels for those home-equity products, however, are only now starting to catch up to the growing demand for them. Homeowners […]
Government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow borrowers facing financial hardships to defer up to six months of mortgage payments, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on Wednesday. The option was previously available for borrowers who fell behind on their mortgage payments due to the financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the enterprises will start offering it […]
Cenlar FSB, the nation’s second-largest mortgage servicer and largest subservicer, has named Rene Gonzales as its new chief technology officer (CTO), according to an announcement on Tuesday. Gonzales initially joined Cenlar in 2018 as its SVP of infrastructure and engineering. The new CTO will utilize his prior experience with managing programs and projects, addressing operational […]