As mortgage interest rates crept back up in August after retreating the previous month, rate lock volume dipped to a four-year low. Total lock volumes were down 8.9% from July, led by a 13.9% decline in rate/term refinance locks, according to Black Knight’s originations market monitor report. Rate/term refi locks dropped 94.5% year over year. […]
NEXA Mortgage, the largest mortgage brokerage in the country, this week cut ties with the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), claiming the trade group fails to address bullying and lacks proper governance. Mike Kortas, the controversial CEO and co-founder who himself is no stranger to starting online scraps, said other community members, including smaller […]
Ben Slayton’s Legacy Home Loans, the largest Black-led mortgage banking firm in the country, has launched a special purpose credit program for prospective Black borrowers in six cities across the country. The SPCP, called “closing the gap,” permits a 1% down payment with a free appraisal, free home warranty program, free homebuying counseling and financial […]
Following the latest round of layoffs, Homepoint has shrunk its workforce from about 4,000 workers in summer of 2021 to about 1,000 in fall of 2022. The wholesale lender last week laid off 913 employees, according to a review of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notices filed in Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Texas. Over the […]
Pennymac followed the tracks of Rocket Pro TPO and United Wholesale Mortgage in raising conforming loan limits ahead of the Federal Housing Finance Agency‘s (FHFA) decision to do so in November. The country’s third-largest purchase mortgage lender, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, will be increasing conventional loan limits to $715,000 across all channels, Pennymac said […]
The pace of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issuance in the nonagency market slowed considerably in July and August as rising interest rates and Federal Reserve MBS-purchase policy have combined to dampen the momentum exhibited in the private-label space in 2021 and over the first half of this year. In July and August of this year, there was a […]
An influential banking trade group this week argued that the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) should not permit nonbank lenders and real estate investment trusts to become members of the $1 trillion Federal Home Loan Bank system. In a statement issued Tuesday, Rebecca Romero Rainey, president of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said the […]
People who invest in technology often ask the question: is this a “nice to have,” or a “need to have?” Few have the resources to invest in technologies they don’t need. Often, this analysis comes down to the worst case scenario. “What’s the worst that can happen if we don’t invest in this technology?” When […]
Home prices have started to drop, but the decline has not been significant enough to brighten pessimism about the housing market. Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), which tracks the housing market and consumer confidence to sell or buy a home, dropped by 0.8 points in August to 62, marking its sixth consecutive decline. […]
Mortgage rates rose 23 basis points this week, even closer to the 6% mark, as the market reacts to the Fed’s ongoing aggressive policies to combat persistent inflation. According to the latest survey from Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to an average of 5.89%, up from last week’s 5.66%. A year ago this time, […]
Verification provider Xactus and income and employment data solution firm Truv teamed up to court more mortgage lenders that will speed up the mortgage approval process. Xacuts’ current verification capabilities will be augmented with Truv’s income and employment data, Truv, formerly known as Citadel API, said. The firm expects the partnership to allow mortgage lenders […]
Cleveland-based KeyBank, a mortgage lender and servicer with $187 billion in assets, is facing a lawsuit filed in federal court in Ohio stemming from a recent data breach that compromised its customers personal information, including social security numbers. The litigation, which seeks class-action status, alleges that a KeyBank vendor, Kennesaw, Georgia-based Overby-Seawell Co. (OSC), was the target of […]
Top 10 lender and servicer Freedom Mortgage has trimmed its workforce across multiple rounds of layoffs this year and continues to “offshore” some jobs, former employees tell HousingWire. In response to falling origination volume, the New Jersey-based mortgage company has conducted at least four rounds of layoffs this year – in March, May and August, […]
Price corrections are coming to housing markets across the United States, Black Knight said following July’s home price decline from June. Relatedly, tappable home equity is expected to pull back in the third quarter as equity-rich markets already saw declines in July. Home prices in July slipped 0.77% from June, marking the largest single-month decline […]
Demand for mortgage loans declined last week as the markets continue to exert pressure on rates. With the 30-year fixed-rate hovering above the 6% level again, there’s no sign of a rebound in applications yet, despite a robust job market and growing housing inventory. The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, […]
The wholesale arm of Rocket Mortgage on Tuesday raised anticipated agency conforming loan limits to $715,000, a sign that the nation’s largest mortgage lender is confident the maximum loan limit set by the federal government will rise by at least 10% in 2023. The increased loan limits for mortgage brokers apply to new registrations and […]
Top mortgage lender NewRez has added to its line of “Smart Series” non-QM products, launching a 40-year fixed-rate interest-only mortgage loan. With the 40-year IO mortgage, borrowers make interest-only payments for the first 10 years, which NewRez says increases their purchasing power and allows for more affordable monthly payments. (It also slows the amount of […]
Depository bank Citi has trimmed staffing levels in its mortgage business, following surging rates and a reorganization of its operations. “Citi has made a small number of staffing reductions within our mortgage team due to internal streamlining of functions,” a spokesperson said in a statement. Bloomberg News first reported on the layoffs and reported that […]
Atlanta-based AmeriSave Mortgage Corp. exited the wholesale channel this week, a decision that comes after the mortgage lender has imposed rounds of layoffs across the company, according to former employees and business partners. HousingWire sent multiple requests to the company’s leadership for comments, but they did not respond. This week, brokers received a message stating that AmeriSave Wholesale […]
Loan originator and servicer Sun West Mortgage Co. Inc. has unveiled the latest version of its proprietary artificial-intelligence (AI) platform, called Morgan, which enables the lender to convert pre-approved, property-specific home loans into tradable non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The NFT is property agnostic, backed by real dollars and guaranteed by Sun West, which is one of the […]
Homepoint laid off more than 100 employees this week as it feels the effects of the price war in the wholesale lending space. The company confirmed workforce reductions on Wednesday and Thursday are in line with the company’s “openness to get smaller as an organization to effectively counter severe market pressures,” according to a spokesperson […]
Bank of America announced a new zero down payment, zero closing cost mortgage solution for first-time homebuyers, which will be available in designated markets, including certain Black/African American and/or Hispanic-Latino neighborhoods in Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles and Miami. The Community Affordable Loan Solution™ aims to help eligible individuals and families obtain an affordable loan […]
If there’s a key theme in the women leaders in the housing industry, it’s their collaboration and openness to helping each other grow and develop. It’s core to how this industry continues to move markets forward, which is why if you are attending HW Annual, you can’t skip the Women of Influence Forum on Oct. […]
The Impact Shares Affordable Housing MBS ETF, also known as OWNS, is an exchange-traded fund with the ambitious mission of seeking to tap the capital markets to address long-standing affordable-housing and racial-wealth gap issues in U.S. society. Since its inception last summer, OWNS has focused on investing in agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) that are collateralized […]
Back in March, HousingWire Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami coined the phrase “savagely unhealthy” to describe the state of the housing market. As catchy and memorable as the saying is, it signifies a very volatile and discouraging time for industry professionals and people looking to buy a home. Do you notice how I used a present-tense […]
Arizona-based mortgage lender Suburban Mortgage Inc.’s website is down and employees’ emails are disabled, indicating that the company apparently shut down its operations and laid off its employees. HousingWire reached out to representatives for the company, but they did not respond to requests for comments. A former employee told HousingWire that executives sent an email […]
Rocket Pro TPO is diversifying its product portfolio by offering home equity loans to brokers by mid-September amid increased competition in the wholesale channel. The move follows Rocket Mortgage‘s rolled of home equity loans in August as the firm tries to capitalize on Americans’ strong home equity positions. With the Rocket Pro TPO product, homeowners can […]
Expectations of a continuing aggressive monetary policy led mortgage rates to increase 11 basis points this week, according to the latest survey from Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to an average of 5.66%, up from last week’s 5.55%. A year ago this time, rates averaged 2.87%. The index compiles only purchase mortgage rates reported by […]
You’ve enjoyed and learned from dozens of articles over the past few weeks, highlighting the panels and speakers at HW Annual. Exciting leaders like Marc King, AJ Barkley, Rene Rodriguez and William Lyons, will speak to attendees in fireside chats and panels like “The Amazon of Real Estate.” But, what does a day in the […]
Edward Bohm, former president of sales and co-owner of mortgage lender Vanguard Funding was sentenced to two years in prison for pocketing more than $8.9 million from warehouse lenders along with two other former executives at the firm. The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York on Tuesday also ordered Bohm to […]
Toronto-based Tricon Residential Inc., which oversees a portfolio of more than 33,000 single-family rental homes in the United States and Canada, is once again teaming up with the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) to invest $500 million to build 2,500 single-family rentals in the U.S. Sun Belt. This latest deal represents the second joint venture between Tricon and ASRS. In […]
Freddie Mac notched record credit-risk transfer (CRT) issuances of some $15 billion during the first half of this year, protecting $358 billion in single-family mortgages. For the second quarter alone, Freddie Mac also posted record CRT issuance of $6.5 billion, protecting $151 billion in single-family mortgages. The offering totals were across the agency’s flagship Structured Agency […]
Demand for mortgage loans declined last week when mortgage rates surged due to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech indicating that combating persistent inflation will cause some pain now. The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 3.7% for the week ending Aug. 26, compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage […]
The Prestwick Mortgage Group, an Alexandria, Virginia-based advisory and brokerage firm, has unveiled a mortgage-servicing rights (MSR) offering for a $598 million package of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. Prestwick’s offering comes on the heels of a separate bulk offering announced recently by New York-based Mortgage Industry Advisory Group (MIAC) that involves an MSR offering for a package of Fannie Mae […]
What’s unique about President Biden’s housing administration compared to past administrations? From regulations and enforcement to innovation in policies and technology, there’s a lot to talk through when it comes to addressing this question, which is why we’re stoked for this panel at HousingWire Annual. Moderating the Regulatory Super Session on Oct. 4, Angel Hernandez, […]
There’s only one month left until HW Annual kicks off on Oct. 3rd. As the conference quickly approaches, so does the deadline to lock in the exclusive room rate for the Fairmont Princess Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. Take advantage of staying on the property and being close to all the conference sessions and networking events […]
Rocket Companies, the parent company of Rocket Mortgage, extended the second round of voluntary career transition offers to employees amid the company’s forecast of much lower origination volume in the third quarter. “We recognize career growth options in certain areas of our business are limited right now, while the housing market normalizes following two years […]
Digital mortgage lender Better.com and blank-check firm Aurora Acquisition Corp. extended the deadline to conclude their merger agreement, but the companies have already started to discuss options in case the deal fails. In May 2021, Novator Capital-sponsored special purpose acquisition company Aurora announced plans to make Better.com public in the fourth quarter of 2021. The deal valued the SoftBank Group-backed digital lender at […]
Inflation slowed more than expected in July, the result of a dip in gas and energy prices. But soaring housing costs continue to weigh heavily on family budgets. Rents and home purchase prices are up – 17% and 20% respectively – from last year. It seems as if every day there is yet another news story highlighting […]
California-based Impac Mortgage Holdings received a notice on Friday from the NYSE American LLC requiring a plan to adjust its stockholders’ equity level amid consecutive financial losses. Otherwise, the mortgage lender will be subject to delisting proceedings, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. In the most challenging mortgage market in well over a decade, Impac stockholders’ equity reached […]
In 2021, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) CEO Mat Ishbia set a three-year goal to make UWM the No. 1 lender in the country. Ishbia, who started running his father’s mortgage firm in 2013 and has since grown it into the country’s No. 2 lender, isn’t satisfied with second place, behind Rocket Mortgage. “I don’t have […]
California real estate startup Reali is shutting down, with plans to lay off most of its employees on Sept. 9. The firm is the latest to fall victim to rising mortgage rates and a drop in home sales. The San Mateo, California startup cited “the challenging real estate and financial market conditions and unfavorable capital-raising […]
Restoring price stability will cause some pain now, but will forestall the greater pain of higher inflation, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a speech on Friday. Powell, speaking at an economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, made it clear that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) would continue to be tightly focused […]
This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Neena Vlamis, CEO, President and founder of A and N Mortgage, which is headquartered in Chicago. HousingWire: What is your current favorite HW+ article and why? Neena Vlamis: HousingWire, I love the staff! Until I was recently asked to be on a webinar, I did not have my eyes wide open. Now I am a member […]
Homepoint is in a tough spot. Like its peers, the wholesale lender’s origination volume has plunged over the past year due to a dearth of refinancings and a sluggish purchase market. But there’s another threat that Homepoint executives must worry about – United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the top dog in wholesale, has embarked on a strategy […]