Mortgage lender Celebrity Home Loans shut down its correspondent channel and laid off employees on Tuesday. Amid a market downturn, the company has decided to focus on the retail lending business. “As one of the few retail lenders that saw production grow from Q1 to Q2, we’ve decided to keep our focus on our greatest strength: retail […]
Ginnie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration are looking to take a bigger bite out of manufactured housing finance. In a request for input the agencies published at the end of July, FHA and Ginnie Mae detailed an array potential changes to make the manufactured housing Title I program more palatable for lenders. Potential changes […]
Angel Oak Capital Advisors, the investment management arm of non-QM lender Angel Oak Cos., has agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that the company misled investors about the delinquency rates in a 2018 private-label securitization involving fix-and-flip loans. Also charged in the case, according […]
Mortgage demand remained relatively flat last week amid volatility in mortgage rates in recent weeks. The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose a marginal 0.2% for the week ending August 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The market index is down 62% compared to the same week in […]
René Rodriguez, the author of the best-selling book, “Amplify your Influence: Transform how you Communicate and Lead,” is slated to share his expert insights on leadership and influence during the Vanguard Forum at HW Annual this year. Joining as the keynote speaker for what should be the most powerful room in housing, Rodriguez kicks off […]
California-based mortgage lender loanDepot is shutting down its wholesale division amid plummeting origination volumes and widening financial losses in the second quarter. The decision to close the channel also reflects fierce competition from its peers in the broker space, primarily from United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). The nonbank lender’s announcement comes on Tuesday was announced after […]
Two advisory and brokerage firms active in the mortgage servicing rights (MSR) market recently unveiled three new mortgage servicing offerings for agency loan portfolios valued in total at $4 billion. The new offerings are a sign that MSR trading continues to be healthy, although sources close to market indicate that the dynamics fueling MSR sales […]
Lending standards tightened in July with the mortgage credit availability index (MCAI) dropping 9%, the largest monthly drop since April 2020, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MCAI fell to 108.8 in July as lenders streamlined their loan offerings in a shrinking mortgage origination environment, said Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the nation’s largest wholesale lender, posted a drop in origination volume and profits in the second quarter compared to the first three months of 2022, even after maintaining its gain-on-sale margins and increasing the fair value of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). But the Pontiac, Michigan-based lender improved its performance compared to the […]
The latest non-QM player to feel the pain of the interest rate volatility afflicting the nation’s housing market this year is a Pasadena, California-based real estate investment trust called Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corp. The REIT, which is managed by investment advisor Western Asset Management Co. LLC, recently announced that it is exploring a potential company sale […]
Ginnie Mae, which guarantees loans to veterans and Federal Housing Administration borrowers, is changing its attitude toward credit unions. In a change to its capital requirements, which set minimum standards for its issuers, Ginnie Mae will treat credit unions more like banks. Representatives for credit unions have sought the change since July 2021, when Ginnie […]
Please introduce us to the brave 17% of consumers who think now is a good time to buy a home. Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index fell two points in July to 62.8, its lowest reading since 2011. Year over year the index is down 13 points. Overall, just 17% of respondents said it was […]
Mortgage rates trended down in July from their peak above 6% in June, but that wasn’t enough to spur mortgage lending activity. Rate lock volume in July fell 14.4% from June, marking four straight months of decline, according to Black Knight‘s originations market monitor report. The decline was led by 16.9% drop in rate/term refinance […]
Stakeholders on all sides of the issues sounded off on the proposed changes to the federal redlining statute in comments to the banking agencies marshaling the changes. Some of the nearly 360 comments came in late on Thursday, a day before the deadline imposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal […]
Guild Mortgage’s second-quarter earnings suggest that a high share of purchase loans won’t necessarily be enough to protect lenders from the most challenging and volatile mortgage market in years. They’ll have to cut costs and grab opportunities as they emerge. The nonbank lender reported a $58.3 million net income from April to June, a 72% decrease […]
In recent months, interest rates have risen to their highest level in years as the Federal Reserve has embarked on an aggressive tightening campaign in an effort to fight inflation. Despite rising rates, demand for home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) continues to surge with 2022 origination levels up more than 40% from a year […]
During this period of rising rates and general rate volatility, having the cash and credit lines on hand to ride out the rough patches in the market — known as liquidity — can be what separates the winners from the losers in the mortgage industry. Rocket Companies, the parent company of Rocket Mortgage, despite a less-than-impressive second-quarter […]
Finance of America posted steep losses in the second quarter and has pledged to eliminate a significant percentage of its workforce to contain the financial fallout. As with other lenders seeing huge declines in mortgage origination volume, Finance of America’s traditional mortgage business took a hit due to tumbling refinance volumes and an increase in […]
The current administration has been in office for over a year and a half, and with that tenure, a lot of the new housing officials have had time to create and announce their core initiatives. To help bring you the latest regulatory and government updates that you need to be aware of, we’re excited to […]
Rocket Companies, the parent of America’s top mortgage lender Rocket Mortgage, reported a $60 million profit in the second quarter, down from $1 billion in profits just the previous quarter. The stunning decline in profitability suggests Rocket has much work to do as higher mortgage rates wipe out refinancing opportunities and even depress purchase sales. […]
Fannie Mae will now buy mortgage loans with lender-funded grants, including down payment assistance, closing costs or financial reserves. The change could give nonbank lenders a way to guard against redlining accusations. The government-sponsored enterprise will start accepting such loans immediately. According to Fannie Mae’s guidance, “The lender must have a documented program that provides […]
Florida-based mortgage servicing company Ocwen Financial — the parent company of entities including PHH Mortgage Corp. and Liberty Reverse Mortgage — recorded a pre-tax loss of $26 million in Q2 2022 compared to income of $6 million one year prior. The company attributes those losses to higher mortgage interest rates and spreads as well as […]
Two years after acquiring RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing, Freedom Mortgage Corp. has inked a deal to sell the nonbank mortgage servicer to Matrix Financial Services Corp., another leading mortgage servicer and a wholly owned subsidiary of real estate investment trust Two Harbors Investment Corp. The acquisition is an all-stock deal, with Matrix agreeing to pay a preliminary price equal to the […]
Purchase mortgage rates dropped for the third consecutive week and are now below the 5% level, reflecting a Federal Reserve monetary policy that has led to a “technical recession” in the U.S. economy. According to the latest purchase mortgage survey from Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined this week to average 4.99%, down from last week’s 5.30%. […]
Tech-focused real estate brokerage Radius, flush with $14 million in venture capital raised this past April, has launched a mortgage lending arm in California that it plans to roll out to additional markets sometime next year. The new venture, a mortgage brokerage operation, is focused on the California market to start, where Radius already has a strong […]
New American Funding has laid off hundreds of employees across multiple rounds of workforce reductions this year, multiple former employees told HousingWire. The most recent layoff came on Tuesday when the California-based lender eliminated several hundred positions, including loan officers, mortgage underwriters, processors and training specialists, multiple former employees said. The firm had 4,800 employees […]
Distressed mortgages dating back to the height of the pandemic are expected to fuel a jump in foreclosure activity over the next 12 months, although the foreclosure rate is still expected to remain below the pre-pandemic historical average, a new report from Auction.com contends. The prediction by one of the nation’s leading marketplaces for distressed assets, is […]
To say that mortgage rates have been on a wild Mr. Toad’s ride in 2022 is an understatement. In less than a year, we went from 2.78% on the 30-year fixed to as high as 6.28%, then recently got as low as 5% — only to have another move higher this week to 5.30%. People […]
Is there a new way to address the truth about staffing in the mortgage industry? When will we learn to be more transparent to our employees — people with families and bills — and stop the endless flow of layoffs? While taking with Clayton Collins, CEO of HWMedia, he used the term “elasticity” when describing […]
Home equity climbed to a historic high of $11.5 trillion in the second quarter, but it could be nearing its peak as major equity-rich markets on the West Coast begin to show signs of decline. Tappable equity, the amount available for homeowners to access while retaining at least 20% equity in their homes, rose again […]
On the strength of its servicing segment, California-based Pennymac Financial Services delivered a $129.2 million profit in the second quarter, which was down 25.6% quarter-over-quarter and 36.7% year-over-year, the company reported Tuesday. The nonbank lender’s top executives said the company reported a strong performance given the downturn in mortgage originations. “We improved margins across all three channels,” […]
Demand for mortgage loans increased last week as a troubling economic outlook led to a decline in rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 1.15% for the week ending July 29, after falling for four consecutive weeks to the lowest level in […]
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs announced last week that it would allow desktop and exterior-only appraisals for some transactions. The changes took effect July 27. In a department memo, the VA explained that the move was a response to “high demand for appraisal services and limited availability of appraisers in certain local market areas.” But the […]
Rocket Loans will be offering loans to customers who are installing solar panels, the lender announced Tuesday. The news comes exactly one year after its parent Rocket Companies announced it would enter the green energy game in 2022. Rocket Loans will provide financing to Rocket Solar customers who choose to have a solar electricity system […]
Foreclosures cost a lot of money. A conservative estimate of the financial toll on the borrower, the creditor, the guarantor and the surrounding community shows a foreclosure can cost upwards of $65,000. Letting borrowers skip monthly payments for a period, through a permanent forbearance option, could help avoid that financial loss. Researchers at the Urban […]
Rithm Capital, formerly known as New Residential Investment, lost $3.3 million in the second quarter of 2022, largely due to fees caused by its break from Fortress Investment Group and a decline in residential mortgage originations. In an earnings presentation Tuesday, executives at Rithm said the company paid approximately $325 million to break from an […]
Rocket Mortgage, the nation’s largest lender, is expanding its product portfolio to home equity loans amid a significant slowdown in mortgage origination volume. After getting an appraisal on the home, homeowners can access between $45,000 and $350,000 of their home’s equity in a 10- or 20-year, fixed-rate loan, while maintaining at least 10% equity in […]
June saw both record-low home price appreciation and the largest single-month increase of for-sale inventory in 12 years, resulting in a cool down in the housing market. And the housing market would likely slow further in the coming months if mortgage rates remain persistently high. The annual home price growth fell by nearly two percentage […]
Brena Nath, Director of HW+ and Events Over a year ago, Sarah Wheeler, who serves as our HW Media editor-in-chief, and I got to work on a passion podcast together: GirlFunds. These interviews with top female leaders were special since we were able to go to a deeper level with them as they opened up […]
Fannie Mae has unveiled its eighth Connecticut Avenue Series (CAS) credit-risk transfer deal of 2022, a $626.3 million note offering backed by a reference pool of single-family mortgages valued at $20.4 billion. The offering is slated to close Aug. 5, according to a presale review by the Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA). This latest CAS transaction, CAS 2022-R08, […]
Imagine getting a $1 billion, interest-only loan and later lying to your creditor. That’s what a congressional subcommittee said happened between Fannie Mae and Invitation Homes, the single-family rental landlord that in 2017 got a $1 billion interest-only 10-year loan from the government-sponsored enterprise. The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis found that from March […]
As mortgage origination volume continues to fall from the heights of the pandemic-spurred boom, many lenders see cost-cutting as their top priority this year. About 39% of 210 senior mortgage executives representing 189 lending institutions said cost-cutting was the most important agenda item, the first time that has happened since 2017, according to Fannie Mae‘s […]
Fannie Mae reported $4.7 billion in net income for the second quarter of 2022, up from $4.4 billion in the first quarter. Net revenues increased by $200 million in the first six months of the year compared to last year, thanks to higher base guarantee fee income, an increase in the size of Fannie Mae’s […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) rolled out a new adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) product for jumbo loans in an effort to provide brokers more options in a highly competitive mortgage origination market. UWM’s Prime Jumbo Max pricing offers a seven- or 10-year ARM with a rate/term and cash-out refi for a maximum loan amount as much as […]
Xactus will add flood services to its list of verification solutions with the acquisition of MassiveCert, a software company that provides flood zone determinations for insurance, lending and real estate. With the acquisition, Xactus will offer flood zone determinations to its clients by using its proprietary flood data and technology products, the firm said Wednesday. […]