The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Wednesday posted a proposed Mortgagee Letter (ML) that would add flexibility for people receiving rental income from “boarders” who pay for space in an existing dwelling when considering them for an FHA-insured mortgage. Borrowers receiving rental income from “boarders,” a term referring to “individuals who rent space in borrowers’ […]
HSBC has agreed to direct $25 million over the next four years to support underserved communities in an agreement with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) following allegations of redlining, the parties announced on Wednesday. In August 2023, the bank disclosed it was under investigation by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after […]
Momentum Builder has acquired Sales Mastery, the companies announced Wednesday. The merger of two industry leaders in sales training and coaching will result in a “unified super brand” that will be known as Sales Mastery Powered by Momentum Builder, the companies said in a press release. “The launch of Sales Mastery Powered by Momentum Builder […]
The current mortgage market starkly contrasts with the booming years of 2020 and 2021. Both borrowers and loan officers face a changed—and changing—landscape. However, success remains within reach for those committed to adapting. The winners in every market know how to take advantage of opportunities, and below I’ve outlined some actionable advice on how to […]
Major reverse mortgage companies like Finance of America (FOA) and Ellington Financial — the parent of reverse lender Longbridge Financial — recently released their third-quarter 2024 earnings results, with FOA in particular posting strong numbers while Ellington continues to tout the versatility of Longbridge in its overall portfolio. Recently, HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD) sat […]
The passage of the mortgage trigger lead bill as proposed in the U.S. Congress will face a challenge from a new plan expected to be released this week by representatives of the consumer reporting industry, HousingWire has learned. In September, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-R.I.) included U.S. Senate Amendment 2358 — known […]
The trend line for mortgage rates has been the same for several weeks, even as some of the uncertainty surrounding the 2024 election is fading. The cost of a home loan continues to move in a negative direction for U.S. consumers and housing professionals alike as the downward movement that started in August has been […]
In preparation for widespread credit scoring changes, leading credit-score and data analytics company VantageScore has launched a Mortgage Resource Center to support lenders transitioning to the VantageScore 4.0 credit model. The new resource provides tools and guidance to facilitate integration and aligns with the growing adoption of VantageScore 4.0 by a number of industry players. […]
Farmers across America maintain retirement accounts at a higher clip than other types of workers, but they’re also saving less than the general population. (Image generated by AI in Midjourney) Farmers are more likely than the average American to maintain a retirement account of some kind, but their collective retirement balance is lower than the […]
You’ll notice the spread between the 10-year and the 1-year weekly average is no longer inverted. For our purposes in People often disregard reverse mortgages as being too complex. However, I argue they are simply unfamiliar. When explained properly, borrowers can easily understand the concept of a reverse mortgage. However, the loan terms and language […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Monday announced that it will raise the 2025 multifamily loan caps for purchases by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to $73 billion each. This represents a total of $146 billion in multifamily market support for next year, an increase of more than 4% from […]
Add American Neighborhood Mortgage Acceptance Company LLC, doing business as AnnieMac, to the list of mortgage lenders that have recently suffered a data breach from a cyberattack. The company notified state authorities that it became aware of “suspicious activity” of certain systems within its network in August. After an investigation, it concluded that cybercriminals infiltrated […]
In this HousingWire executive conversation, Michael Chew, Division President at Consolidated Analytics, discusses the viability of task outsourcing as a method for saving time and money for loan originators—especially in preparation for market surges and shifts. Chew stresses the importance of offloading repetitive tasks to experienced teams, removing the need for rushed hiring and subsequent […]
The housing bubble crash theory has failed once again as we approach the end of 2024, but it’s always important to know why something didn’t happen. This week, we got the updated New York Fed credit data report and it shows the strong position of homeowners — especially in comparison to the years before the Great […]
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Should the goal of marketing technology be to make it so that a loan officer never needs to log in? Or, should LOs be encouraged to engage with marketing tools as much as possible in order to help them build their own brand and connections? I started in the mortgage industry in 2015, working for […]
Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said on Thursday that the U.S. economy is “not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates.” The statement was enough to raise mortgage rates to an even higher level, a sharp departure from the optimism lenders experienced during the September […]
Mortgage trade groups recently came closer to achieving a legislative victory by curbing a longstanding practice: the abusive use of credit trigger leads. However, the outcome of recent elections has cast uncertainty on the future of this legislation. In September, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) and Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) included […]
With several top 10 reverse mortgage lenders now active in some form within the U.S. stock market, companies like Finance of America (FOA) and Ellington Financial — the parent of reverse lender Longbridge Financial — have recently released their third-quarter 2024 earnings results. In the case of FOA — the current industry leader — the […]
HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Adam Carmel, founder and CEO of Polly, to talk about his thought process for solving customer problems and why cutting costs for mortgage lenders is paramount. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Sarah Wheeler: What differentiates Polly’s technology? Adam Carmel: The technology is […]
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week published a report assessing the performance of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in reaching their single-family housing goals. The CBO found that the GSEs “met or exceeded” nearly all goals over a four-year period from 2018 to 2022. The CBO analyzed data from the Federal […]
Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) as a group expanded their profitability in the third quarter of 2024. But fewer companies recorded profits compared to the previous quarter, despite a brief dip in mortgage rates. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), IMBs and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported an average pretax net profit of $701 per […]
CrossCountry Mortgage, a top-10 U.S. mortgage lender, has hired a team of former Pennymac Financial Services executives to lead its capital markets and investment-related activities. On Wednesday, CCM announced Vandad Fartaj as the chief investment officer, William Chang as chief capital markets officer, and Tom Rettinger as chief portfolio risk officer. The team will develop […]
One of the greatest gifts you can give to your organization—and to the people within it—is the opportunity to grow into leadership. In the mortgage industry, where change is constant and challenges can be relentless, strong leadership isn’t just a competitive advantage; it’s the foundation that keeps teams grounded and resilient. Imagine a culture where […]
Reverse mortgage educators Dan Hultquist and Jim McMinn brought their “Rules of the Game” presentation back to this year’s National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego. After starting with the importance of focused information and certain reverse mortgage product features, the pair went deeper into other longstanding elements that […]
Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, paid a reported $14 million to acquire the domain name Rocket.com. The purchase, which was initially reported by DomainInvesting.com, was said to be from defense contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc. Rumors of the deal began in early September. The transaction was referenced in a recent filing by L3Harris with […]
For the first time in seven weeks, mortgage demand rose as applications were up 0.5% during the week ending Nov. 8, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. Purchase loan demand drove the slight increase in the MBA’s Market Composite Index, which measures loan application volumes. The purchase index rose 2% from the prior week […]
Better Home & Finance Holding Co., the parent of digital lender Better, reported a net loss of $54.1 million in the third quarter of 2024 during an earnings call on Tuesday. By comparison, the company lost $41.4 million in Q2 2024 and $353.9 million in Q3 2023. Better reported third-quarter revenue of $29 million, down […]
With fluctuating mortgage rates and economic pressure in the housing market, foreclosure activity ramped up in October 2024. According to real estate data provider Attom, homebuyers may face more challenges heading into 2025. Attom released its October 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report on Tuesday. It showed that 30,784 properties had foreclosure filings last month. That’s […]
In a new episode of “The Loan Officer Podcast,” host Dustin Owen chats with John Cornish of Iowa-based Key Mortgage Group about his path into the industry, tips for scaling a mortgage lending business and how to avoid stagnation as a loan originator. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To kick off […]
Detroit-based Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, saw its strategy of investing in technology and expanding its servicing portfolio start to pay off in the third quarter of 2024. It originated $28.5 billion in loans during the period — up 28% year over year. Short-lived relief in mortgage rates led to a double-digit increase […]
Bill Pulte, the philanthropist and CEO of Pulte Capital — and who shares a name with his grandfather, the founder of Atlanta-based homebuilder PulteGroup — is reportedly under consideration for the post of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary in the new Trump administration, according to a report from the New York […]
Cornerstone Financing, a venture co-founded by former Reverse Mortgage Funding (RMF) CEO Craig Corn, has secured $285 million in financing through global investment firms Aquiline Capital Partners LP and Nomura. The funding will go to support the company’s specialty home equity-tapping product known as the Cornerstone Home Equity Insurance/Investment Funding Solutions (CHEIFS). The product operates […]
Downpayment assistance programs are available to first-time homebuyers across the country in the form of more than 2,400 such offerings at the local and state levels, but they have not had an appreciable impact on the level of U.S. homeownership. This is why a zero-down Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage would be a more viable […]
The election of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States has brought mortgage rates closer to the 7% threshold, but Fitch Ratings expects them to settle lower in the coming months. Looking ahead to 2025, analysts from the credit ratings agency expect declining rates to increase mortgage origination volumes, driving profitability for nonbank […]
While 2024 was certainly a challenging year for the real estate industry, 2025 may be a doozy if the Counselors of Real Estate’s (CRE) 2025 Top Ten Issues Affecting Real Estate report is to be believed. From price expectations to the impact of a Trump presidency, uncertainty is the main driver of today’s market. The […]
New York-based digital mortgage lender Better.com launched a streamline refinance loan product on Monday that aims to help military veterans and service members save money on long-term interest expenses and closing costs. Better is now offering the well-known Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The product is […]
Zillow is moving full speed ahead with an ambitious expansion of its mortgage business, leveraging its housing tech innovations to potentially reshape how modern homebuyers finance homes. In its third-quarter earnings report, Zillow Home Loans revealed an impressive data point: mortgage revenue increased 63% year over year in the third quarter to $39 million, which […]
The newly-updated Fannie Mae Selling Guide for November has aimed to modernize special property eligibility and underwriting considerations for leasehold estates, and it has revised the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE)’s project review requirements for properties secured by manufactured homes. The Selling Guide has also updated requirements “related to the market area analysis of the appraisal report […]
Following the resounding election victory of Donald Trump this week and the retaking of the U.S. Senate by the Republican Party, retirement and tax policy could be significantly impacted following the transfer of power, according to the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA). A political majority in the U.S. House of Representatives remains unclear, but […]
Praising tariffs as “the greatest thing ever invented“ is unusual — that title is typically reserved for for sliced bread — but Donald Trump has always been vocal about his trade policies. An impending return to the White House for Trump could raise U.S. homebuilding costs as his proposed tariffs would likely increase prices for […]
Government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae announced on Thursday the appointment of Scott D. Stowell, a homebuilding executive with nearly 40 years of industry experience, to its board of directors. “Mr. Stowell brings nearly 40 years of experience in the U.S. homebuilding industry to Fannie Mae’s accomplished and diverse board, which guides the company’s efforts to responsibly […]
In second-quarter 2024, high home prices and soaring mortgage rates caused more homeowners to struggle with their loan payments. But data shows a slight recovery as mortgage delinquencies fell in the third quarter. That silver lining comes from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s National Delinquency Survey. According to the MBA, the seasonally adjusted rate for […]
Guild Mortgage CEO Terry Schmidt said during a third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday that Guild’s reverse mortgage division continues to contribute to companywide strategies, and that additional interest in reverse has been observed. Guild’s current reverse lending division, built off its 2023 acquisition of Cherry Creek Mortgage, has expanded its reverse mortgage activities this year. […]
After delivering two straight quarterly losses to start this year, mortgage technology company Blend Labs predicted correctly that it would soon move into the black by one key accounting measure, finally delivering a non-GAAP operating profitability third-quarter 2024 earnings. The earnings report, released Wednesday, revealed that Blend’s GAAP loss from operations improved to $13.3 million […]