How would the housing market fare under a potential second Trump administration? Mark Calabria, the former Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director under Trump, has some ideas. And no surprise — he’d like to be part of that administration if asked. According to Calabria, who currently serves as a senior adviser to the Cato Institute, […]
Baltimore-based Dominion Financial Services, a nationwide private lender that specializes in financing for real estate investors, announced the hiring of Dustin Wells as the president of its newly launched wholesale lending division. Wells has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services arena. Most recently, he served as co-president of Stronghill Capital, an […]
Rocket Pro TPO, the wholesale arm of Rocket Mortgage, announced Monday that it has decided to waive the $795 origination fee charged to broker partners on home equity loans. “When you think about what home equity looks like or represents across the country, there’s a record-breaking home equity, with homeowners sitting on almost $17 trillion,” […]
Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citi opened the second-quarter earnings season in the mortgage space on Friday by showing strong increases in sales volumes from April to June compared to the previous quarter. But it was not enough to bring home loan originations to year-ago levels. Among the three depositories, JPMorgan was the leader in […]
The latest 2023 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data is in, and it confirms a few key trend lines for the mortgage industry: there was significantly less interest in mortgage loans in 2023, and fewer banks thought it worth participating in the market. The full dataset from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal […]
Former reverse mortgage lender James B. Nutter & Co., aka Nutter Home Loans, recently scored what an attorney has characterized as a win in a case brought against it by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ initially sued Nutter in September 2020 in a federal court in Missouri under the Financial Institutions Reform, […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has broad authority under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to prohibit discrimination against credit applicants and from discouraging prospective applicants for credit. This reinforces the bureau’s enforcement authority as it wages a war against redlining, including in a case against Chicago-based Townstone Financial, according to court documents reviewed […]
A wide-ranging and multigenerational survey about retirement confidence in the U.S. found that while general confidence has risen over the past year, most Americans remain concerned that their savings will not be able to keep up with their needs in retirement. The Read on Retirement survey, conducted by BlackRock, enlisted perspectives from members of the […]
Fintech firms Rocktop Technologies and LiquidFi on Thursday announced a milestone in their business partnership that was formed earlier this year. Rocktop — a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that works to improve yields for institutional investors, asset managers and other participants in the fixed-income and mortgage markets — has now placed more than $60 billion in […]
Despite concerns from housing and mortgage industry trade groups, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Thursday announced the release of VantageScore 4.0 historic credit data, a step that is designed to ease the transition to new credit reporting requirements by the end of next year. The datasets released Wednesday are tied to single-family mortgages […]
The Consumer Price Index fell 3% in June on an annual basis, a sharper decrease than economists had anticipated. It’s a shot in the arm for the housing industry, which has been battered by several years of high interest rates as the Federal Reserve tries to tamp down inflation. The evidence that inflation is meaningfully […]
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have a lot of potential for aging in place, as evidenced by their growing popularity and statements from private companies and public officials alike that emphasize their utility for housing seniors. In one recent instance highlighted by the Los Angeles Times, one family turned to an ADU after finding limited options […]
With the release of the CoreLogic 2024 Q1 Equity Insights report, which Logan discussed last week, and now the FHFA National Mortgage Database Aggregate Statistics, we have a lot of visibility into the financial position of the American homeowner. The important message in the mortgage data is that even as the economy perhaps finally slows […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Wednesday announced a newly proposed rule that would amend Regulation X and require mortgage servicers to emphasize borrower assistance and loss-mitigation options over foreclosure when a borrower struggles to make their required mortgage payments. “The proposed changes would also make it simpler for servicers to offer assistance by […]
Signs of a “stagnant late-spring housing market“ emerged in June as U.S. home prices declined for the first time this year and purchase mortgage locks fell by 8% year over year. That’s a key takeaway from the June 2024 Market Advantage report released Wednesday by Optimal Blue. The report, which covers the 20 largest U.S. […]
Highlands Residential Mortgage announced that Dan Carson recently joined the company as a senior vice president and area manager of its Park Cities branch in Dallas. Carson has spent more than a decade in the mortgage industry, having previously served in leadership positions for OriginPoint, Willow Bend Mortgage Co., PrimeLending and PNC Bank. Dan Carson […]
The complexities of Non-QM lending demand a strategic approach that combines innovation, efficiency, and resilience. Acra Lending has positioned itself at the forefront of this sector by investing in its workforce, optimizing processes, leveraging cutting-edge technology, and building a robust infrastructure. In this executive conversation, we delve into how Acra Lending is enhancing its operations […]
As expected, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell did not set a timeline for lowering interest rates during his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress on Tuesday morning when participants complained about the effects of a tightening monetary policy in the housing market. Powell indicated that Fed officials are not there yet, but suggested a better […]
Over a quarter (26%) of retired investors continue to pay off their mortgage, and precisely one-quarter of the cohort are continuing to pay down credit card debt, according to a new survey from the Nationwide Retirement Institute. The U.S. retirement population is getting older at a faster rate and are also confronted with inflation as […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Tuesday announced that it has published updated policies for its 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program, in an effort to “modernize the program and enhance its usefulness for individuals and families seeking affordable financing for renovating or rehabilitating a single-family home when purchasing or refinancing it.” […]
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) and consumer credit scoring system VantageScore announced on Tuesday that the bank is now accepting mortgage collateral using VantageScore 4.0, an updated version of the scoring system using trended credit bureau data. “[M]ember financial institutions can now pledge mortgage collateral using VantageScore credit scores as an […]
At the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Eastern Regional Meeting in May, Acting Ginnie Mae President Sam Valverde said that the government-owned company planned to release a term sheet for a newly proposed Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) program sometime in the next month. After the industry’s secondary market was rocked by […]
The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) on Monday submitted a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, urging the agency to more forcefully go after trigger lead solicitations. To cement the point, CHLA is calling such solicitations “junk calls,” echoing the language of the campaign the Bureau has waged against “junk […]
Top-five mortgage lender Newrez, owned by asset manager Rithm Capital, has imposed another round of layoffs affecting 265 employees in Colorado and Arizona, per documents sent to state authorities. That’s the third round this year, following the acquisition of Computershare Mortgage Services and its affiliate Specialized Loan Servicing (SLS ) for $720 million in October […]
Roughly eight months after acquiring PacWest Bancorp in a rescue deal, Banc of California is selling roughly $2 billion in business-purpose residential mortgage loans, according to Bloomberg. PacWest had already sold the servicing on the debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) loans, which were originated by its subsidiary Civic Financial Services, before Pacwest was acquired by […]
Global asset manager Bain Capital announced Monday that it has acquired a controlling stake in Archwest Capital, a California-based company that offers financing to residential real estate investors. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the companies said in a joint statement that Archwest management, led by CEO Shawn Miller, would retain […]
A New York jury found Vishal Garg, CEO and founder of digital mortgage lender Better.com, liable for breach of fiduciary duty and conversion in a decade-long lawsuit filed by his former partner, Raza Khan. Garg intends to appeal. The court ordered Garg to pay $5.5 million to Educational Investment & Finance Corporation (EIFC), the company […]
Attorneys for both Ginnie Mae and Texas Capital Bank (TCB) are asking a magistrate judge overseeing their case about HECM tail collateral in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas for an extension to decide on separate motions brought by both parties: one seeking a change of venue to a different court, […]
As those in or near retirement continue to proclaim a preference for aging in place, there may be challenges for people who aren’t sure about how or when they should get started on making plans. A series of home healthcare, renovation and senior care experts offer tips on ways to begin in a column published […]
Data on the intersection between housing issues and politics is clear: in 2024, housing is an issue that resonates strongly with younger voters, but high mortgage rates and high home prices may be issues for years to come. This is according to a report published this week by Politico. Recent data about attributes of the […]
Fewer prospective mortgage borrowers pulled the trigger in June, according to a new report from Mortgage Capital Trading. Mortgage rate locks decreased 7.84% in June compared to the previous month. This drop follows a brief uptick in volume at the beginning of the traditional buying season, suggesting a continuing stalemate between limited housing supply and […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) this week detailed its reasons for opposing a bill in the state of Florida designed “to expand projects eligible for residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing,” which was recently signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Florida Senate Bill SB-770 authorizes local and county authorities within the state to […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Wednesday announced that it has released five new language translations for 19 separate single-family mortgage documents used for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgage servicing. The new translations — which are available in Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese — are accessible from FHA’s language access webpage […]
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wednesday announced that the warrants of Finance of America, traded under the ticker symbol “FOA.WS,” will be delisted from the exchange due to being out of compliance with the exchange’s continued listing standard. The class A common shares traded under the “FOA” ticker symbol, however, will continue to […]
Mortgage applications declined by 2.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ending June 28, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The trade group cited upward movement in mortgage rates as the key reason why. According to HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center, the average rate for 30-year conventional loans was […]
As humans, we love projecting our emotions on non-human things like animals, objects and weather events. I’m told the psychological term for this is anthropomorphism, which is difficult to say three times super fast. We especially seem to label human-like characteristics for things that we can’t fully understand or have no means of explaining – […]
Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra for a podcast this week and the talk turned to technology and tech companies. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Listen to the whole episode here. Sarah Wheeler: Let’s talk about technology’s role in making these things […]
After the reverse mortgage industry’s key performance metrics rallied in May, June fared slightly worse than previously telegraphed by case number assignments. Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements fell by 14.4% in June to 2,105, while HECM case numbers for May dropped 7.9% to 3,214. This is according to data compiled by Reverse Market Insight […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) last month issued an enforcement order against former Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) servicing contractor NOVAD Management Consulting and subcontractor Sutherland Global for what the bureau called “illegal activities that harmed older homeowners and caused them to fear losing their homes.” An attorney said the decision could have broad […]
Patrice Ficklin, who has served at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) since the agency’s founding in 2011, will depart for Fannie Mae to serve as the government-sponsored enterprise’s fair lending officer. The news was first reported by American Banker. Ficklin has been a mainstay at the CFPB, overseeing the launch of the bureau’s fair […]
A new report by IDIQ®, a financial intelligence company, details top consumer credit concerns provided by mortgage, real estate, and lending professionals as well as borrowers themselves. The research included surveys of more than 100 mortgage and real estate professionals, more than 200 prospective borrowers, and a study of proprietary data of more than 20,000 […]
Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate, one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders, has rebranded to Rate. The company made the announcement Monday on social media. “Today, we’re rebranding as Rate,” the company posted on LinkedIn. “Just like our streamlined name, we’re committed to making the mortgage process smoother, faster and smarter, using AI to empower both customers […]
97% of consumers search for local businesses online, and 78% of marketers report that digital marketing significantly increases business revenue. If you’re not leveraging digital marketing in today’s mortgage landscape, you’re missing out on a significant opportunity. In our fast-paced, technology-driven world, digital marketing has become an essential competitive advantage for mortgage loan officers (MLOs) […]
HousingWire is excited to announce the winners of the 2024 Women of Influence award, recognizing 100 women who are shaping and propelling the housing economy forward with their impressive achievements. This year marks the 15th year of this award program. Many of this year’s winners mentor women in the industry, paving the way for a […]
Texas Capital Bank (TCB) is seeking a new partial summary judgment in its suit against Ginnie Mae. The suit alleges that the government-owned company “extinguished, in return for no consideration, TCB’s first priority lien on tens of millions of dollars in collateral” stemming from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-sponsored Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program. […]