After falling 0.8% in March, housing starts were back up again in April, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Home starts checked in at an estimated annual pace of 1.401 million in April, up 2.2% month over month. Despite this […]
Incenter Diligence Solutions, a provider of due diligence and document management services for the mortgage industry, announced on Wednesday that it has expanded offerings for the mortgage servicing rights (MSR) trading market. These new offerings complement the trading services provided by Incenter Mortgage Advisors, which is another member of the Incenter LLC family of companies […]
Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Home Point Capital did not experience the traditional ceremony to ring the Nasdaq Stock Market bell when the company went public in early 2021. Open and closed ceremonies usually occur at the Nasdaq MarketSite Studio in Times Square, but that changed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Home Point had […]
Wells Fargo-backed mortgage fintech Maxwell has struck a deal to acquire mortgage solutions provider LenderSelect Mortgage Group from Blue Ridge Bank. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. The deal, announced on Tuesday, expands Denver, Colorado-based Maxwell’s secondary market trading platform and brings hundreds of new clients to the company’s other solutions. That is Maxwell’s first M&A […]
The U.S. mortgage market faced a new “refinance boom” when mortgage rates declined by nearly 200 basis points between November 2018 and November 2020, following the Federal Reserve rate cuts that were made to remedy the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimate the size of […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on Monday it issued a request for input (RFI) regarding government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s single-family pricing framework. The goal is to gather public feedback on the “goals and policy priorities that FHFA should pursue in its oversight of the pricing framework,” the agency said. […]
According to The rise of active listings in this spring housing market reminds me of a zombie slowly rising from its grave. Yes, we found the seasonal bottom for housing inventory on April 14, but this year’s rise in active listings has been tepid at best. Here’s a quick rundown of the last week: Total […]
Home Point Capital reported another quarterly loss on Friday morning, just two days after announcing that it is being sold to Mr. Cooper Group for $324 million in cash. The transaction will result in the company shutting down in the coming months. In the first quarter, Home Point’s origination and servicing businesses were in the […]
This week’s mortgage rates declined slightly, continuing a recent “sideways trend” at the low 6% mark. Rates reflected a moderation in inflation and the banking crisis, and the consequent expectation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) is done hiking the federal funds rate. Per Freddie Mac‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.35% […]
Flueid, a leading technology company specializing in real estate transactions, announced on Thursday the integration of its patented Flueid Decision platform with Encompass by ICE Mortgage Technology. This integration allows lenders to access Flueid’s title data and insights during the loan application process, resulting in time savings and a simplified consumer experience. The Flueid Decision […]
Rent inflation We don’t need to worry about 1970s-style rent inflation. That kind of inflation couldn’t happen today because the shelter inflation growth rate has been cooling off already, and we have seen this in more real-time data. Also, we have over 900,000 apartment units coming on line soon, and the best way to defeat […]
Dallas-based Mr. Cooper Group has entered into an agreement to acquire struggling Home Point Capital for $324 million in cash, the companies announced on Wednesday. The transaction will ultimately result in the seller shutting down operations. Rumors that Mr. Cooper was interested in Michigan-based Home Point spread after the latter sold its wholesale origination business […]
In the first quarter of the year, California mortgage technology firm Blend Labs shrunk its financial losses amid efforts to cut costs, improve the mortgage business and grow the Blend Builder platform. Blend reported a non-GAAP net loss of $35.6 million in the first quarter, compared to $49.2 million in the prior quarter and $45 million in […]
Payroll connectivity platform Argyle announced this week that it has grown the number of its consumer verifications 100% year over year and has welcomed over 35 new customers so far in 2023. The company offers direct-source data portability tools for mortgage, lending, banking, background and tenant screening, and other use cases. “We’ve packaged five years […]
Did you hear that sound? That’s the entire mortgage industry shouting, “hip, hip hooray!” The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Wednesday announced that it would rescind a controversial loan-level pricing adjustment (LLPA) for conventional borrowers with debt-to-income (DTI) levels at or above 40%. The FHFA, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, had previously […]
April’s Consumer Price Index data is welcome news to the Federal Reserve, which is debating whether to continue hiking interest rates after its most recent 25 basis point hike last week. Especially encouraging is that housing inflation pressure in the CPI is starting to ease, with April representing the smallest one month change in over two […]
UWM Holdings Corporation, the parent of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), reported a financial loss in the first quarter amid a decline in the fair value of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) and falling origination volumes. The wholesale lender posted financial losses in the first quarter, but the company increased margins as it pulled back on its aggressive pricing […]
The expectation that the Federal Reserve might be done with hiking rates spurred the mortgage market last week. “Mortgage applications responded positively to a drop in rates last week, as the Fed signaled a potential pause at the current level for the federal funds rate in anticipation of inflation slowing and tightening financial conditions that will slow economic and […]
Independent mortgage banks have been coping with a still-surging wave of loan-repurchase requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that represents yet another threat to lenders’ already stretched balance sheets. Much of the problem stems from the huge volume of low-rate loans originated in 2020 and 2021 at a time when the industry was continuously working to build capacity to deal […]
Big Purple Dot (BPD), a technology solutions provider for the real estate industry, announced this week that it has launched BPD Recruit, a recruiting software designed to transform talent acquisition strategies and deliver exceptional results. The software is powered by CoreLogic, a renowned leader in data and analytics solutions. With BPD Recruit, Big Purple Dot […]
National Mortgage Insurance Corporation (National MI) announced on Tuesday its integration with Vesta, a loan origination system (LOS) provider and software-as-a-service company. The technology integration enables lenders to obtain price quotes and order National MI’s real-time, risk-based mortgage insurance through its Rate GPS tool instantly without leaving the Vesta LOS platform. “We are delighted to […]
Flagstar Bank, a top-25 U.S. mortgage lender, recently participated in two M&A deals. In December 2022, the bank concluded the merger with New York Community Bancorp after waiting for regulatory approvals for over a year. In March 2023, Flagstar surprised the market amid the banking crisis by acquiring some assets, liabilities and deposits of Signature […]
With mortgage rates still in the mid 6% range, borrowers who received mortgages in April 2023 paid an average of $2,343 a month, up 28% from a year prior. That’s according to the latest origination data from mortgage tech firm Candor Technology. Per data from Candor’s underwriting engine, the average buyer in April 2023 received […]
Fintech software and hardware company Mortgage Automation Technologies, Inc. announced on Monday that it has integrated its next-generation point of sale system, The BIG Point of Sale, on the latest API Platform available through ICE Mortgage Technology, a division of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. The goal was to create a configurable and robust Point of Sale […]
Mortgage lender and servicer NewRez on Monday launched a special purpose credit program through Freddie Mac that will provide $3,000 or more in closing cost assistance to qualifying first-time homebuyers. Freddie Mac’s BorrowSmart Access program will be available to NewRez borrowers through Caliber Home Loans‘ national network of branches. The program offers $3,000 or more […]
According to Just when I thought it was safe to say we were getting more traditional spring housing inventory , we hit a snag last week, as active inventory and new listings declined. Hopefully, this is just a blip, which can occur from time to time with weekly data. We had a lot of drama […]
In January, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) made a series of significant changes to loan level pricing adjustment (LLPA) fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on conventional/conforming mortgages. Although they went largely under the radar at the time, they ultimately caused an uproar among consumers, the mortgage industry and even some lawmakers. […]
Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight, Inc., announced on Thursday that the Optimal Blue product, pricing and eligibility engine (PPE) has added investor content from 54 state-based housing finance agencies (HFAs). HFAs provide affordable homeownership options to low- and moderate-income borrowers through down payment and closing cost assistance, as well as reduced mortgage payments. […]
California mortgage tech firm Blend Labs is at risk of getting delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as a consequence of the company’s stock price slumping below $1 for more than a month. Blend announced on Thursday that it received notice on April 28 from the NYSE that it was not in compliance […]
Elevated mortgage rates hurt Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, again in the first quarter of 2023. Rocket has been cutting expenses and targeting purchase business, but the firm was unable to achieve profitability in Q1 in a shrinking mortgage market. The Detroit-headquartered lender sustained a $111 million adjusted net income loss in the […]
“I haven’t seen a dry spell like this in the time I’ve been in business,” Bob Yopko, president of First Equity Residential Mortgage, said of this year’s spring homebuying season. The purchase market is locked up with a lack of inventory thanks to elevated rates and homeowners already having secured low mortgage rates during the […]
Investors haven’t exactly treated publicly traded mortgage companies very kindly over the past 12 months. To that end, Rithm Capital, the real estate investment trust that operates NewRez, Caliber and several other businesses, is considering spinning off the mortgage division to aid its flagging stock, which company executives described as “extremely undervalued.” “Our third-party fund […]
Pontiac, Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced on Wednesday that its brokers can request a dedicated loan coordinator, adding a level of loan processing support when needed. In addition, UWM announced brokers can also connect their loan origination platform to the lender’s system. When they order the service known as “PA+,” loan officers, processors, and […]
The Federal Reserve affirmed on Wednesday that its next key federal funds rate hikes will depend on incoming data. In turn, economists and housing industry experts have now turned their attention toward the June meeting, as that decision will dictate the future movement of mortgage rates. The Fed’s move on Wednesday was well anticipated and […]
The institutional single-family rental (SFR) market has expanded rapidly over the past decade as an alternative to homeownership, but it is now facing major headwinds in the form of a rapid jump in interest rates and still-high inflation compounded by decelerating home prices and rental rates. That’s the takeaway from a recent analysis of the […]
The Federal Reserve (Fed) raised its key federal funds rate for the 10th consecutive time, announcing a 0.25% rate hike Wednesday to 5% to 5.25%. The move was widely expected by Wall Street as the macroeconomic policy crafters have yet to break the labor market and inflation levels are still considered elevated. Several bank failures […]
Stavvy, a fintech company specializing in digital and remote collaboration for lending and real estate companies, announced on Wednesday a new partnership with WFG National Title Insurance Company (WFG) to provide the company and its customers with eClosing technology solutions. “Stavvy is incredibly excited to work with WFG to bring innovative eClosing solutions to the […]
As proptech evolves, so does the ability to automate processes within the real estate industry. Automation can lead to some serious ROI for property managers and operators, but it’s important to automate the right processes — otherwise, it may feel like you’re throwing money and technology at a problem without solving anything. According to Rently, […]
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined slightly last week, the first rate drop in three weeks, but it wasn’t enough to boost mortgage demand. Mortgage applications fell last week by 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The 30-year fixed […]
In March, a modest bump in homebuyer demand, combined with a decline in for-sale inventory, drove up home prices compared to the month prior. While home prices in many Western and pandemic boom markets are still well off their peaks, 40% of major markets have seen prices return to peak levels, according to Black Knight‘s […]
Earnings at Fannie Mae more than doubled in the first quarter to $3.78 billion despite revenue falling. The government sponsored entity reported $6.85 billion in revenues in the first quarter, down from $7.14 billion in the fourth quarter, attributing the revenue decline to falling amortization income as high interest rates resulted in lower prepayment speeds. […]
Snapdocs, a leading digital closing platform for the mortgage industry, has announced a new integration with Finastra‘s Mortgagebot loan origination system (LOS) to support Trustmark‘s eClose transformation. With this integration, Trustmark’s lenders nationwide can execute closings in a centralized workflow to drive faster closing times, reduce operating costs and enhance the borrower experience. “Our partnership […]
Columbus, Ohio-based Go Mortgage has announced the appointment of Jessica Manna as its chief marketing officer. In her new role, Manna will be responsible for overseeing all marketing initiatives and strategies to promote Go Mortgage’s brand further and drive business growth. Manna joins the mortgage lending company with over 20 years of experience in mortgage […]
The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) submitted a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in support of changes to the loan originator compensation rule, telling CFPB Director Rohit Chopra that the current rule’s “inflexibility” in certain areas is a “detriment” to consumers. The letter calls for increased flexibility in LO compensation restrictions, […]
HousingWire is excited to announce the 2023 class of Rising Stars! In its tenth year, this industry award is showcasing the up-and-coming leaders in housing who have had major accomplishments all before the age of 40. They help run major corporations, and are the entrepreneurs building tomorrow’s great businesses. They work in any and every […]