Optimal Blue announced on Wednesday a new capability in its product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine that fully automates the process for a lock desk user to execute locks directly with participating investors through an application programming interface (API). The PPE already automates pricing, lock requests, post-lock changes and mandatory execution. This week’s move eliminates […]
Freddie Mac released its second-quarter 2025 earnings on Thursday morning, reporting net income of $2.4 billion from April through June. That marked a decrease of 14% compared to the same period last year, driven primarily by an increase in the provision for credit losses. At the end of Q2, Freddie‘s net worth was $65 billion. […]
ICE is rewriting the playbook on how lenders engage with customers across the homeownership journey. Matt Dowd, VP of Product Management at ICE, shares the company’s strategy to unify its origination and servicing solutions, allowing lenders to more easily identify, engage and convert opportunities within their existing portfolios to drive business growth. This integrated approach […]
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s bill, the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, into law after it received approval last week from the Senate. The VA Home Loan Program Reform Act will reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgage program by adding a partial claim option — a […]
After a public backlash against the Social Security Administration (SSA) earlier this year, the federal agency said it would walk back some of its plans that would’ve required more beneficiaries to make in-person office visits. But a report released this week by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a nonpartisan research group, counteracts […]
The Federal Reserve has decided to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at a range of 4.25% to 4.5% following its two-day meeting on Wednesday. The decision aligns with market expectations as the central bank remains cautious amid persistent inflation. Most market participants are now anticipating a rate cut in September, which could provide relief […]
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is urging the Trump administration to release $324 million in funding that was already approved to help small businesses and communities in poor and rural areas. In a letter viewed by Bloomberg News, lawmakers led by Senate Banking Committee members Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) requested that […]
Fannie Mae announced its second quarter 2025 earnings on Wednesday and reported net income of $3.3 billion, which marked the government-sponsored enterprise’s 30th consecutive quarter of positive earnings. The company grew its net worth to $101.6 billion, representing $88.1 billion in net worth added since the start of 2020 and up from the first quarter’s […]
Mortgage applications decreased 3.8% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending July 25, 2025. The decrease represented the applications’ lowest level since May. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 4% compared with the previous week. “Mortgage applications fell to their […]
A new bill introduced in the Senate would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider unconverted digital assets in mortgage underwriting. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced the legislation, known as the 21st Century Mortgage Act, on Tuesday. S.B. 2471 is a response to a directive from Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing […]
Amid increasing levels of mortgage fraud, the FBI has renewed a warning to Americans about an app that could trick victims into losing their entire banking, savings, retirement or investment accounts. The FBI first issued a public service announcement on the Phantom Hacker scam in September 2023. But on July 15, the bureau’s Los Angeles […]
Mortgage rates have stayed remarkably consistent for much of 2025. With the calendar set to flip to August this week, there’s little to suggest that trend will change. On Tuesday, HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center showed that rates for 30-year conforming loans averaged 6.91%, down 1 basis point from a week ago. Rates for 30-year loans […]
The bipartisan “Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act of 2025,” or “ROAD to Housing Act,” took a step forward on Monday, advancing through a Senate Banking Committee markup. The legislation, led by Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), aims to increase housing supply and affordability while improving oversight […]
Audit software and automation solutions company LoanLogics announced Tuesday that 11.5% of all U.S. mortgage file content was missing or erroneous over the past 10 years, according to an analysis of internal data. LoanLogics provides technology used to originate, manufacture, audit and service loans. Its systems process more than half of all U.S. mortgages each […]
ICE Mortgage Technology’s new integration of its servicing and origination platforms reflects a broader trend in the mortgage industry — offering home equity loans while rates remain high and preparing for refinances as rates begin to decline. The same logic underpins deals such as Rocket Companies’ acquisition of Mr. Cooper Group and Bayview Asset Management’s […]
Anthony Hsieh is back in the CEO role at loanDepot — the company he founded in 2010 — on a permanent basis. His focus will be on returning the mortgage lender to profitability and regaining market share, the company announced on Monday. Hsieh stepped down as CEO in April 2022 and was succeeded by industry […]
Figure Technology Solutions, a blockchain-native capital marketplace, announced on Monday an expansion of Intellidebt, its Direct Debt Payoff (DDP) solution. The move aims to allow borrowers to consolidate existing liens and high-interest debt directly through the loan application process. The upgrade boosts borrower qualification potential by improving combined loan-to-value (CLTV) ratios, debt-to-income (DTI) ratios and […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is proposing to repeal its fair lending, fair housing and equitable housing finance rule, arguing that the regulation is duplicative that the repeal aligns with prior executive orders aimed at streamlining agency functions. The rule, finalized in May 2024 under the Biden administration, required Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac […]
Rithm Capital, the parent of multichannel mortgage lender Newrez, said it’s not currently moving forward with plans on an initial public offering for the subsidiary as it focuses on supporting the firm’s broader portfolio. Instead, the firm is turning its attention to mergers and acquisitions, even amid macroeconomic uncertainty. “First of all, we spent a […]
A class action lawsuit filed this week against loanDepot, alleging steering and violations of loan originator (LO) compensation rules, has brought to light practices used by lenders for years that lacked clear guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Attorneys told HousingWire that lenders often allow compensation tied to lead source and internal loan […]
Go Mortgage‘s majority owner and CEO Michael Isaacs have parted ways, sources told HousingWire this week. Staff at the Ohio-based retail lender were told on Monday that Isaacs’ tenure was over, and that majority owner Jordan Hansell had named himself as interim CEO. The departure was a mutual decision, with Hansell and President Andrew Paganos […]
Welcome back to Tech Pulse — HousingWire‘s weekly series rounding up the latest in technology news, including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Here’s what happened this week: Senate Democrats press FHFA on crypto use in mortgages Five Senate Democrats are urging caution as the Federal Housing Finance Agency considers allowing unconverted cryptocurrency in mortgage underwriting. […]
Five Senate Democrats are raising concerns about the potential risks of using unconverted cryptocurrency assets in mortgage underwriting, urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to tread carefully. In a letter addressed to FHFA Director Bill Pulte, the senators reacted to his social media post from late June, in which Pulte said the agency is […]
Nearly two-thirds of retirees are dissatisfied with Social Security benefits, according to a new survey conducted by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL). The average monthly Social Security check reached north of $2,000 this year, according to the survey, with just 10% of the 1,920 respondents saying they were satisfied with that amount. Roughly 63% reported […]
Nearly two dozen members of Congress recently sent a letter to Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), that supports his decision to accept VantageScore 4.0 credit scores for mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The lawmakers, led by Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), said that the move will help President […]
Another merger and acquisition deal has hit the housing industry. Real estate and mortgage intelligence provider InGenius announced Wednesday that it has acquired SIMPL, a recruitment platform designed to support retail mortgage branch managers, and it has incorporate it into its existing data tools. Built by Fobby Naghmi and John Perry, SIMPL stands for Strategic […]
Barry Habib, the founder and CEO of MBS Highway and a go-to source for mortgage industry predictions, has been named to Fannie Mae‘s board of directors. A recent filing with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed that Habib had been appointed to the board effective July 21. “The appointment of Mr. Habib is until the […]
On Wednesday, Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD) brought you a ranking of the top five reverse mortgage loan originators in America. Today, we’ll round out the rest of the top 10 based on data from mortgage recruiting software provider Modex. #6: Jacob Flax, Caliver Beach Mortgage, $76.17 million The third member of the Caliver Beach Mortgage […]
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, Angela — who own three homes in Texas — are facing similar accusations of mortgage fraud as the ones President Donald Trump levied against Sen. Adam Schiff of California and New York AG Letitia James. According to records assessed by The Associated Press (AP), mortgages signed by […]
HousingWire reports on the quarterly earnings of publicly traded mortgage and real estate companies, offering a glimpse into the financial performance of key players in the housing market. As earnings results begin to be released for the second quarter of 2025, here’s a rundown of what’s happening at the major lenders, brokerages, listing portals and […]
Customer satisfaction with mortgage servicers has plummeted this year, with an average satisfaction score that’s now much lower than the typical score for mortgage originators. That’s according to J.D. Power‘s 2025 U.S. Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study, released onThursday. J.D. Power said the gap comes down to communication and service. While 30-year mortgage rates remain high […]
Dozens of former Fannie Mae employees filed a lawsuit this week, alleging discrimination after being abruptly fired in April over donations made through the government-sponsored enterprise’s charitable program. The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claims that on April 2, more than 80 employees received an email from […]
Fidelis Investors, an alternative asset manager with more than $1 billion in assets under management, on Wednesday announced the closing of its second-rated securitization of residential transition loans (RTLs) The deal, which was reportedly oversubscribed in every tranche by new and returning investors, follows Fidelis’s first securitization in February 2025. The deal represents another milestone […]
Mr. Cooper Group remained profitable across its mortgage origination and servicing businesses in the second quarter of 2025, despite the loss of a major subservicing client ahead of its pending acquisition by Rocket Companies. “The company is firing on all cylinders,” CEO Jay Bray said in a recorded earnings call. “This is a real achievement […]
Mortgage applications increased less than a full percentage point (0.8%) from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending July 18, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 1% compared with the previous week. The refinance index decreased 3% from the previous […]
Figure Technology Solutions, a technology platform powering a liquid, blockchain-based marketplace for financial products, announced on Wednesday that Synergy One Lending is the first institutional client to fund through its Democratized Prime platform. Democratized Prime — and specifically, its home equity line of credit (HELOC) pool — is Figure’s decentralized marketplace that operates as a […]
PennyMac Financial Services Inc. (PFSI) on Tuesday reported net income of $136.5 million for Q2 2025 on revenue of $444.7 million, which executives attributed to big strides made in the broker channel and a servicing portfolio that has surpassed $700 billion UPB. During the earnings call, CEO and Chairman David Spector commented that PennyMac was experiencing […]
Almost two-thirds of Americans say they worry more about running out of money in retirement than about dying — and for many, that fear may become a reality. According to a survey from retirement technology firm IRALogix, about half of America’s retirees don’t take any systematic approach to withdrawing their many billions of dollars in […]
Seattle-based HomeStreet Bank has agreed to sell its $794 million Ginnie Mae loan servicing portfolio to an undisclosed “experienced” buyer, the company announced in a regulatory filing. The transaction is scheduled to close on August 1. “As HomeStreet carried this servicing portfolio at current market value at June 30, 2025, no gain or loss is […]
Luxury real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate has partnered with Associated Mortgage Bankers to launch an in-house mortgage platform, Elliman Capital, designed to streamline the financing process for homebuyers. Initially rolling out in Florida, the platform will expand nationwide. The move comes amid growing competition in the brokerage space, highlighted by Rocket Companies’ recent […]
After two straight weeks of declines, mortgage rates have risen for two weeks in a row and returned to the levels seen at the end of June. On Tuesday, HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center showed that rates for 30-year conforming loans averaged 6.92%, up 6 basis points from one week ago. Rates for 30-year loans through […]
Rithm Capital, the parent company of multichannel mortgage lender Newrez, has struck a deal with an institutional investor to potentially acquire up to $1.5 billion in residential transitional loans (RTLs). The asset manager announced the agreement on Tuesday but did not disclose the name of the institutional investor. RTLs are short-term loans designed for real […]
In the wake of massive wildfires that destroyed 16,000 structures in Los Angeles County in January, hundreds of banks and mortgage companies agreed to let borrowers delay their monthly payments for 90 days, without demands for full repayment at the end of the forbearance period. Others simply pledged relief and relocation assistance. California’s state-run mortgage […]
Tidalwave, a mortgage technology startup that’s integrated with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced Monday that it has hired a pair of industry veterans to bolster its sales team. John Stephenson has joined Tidalwave as its head of national sales, while Frank Pastirchak is the company’s new account executive. Stephenson is a former relationship manager […]
Future retirees may want to sacrifice warm weather for happiness, as New Hampshire is the best state to retire in, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Best States to Retire study. On the opposite end of the study, Louisiana ranks the worst state to retire in. Bankrate’s study, published on Monday, surveyed 2,260 U.S. adults in May […]