Mortgage rates continued their downward trajectory at the start of 2024, incentivizing homebuyers to apply for loans. Meanwhile, an easing of the inventory shortage foreshadows the possible return of a stable housing market. Lock volume increased by 36% between December and January, driven by a 38% seasonal increase in purchase lock volume, according to Optimal […]
New Jersey-based mortgage lender The Money Store named industry veteran Coleen Bogle as chief marketing officer, the company announced on Monday. The hiring follows changes in marketing leadership at other mortgage companies, including Guild Mortgage and Rocket Companies. Bogle was at Chicago-based retail shop Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. (DKMC), which was acquired by New American Funding (NAF) in early February due to its parent […]
Amanda Phillips, EVP of Compliance, ACES Quality Management In the current mortgage landscape, ensuring the highest standards of loan quality is paramount not only during the origination process but also over the life of the loan. As the mortgage industry grapples with a changing market and regulatory complexities, we sat down with Amanda Phillips, Executive […]
So far in 2024, fewer homes are taking price cuts than in 2023, and this trend is on the verge of breaking below the 2023 lows in price cuts percentages. While weekly inventory is still falling, we have year-over-year growth in total active listing and new listings data. This calls into question a mortgage rate […]
The availability of mortgage credit increased in January, according to a report issued by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) based on data sourced from ICE Mortgage Technology. The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) increased in January to 92.7, or by 0.7% over December’s figure, based on initial benchmarking of the index to 100 in […]
Last year was a challenging one for reverse mortgage business activity, and it likely hit no one harder than the industry’s front-line loan originators. After enduring challenges stemming from higher interest rates, stricter qualifications and broader industry consolidation, loan officers seem to be optimistic about how things have progressed in the early portion of 2024. […]
A lawsuit against the “All-In” initiative at United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) should be dismissed, a federal judge said, citing inadequate evidence to prove accusations against the lender. Florida-based Okavage Group sued UWM in April 2021, following the lender’s announcement of an ultimatum that the wholesale lender will no longer partner with brokers who also work […]
Beginning this year, the baby-boom generation — primarily those born between 1945 and 1960, depending on the social scientist you talk to — will reach “peak 65.” This is the beginning of a period that will see the largest numbers of the cohort turn age 65. But as the population reaches this milestone, a bill […]
Mr. Cooper Group was profitable in 2023, a year marked by its acquisition of Home Point Capital and Roosevelt Management Co., along with the fallout from a cyberattack. Mr. Cooper’s strong performance was mainly due to its servicing business, which benefited from a higher interest rate environment. During a call with analysts on Friday morning, company executives addressed some […]
People have been screaming about a housing bubble crash on social media sites for over 12 years. The truth is, U.S. housing credit looks very different than in 2005, 2006, 2007 or 2008. Homeowners have actually never looked better and the data from the Federal Reserve‘s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit shows why. […]
When creating retirement plans, people often consider their investments and other financial assets when determining the future course to take, but they rarely consider what is often their most valuable asset: their home. This is according to Steve Resch, vice president of retirement strategies at Finance of America Reverse (FAR), in a new column published […]
New York-based real estate investment trust Two Harbors has hired industry veteran Kyle Kilpatrick to lead its newly created mortgage originations division, which is part of the company’s strategy to retain borrowers from its servicing portfolio when interest rates drop. “He has experience building direct-to-consumer channel products and businesses from scratch,” Bill Greenberg, president and […]
Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Trevor Gauthier, CEO at ACES Quality Management, to talk about the benefits of tech partnerships and how the company is building a moat around their regulatory and compliance business. Sarah Wheeler: How do you think about build versus buy? Trevor Gauthier: For us, it’s actually four-fold. We […]
Mortgage rates stabilized this week despite newly released economic data. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.64% as of Feb. 8, a slight increase from last week’s figure of 6.63%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released on Thursday. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed rate averaged 5.90% this week, down from 5.94% during the prior […]
John “Buz” Gorman, a key figure in financial regulation for nearly 30 years, passed away on Monday following an eight-month battle with glioblastoma, a form of cancer. Throughout his tenure as general counsel for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), Gorman contributed to significant legislative milestones and nurtured the next generation of regulators. “The […]
Longtime reverse mortgage industry professional Bruce Simmons of American Liberty Mortgage in the Denver area has long used radio as both an educational and marketing tool for prospective reverse mortgage clients. Having endured many of the same business challenges in 2023 as other industry participants, Simmons recently sat down with RMD and described how a […]
Less than a year after coming to the rescue of Signature Bank during the market turmoil of March 2023, New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) faces a confidence crisis due to its exposure to commercial real estate loans. The stress is leading to the bank to seek the sale of some of its assets to improve its capital position, executives […]
The Fannie Mae February Selling Guide has a series of updates, including the expansion of value acceptance and property data appraisal waivers to condominiums, cash-out refinance allowances for manufactured homes, and updates to credit references and certain definitions. Following up on a March 2023 update that first announced value acceptance and property data as a […]
The Underserved Mortgage Markets Coalition (UMMC), a coalition of 32 housing groups initially convened by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, published a report on Wednesday that recommended actions for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Described as a “blueprint” for the GSEs’ 2025–2027 “Duty to Serve” plans, the publication aims to […]
New York-based Rithm Capital posted a profit in 2023, a year marked by several acquisitions that turned the company into a leading global asset manager. In the mortgage space, the parent of multichannel lender Newrez earned most of its profits from the servicing business. Lower interest rates, however, reduced the value of mortgage servicing rights (MSR) in the […]
Consumer sentiment toward housing reached its highest level since March 2022, fueled by increased confidence in job security and a higher share of people who expect mortgage rates to decrease. Fannie Mae’s home purchase sentiment index (HPSI) — which tracks the U.S. housing market and consumer confidence to sell or buy a home — rose […]
Mortgage demand picked up last week as lower interest rates steered homebuyers back into the market, but activity remains weaker than a year ago because of limited inventory. Mortgage applications increased by 3.7% during the week ending Feb. 2 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey. […]
The data is clear: aging in place is a clear preference for many older Americans making plans for how their later years will play out. But a lot of people approaching these ages may not know the best ways they can make their homes more accommodating for natural changes that come with aging, according to […]
Finance of America Companies (FOA), which had previously borrowed $60 million from longtime backer Blackstone Group, has increased its borrowed amount to $85 million and extended the end of its repayment term from November 2024 to May 2025. This is according to an 8-K filing made this week by FOA with the U.S. Securities and […]
Rocket Homes Real Estate rolled out its new app on Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s new virtual reality and mixed-reality headset. It will allow users to view and tour properties by blending their physical and virtual worlds, Rocket said. When homebuyers launch the Rocket Homes app in Apple Vision Pro, a home search page and map […]
Banks reported having tightened lending standards across almost all categories of residential real estate loans over the fourth quarter of 2023 amid an elevated interest rate environment. There’s some optimism, however. With the central bank expected to cut interest rates this year, banks reported that loan demand should strengthen across residential loan categories in 2024, […]
Insellerate, a customer relationship management (CRM) provider that serves banks, credit unions and other lenders, has rehauled its user interface (UI) to make it more user-friendly and efficient. To redesign the interface, the company collected feedback from more than 250 loan officers, demonstrating the company’s commitment to enhancing user experience. “The new UI is a […]
Dallas-based OneTrust Home Loans brought on James Hecht as its CEO to spearhead the company’s various mortgage lending divisions. As a result, co-founders Josh Erskine and Shane Erskine will be pivoting to the roles of CEO and president at Warp Speed Holdings, respectively. In a statement, Hecht expressed his enthusiasm about joining OneTrust Home Loans. […]
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate surpassed the 7% mark on Monday on the heels of strong economic data and the Federal Reserve signaling that it will move carefully with any future cuts to interest rates. The 30-year conforming fixed mortgage rate was at 7.04% on Mortgage News Daily and 6.91% on HousingWire’s Mortgage Rate Center. […]
By 2034, an estimated one in five residents of the state of California will be age 65 or older. While this won’t lead to a “silver tsunami” when it comes to a flood of housing inventory, the impacts of an aging population are difficult to ignore. These shifting dynamics are causing the California state government […]
Recent market trends — including an improvement in mortgage rates, housing affordability and potential refinance opportunities — suggest positive signs for the real estate market this year, according to February’s Mortgage Monitor report from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Mortgage rates held at 6.71% as of Jan. 24, down more than a full percentage point since their […]
Freddie Mac will offer a $2,500 credit for very low-income purchase borrowers to help with down payment and closing costs amid elevated interest rates and low housing supply. Effective March 1, the credit will be available for homebuyers earning 50% of area median income (AMI) or less through Freddie Mac’s Home Possible and Housing Finance […]
There was rampant speculation after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting last week about the timing and number of interest rate cuts this year. In a follow-up interview on 60 Minutes on Sunday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell did not sound like someone who has pivoted. In fact, Powell believes the Fed can wait […]
How will mortgage rates impact seasonal inventory in 2024? Is the seasonal bottom going to happen later than I want? Maybe. It’s not what I wanted to see in 2024, but I have to be realistic since we are already in February. In the last four years, we have had abnormal seasonal inventory data, meaning […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Friday announced that it has published a new final rule that eliminates a current requirement for lenders to register the branch offices where they conduct FHA Title I or Title II mortgage loan originations. By removing these requirements, FHA hopes to involve more community-based entities in its Title I […]
With ongoing liquidity challenges and a continuing lag in Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) case numbers, reverse mortgage business in 2024 started off with a bit of a whimper. Both HECM endorsements and HECM-backed securities (HMBS) issuance saw modest declines in January, although four of the top 10 HECM lenders managed to post slight gains […]
Most of last year’s top-producing loan officers at Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. (DKMC) are not transitioning to the company’s acquirer, New American Funding (NAF), according to multiple sources and available public data. During their departure, DKMC sales staff who are not joining NAF were informed by leadership that they will have to wait a […]
Retired couples who are Medicare beneficiaries could need as much as $413,000 saved to cover medical expenses in the latter stages of life, an increase over the previous year’s estimate of $383,000. This is according to new findings from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). The figure is the “predicted savings target for Medicare beneficiaries […]
In a high-rate environment, Pennymac Financial Services delivered profits in 2023, mainly due to the performance of its servicing portfolio. That’s despite a net loss in the last quarter of the year attributable to the resolution of a long-standing arbitration process with Black Knight regarding its servicing technology and losses in mortgage servicing rights (MSR) fair value. “2023 was […]
United Bank will consolidate its mortgage subsidiaries into one unified mortgage business amid the housing industry struggles with elevated interest rates. United Bank has been delivering mortgage services through three channels, including two mortgage subsidiaries — Crescent Mortgage Co. and George Mason Mortgage — and an in-bank channel. “In an effort to better serve our […]
The report on the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) book of business inside the Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund was another positive overall development for the program, with the estimated economic net worth of the HECM MMI at $15.368 billion, according to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Annual Report to Congress released in November. The […]
For the past 12 years, HousingWire’s Tech100 program has recognized the industry’s most innovative and impactful technology companies that are continuing to bring long-awaited solutions to the challenges that mortgage and real estate professionals have struggled with for decades. The award uncovers the innovators that are unleashing insight with analytics, powering growth and efficiency with […]
Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Uday Devalla, chief technology officer at Sagent and a 2023 Vanguard, to talk about his focus on transforming servicing, what really counts with data and the right approach to using artificial intelligence. Sarah Wheeler: After spending several decades leading tech at lenders, including Stearns and Bank of […]
Mortgage rates continued their downward plunge this week as inflation keeps decelerating. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.63% as of Feb. 1, a decrease from last week’s figure of 6.69%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released on Thursday. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed rate averaged 5.94% this week, down from 5.96% during the […]
The board voted to fill its newly created vacancy by appointing Rampell to serve as a Class II director, effective Feb. 1, according to an Rocket Companies expanded its board of directors from eight to nine, adding an artificial intelligence (AI) and fintech expert. Rocket — under the helm of Varun Krishna, a veteran in […]