Canadian real estate tech firm Voxtur Analytics Corp. has agreed to buy mortgage servicing rights trading platform Blue Water Financial Technologies for a cool $101 million. Voxtur, which has been on a buying binge over the last few years, plans to combine Blue Water’s capital markets SaaS platform with its own constellation of real estate […]
The fate of Wells Fargo & Co.’s mortgage business has been the subject of industry speculation in the wake of a Bloomberg report indicating that the lending giant plans to shrink its enormous mortgage footprint, including a likely pull-back from the correspondent lending business. Shortly after that story went live, analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods(KBW) published a report stating that […]
Blend Labs executives say they are being conservative in managing the company after recording a massive financial loss in the second quarter of 2022. The California-based mortgage tech company plans to reduce costs, including cutting 25% of its workforce, and will focus on products with a higher return on investment amid an extreme market downturn. […]
A combination of fast-rising home values and the fact that nearly two-thirds of borrowers with at least some home equity have mortgage rates below 4% — and would not benefit from refinancing — is helping to propel a resurgent market for home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs). HELOCs allow homeowners to tap the equity in their […]
Servicers’ forbearance portfolio volume descended in July since mortgage forbearance rate dropped below 1% in April. The total number of loans decreased one basis point to 0.34%, according to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The mortgage forbearance rate on a declining trend is positive news after the economic impacts of the pandemic hit borrowers hard. The […]
In the face of a declining mortgage market and heightened regulatory scrutiny, Wells Fargo, the country’s largest depository mortgage lender by volume, is planning for a smaller footprint in correspondent lending and third-party servicing business. The depository bank will likely shrink or potentially halt correspondent lending, in which Wells Fargo funds the loan arranged by […]
By now, it is no surprise to hear that promoting women to leadership positions is beneficial for company performance and company culture, but it is time to go beyond talk. These leadership duos will share their experience in finding allies in the c-suite during the Women of Influence Forum at HW Annual on Oct. 3. […]
This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Tom O’Donoghue, owner at Reverse Loans Now. O’Donoghue has been in mortgage banking for more than 30 years and has been helping and committed to working with Senior Citizens for the last seven years. HW Media: What is your current favorite HW+ article and why? Tom O’Donoghue: How inflation could be a net benefit […]
Fannie Mae has launched its fourth reperforming-loan sale of the year — an offering of 6,130 loans with an unpaid principal balance of $997 million. The offering, dubbed FNMA 2022-RPL4, represents the agency’s 27th sale of reperforming loans since the inaugural offering in October 2016, which involved a pool of 3,600 reperforming loans valued at about […]
Add Impac Mortgage Holdings to the list of mortgage lenders that posted a loss in the second quarter of 2022, despite an effort to reduce expenses. In the most challenging mortgage market in well over a decade, executives at Impac have opted to pull back on non-QM products, which represent most of the company’s originations. It resulted […]
One of the best ways to learn and grow is through experience-sharing, vulnerability and collaboration with others, which is what this workshop that rounds out the Women of Influence Forum is designed to create for attendees. The “Creating a Seat at the Table” workshop at the forum, which kicks off HousingWire Annual on Oct. 3, […]
Mortgage lender loanDepot, based in Orange County, California, has more bad news tucked away in its latest quarterly earnings report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — beyond announcing it was shutting down its wholesale division after posting a second quarter loss of $223.8 million, following on the heels of $91.3 million loss […]
Redwood Trust Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Mill Valley California that has residential operations focused on nonagency jumbo loans, recently reported a second-quarter 2022 net loss of $100 million, after recording a net gain of $31 million in the prior quarter. Likewise, Atlanta-based Angel Oak Mortgage Inc., a real estate investment trust […]
Home Point Capital, the parent company of wholesale lender Homepoint, took a loss in the second quarter of 2022, even after reducing costs and selling mortgage servicing rights. The company reported reduced volume and lower margins caused by surging rates and an aggressive pricing strategy from its rival United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). Homepoint, however, said it will not […]
Purchase mortgage rates continue their roller coaster ride – they moved above 5% this week, according to the latest purchase mortgage survey from Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased this week to average 5.22%, up from last week’s 4.99%. A year ago this time, rates averaged 2.77%. The index compiles rates reported by lenders during the past […]
Nonbank lender Panorama Mortgage Group has added Texas-based Lone Peak Lending to its growing stable of brands. Lone Peak is the fourth lender to join Panorama this year, following the additions of Utah-based Rely Home Loans, Texas-based Prosperity Mortgage and Oregon-based Vision Mortgage Group. Donovan Stamps, a 27-year mortgage veteran with stints at Stearns Lending, SoFi […]
When the sky is falling in the mortgage industry, generally there is something else that is rising. For many larger nonbank lenders, including UWM Holdings Corp., the parent of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), what is rising in their favor is the value of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). UWM, the nation’s largest wholesale mortgage lender, recorded net income of $215.4 […]
Mortgage lender Celebrity Home Loans shut down its correspondent channel and laid off employees on Tuesday. Amid a market downturn, the company has decided to focus on the retail lending business. “As one of the few retail lenders that saw production grow from Q1 to Q2, we’ve decided to keep our focus on our greatest strength: retail […]
Ginnie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration are looking to take a bigger bite out of manufactured housing finance. In a request for input the agencies published at the end of July, FHA and Ginnie Mae detailed an array potential changes to make the manufactured housing Title I program more palatable for lenders. Potential changes […]
Angel Oak Capital Advisors, the investment management arm of non-QM lender Angel Oak Cos., has agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that the company misled investors about the delinquency rates in a 2018 private-label securitization involving fix-and-flip loans. Also charged in the case, according […]
Mortgage demand remained relatively flat last week amid volatility in mortgage rates in recent weeks. The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose a marginal 0.2% for the week ending August 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The market index is down 62% compared to the same week in […]
René Rodriguez, the author of the best-selling book, “Amplify your Influence: Transform how you Communicate and Lead,” is slated to share his expert insights on leadership and influence during the Vanguard Forum at HW Annual this year. Joining as the keynote speaker for what should be the most powerful room in housing, Rodriguez kicks off […]
California-based mortgage lender loanDepot is shutting down its wholesale division amid plummeting origination volumes and widening financial losses in the second quarter. The decision to close the channel also reflects fierce competition from its peers in the broker space, primarily from United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). The nonbank lender’s announcement comes on Tuesday was announced after […]
Two advisory and brokerage firms active in the mortgage servicing rights (MSR) market recently unveiled three new mortgage servicing offerings for agency loan portfolios valued in total at $4 billion. The new offerings are a sign that MSR trading continues to be healthy, although sources close to market indicate that the dynamics fueling MSR sales […]
Lending standards tightened in July with the mortgage credit availability index (MCAI) dropping 9%, the largest monthly drop since April 2020, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MCAI fell to 108.8 in July as lenders streamlined their loan offerings in a shrinking mortgage origination environment, said Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the nation’s largest wholesale lender, posted a drop in origination volume and profits in the second quarter compared to the first three months of 2022, even after maintaining its gain-on-sale margins and increasing the fair value of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). But the Pontiac, Michigan-based lender improved its performance compared to the […]
The latest non-QM player to feel the pain of the interest rate volatility afflicting the nation’s housing market this year is a Pasadena, California-based real estate investment trust called Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corp. The REIT, which is managed by investment advisor Western Asset Management Co. LLC, recently announced that it is exploring a potential company sale […]
Ginnie Mae, which guarantees loans to veterans and Federal Housing Administration borrowers, is changing its attitude toward credit unions. In a change to its capital requirements, which set minimum standards for its issuers, Ginnie Mae will treat credit unions more like banks. Representatives for credit unions have sought the change since July 2021, when Ginnie […]
Please introduce us to the brave 17% of consumers who think now is a good time to buy a home. Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index fell two points in July to 62.8, its lowest reading since 2011. Year over year the index is down 13 points. Overall, just 17% of respondents said it was […]
Mortgage rates trended down in July from their peak above 6% in June, but that wasn’t enough to spur mortgage lending activity. Rate lock volume in July fell 14.4% from June, marking four straight months of decline, according to Black Knight‘s originations market monitor report. The decline was led by 16.9% drop in rate/term refinance […]
Stakeholders on all sides of the issues sounded off on the proposed changes to the federal redlining statute in comments to the banking agencies marshaling the changes. Some of the nearly 360 comments came in late on Thursday, a day before the deadline imposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal […]
Guild Mortgage’s second-quarter earnings suggest that a high share of purchase loans won’t necessarily be enough to protect lenders from the most challenging and volatile mortgage market in years. They’ll have to cut costs and grab opportunities as they emerge. The nonbank lender reported a $58.3 million net income from April to June, a 72% decrease […]
In recent months, interest rates have risen to their highest level in years as the Federal Reserve has embarked on an aggressive tightening campaign in an effort to fight inflation. Despite rising rates, demand for home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) continues to surge with 2022 origination levels up more than 40% from a year […]
During this period of rising rates and general rate volatility, having the cash and credit lines on hand to ride out the rough patches in the market — known as liquidity — can be what separates the winners from the losers in the mortgage industry. Rocket Companies, the parent company of Rocket Mortgage, despite a less-than-impressive second-quarter […]
Finance of America posted steep losses in the second quarter and has pledged to eliminate a significant percentage of its workforce to contain the financial fallout. As with other lenders seeing huge declines in mortgage origination volume, Finance of America’s traditional mortgage business took a hit due to tumbling refinance volumes and an increase in […]
The current administration has been in office for over a year and a half, and with that tenure, a lot of the new housing officials have had time to create and announce their core initiatives. To help bring you the latest regulatory and government updates that you need to be aware of, we’re excited to […]
Rocket Companies, the parent of America’s top mortgage lender Rocket Mortgage, reported a $60 million profit in the second quarter, down from $1 billion in profits just the previous quarter. The stunning decline in profitability suggests Rocket has much work to do as higher mortgage rates wipe out refinancing opportunities and even depress purchase sales. […]
Fannie Mae will now buy mortgage loans with lender-funded grants, including down payment assistance, closing costs or financial reserves. The change could give nonbank lenders a way to guard against redlining accusations. The government-sponsored enterprise will start accepting such loans immediately. According to Fannie Mae’s guidance, “The lender must have a documented program that provides […]
Florida-based mortgage servicing company Ocwen Financial — the parent company of entities including PHH Mortgage Corp. and Liberty Reverse Mortgage — recorded a pre-tax loss of $26 million in Q2 2022 compared to income of $6 million one year prior. The company attributes those losses to higher mortgage interest rates and spreads as well as […]
Two years after acquiring RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing, Freedom Mortgage Corp. has inked a deal to sell the nonbank mortgage servicer to Matrix Financial Services Corp., another leading mortgage servicer and a wholly owned subsidiary of real estate investment trust Two Harbors Investment Corp. The acquisition is an all-stock deal, with Matrix agreeing to pay a preliminary price equal to the […]
Purchase mortgage rates dropped for the third consecutive week and are now below the 5% level, reflecting a Federal Reserve monetary policy that has led to a “technical recession” in the U.S. economy. According to the latest purchase mortgage survey from Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined this week to average 4.99%, down from last week’s 5.30%. […]
Tech-focused real estate brokerage Radius, flush with $14 million in venture capital raised this past April, has launched a mortgage lending arm in California that it plans to roll out to additional markets sometime next year. The new venture, a mortgage brokerage operation, is focused on the California market to start, where Radius already has a strong […]
New American Funding has laid off hundreds of employees across multiple rounds of workforce reductions this year, multiple former employees told HousingWire. The most recent layoff came on Tuesday when the California-based lender eliminated several hundred positions, including loan officers, mortgage underwriters, processors and training specialists, multiple former employees said. The firm had 4,800 employees […]
Distressed mortgages dating back to the height of the pandemic are expected to fuel a jump in foreclosure activity over the next 12 months, although the foreclosure rate is still expected to remain below the pre-pandemic historical average, a new report from Auction.com contends. The prediction by one of the nation’s leading marketplaces for distressed assets, is […]
To say that mortgage rates have been on a wild Mr. Toad’s ride in 2022 is an understatement. In less than a year, we went from 2.78% on the 30-year fixed to as high as 6.28%, then recently got as low as 5% — only to have another move higher this week to 5.30%. People […]