Pennymac TPO is waiving a $99 credit report fee charged at closing for loans submitted through its POWER+ portal in December, the lender announced Wednesday. “Qualified credit report fee waivers will be paid by Pennymac at closing—no action required by the partner,” the company said in a notice to brokers. The move comes as credit […]
As 2025 winds down and industry experts try to gauge how the 2026 housing market will go, Mat Ishbia, the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), predicts that the housing market is positioned for growth in the new year. That’s according to Ishbia’s monthly “3 Points” video released on Tuesday. Ishbia’s comments highlighted signs of […]
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration is studying a new retirement savings program in the U.S. that’s modeled on Australia’s “superannuation” system. When asked at the White House about policies aimed at boosting the U.S. birthrate, Trump said officials are reviewing “a certain Australian plan that people are liking,” Newsweek reported. Australia’s […]
Moody’s Ratings analysts expect the performance of collateral in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) to remain largely solid in 2026, although some deterioration is anticipated. “Although mortgage losses will stay low with home prices largely steady on a national basis, delinquencies will rise further as economic growth slows and new loans remain weaker, with higher leverage,” […]
Mortgage applications decreased 1.4% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending November 28, 2025. The results include an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 33% compared with the previous week. The refinance index decreased 4% […]
Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements saw an artificial increase in November due to the federal government shutdown, an effect that may continue into December. Meanwhile, activity in the secondary market slowed down, according to reports released this week. In total, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured 3,905 HECMs in November — a nearly 77% […]
Mortgage rates remain in a holding pattern at the start of December and the general consensus among market experts is that little will change even if the Federal Reserve implements another interest rate cut next week. Mortgage News Daily reported that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.31% on Monday, virtually unchanged from a week ago. HousingWire’s […]
Rithm Capital Corp., the parent of multichannel lender Newrez, completed its acquisition of Crestline Management on Monday, pushing its investable assets past $102 billion. The deal “is a significant milestone in Rithm’s evolution and demonstrates our commitment to building a world-class investment platform,” CEO Michael Nierenberg said in a statement. Crestline adds $17 billion in […]
Absolute Home Mortgage Corporation has struck a deal to acquire the assets of Fidelity Direct Mortgage (FDM), the company confirmed on Tuesday. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Absolute — a mid-size independent mortgage bank based in Fairfield, New Jersey — is adding FDM’s team of 55 producing loan officers, who originated about […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s proposals to reform federal reverse mortgage programs include seven key recommendations — ranging from the creation of a new securitization option to charging insurance premiums based on the actual amount drawn. In October, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae […]
CMG Financial‘s reverse mortgage division has welcomed John-Robert Martinez as regional manager of reverse for the eastern U.S., effective Monday. The news was confirmed on LinkedIn by Sean Kirksey, CMG’s vice president of reverse mortgage. “Anyone who has worked with John knows how much this is earned,” Kirksey wrote. “He has been our top-producing reverse […]
Chase Home Lending announced a limited-time interest rate discount for homeowners looking to refinance their mortgages. The offer applies to both rate-and-term and cash-out loans. The discounted rates are available starting Monday, Dec. 1, through Sunday, Dec. 14. Eligible customers nationwide must lock in their rates during this period to take advantage of the savings, […]
As interest rates continue to ease and borrower confidence rebuilds, originators are operating in a market that demands both adaptability and creativity. To better understand how mortgage professionals are approaching today’s environment, I asked four experienced originators to share how they’re guiding clients, leveraging non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) solutions, and refining their playbooks to stay competitive. […]
Bayview Asset Management has closed its acquisition of Guild Holdings Company, the parent of Guild Mortgage, in a deal that takes the lender private and removes it from the New York Stock Exchange. The transaction was finalized on November 28, according to a new 8-K filing. Under the agreement, shareholders received $20 per share in […]
For many borrowers, the appraisal is the most stressful step in a refinance: part mystery, part high-stakes hurdle. Will the home appraise high enough? Will it delay closing? What actually determines the final value? Lenders can help ease these concerns by adopting the right combination of technology, strategy, and partnerships to modernize the process. A […]
Millions of older Americans will see a 2.8% increase in their monthly Social Security checks starting in January due to a recent Social Security Administration (SSA) cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), but experts say the boost still falls short of keeping up with real costs for retirees. Prices for groceries, housing and medical care are rising closer […]
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D -California) has filed a lawsuit against Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), accusing him of violating federal privacy laws by improperly accessing Swalwell’s mortgage records. Pulte referred Swalwell to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Nov. 13, alleging mortgage and tax fraud. He claims Swalwell […]
Despite elevated mortgage rates, mortgage applications increased 0.2% from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Nov. 21. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 2% compared with the previous week. “Mortgage rates crept higher last week, with the 30-year fixed rate […]
FirstClose, a fintech provider of data and workflow technology for mortgage and home equity lenders, announced on Tuesday that it has appointed Adam Nicholson as director of professional services. Nicholson, who has spent more than a decade leading implementation and professional service teams in the fintech space, will lead the company’s implementation operations along with […]
Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, is the leading candidate to be the next Federal Reserve chair, advisers and allies of President Donald Trump told Bloomberg, as the deadline for a new Fed governor approaches. Trump has voiced his opposition to the current Fed leader, Jerome Powell. Trump has threatened to […]
California-based Lender Price has added its first reverse mortgage partner to its pricing and product eligibility (PPE) platform through an agreement with Finance of America (FOA). Lender Price Marketplace will provide brokers and lenders with live pricing for FOA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and HomeSafe proprietary reverse mortgage products. FOA — the second-largest HECM […]
Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday and a typically slow period for home sales, mortgage rates remain stable. According to Mortgage News Daily, 30-year fixed rates averaged 6.32% on Monday, down 6 basis points (bps) in the past week. On Tuesday, HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center — which analyzes locked loans across all credit profiles — showed […]
Every few years, someone in mortgage lending announces that we’re witnessing the dawn of the super-lender era. This time, they say, it’s different. The big players have the technology, the capital and the market conditions to finally achieve total vertical integration. Soon, we’ll all either work for a handful of massive institutions or find ourselves […]
The idea of the 50-year mortgages flooded the news recently. It is the newest attempt by the Trump Administration to bring down housing costs, but I don’t think it was thought through entirely. On paper, it seems like a crazy but good idea. 50 years is a long time, but at least it would allow […]
A federal judge has dismissed the criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed and therefore lacked legal authority to present the case to a grand jury. Senior U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, sitting by designation in the Eastern District of Virginia, […]
Residential-mortgage backed securities (RMBS) issuance of nonqualified mortgage (non-QM) pools reached record levels in the third quarter of 2025, according to a recent report from Morningstar DBRS that used data from CreditFlow. The surge in issuance came even as credit performance showed signs of strain and the broader economic and housing environment cooled. The report […]
eLEND, legally known as American Financial Resources (AFR), announced on Monday the appointment of Bobbi MacPherson as the company’s new chief risk officer. In her new role, MacPherson will lead risk, underwriting, post-closing, process improvement and product development, with a focus on developing and refining risk frameworks and enabling process improvements. “Bobbi’s immense impact on […]
HousingWire recently featured an op-ed advocating for Bill Pulte of the FHFA to make Fannie and Freddie (the GSEs) mortgages assumable, retroactively. The intent is noble – most mortgage borrowers are indeed locked in by low interest rates from the pandemic, draining liquidity from the housing market and not allowing these borrowers to relocate when […]
Several candidates have been publicly identified to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, with current Chair Jerome Powell‘s term coming to an end in May. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC’s Sara Eisen in October that he would give President Donald Trump “three or four candidates for him to interview” shortly after Thanksgiving. Trump, however, told reporters […]
Older Americans hold more than $14 trillion in home equity — nearly half the size of the U.S. economy. And while seniors can benefit from tapping their equity through a reverse mortgage product, they can also use the loan proceeds to help family members who might be struggling to afford homeownership. Earlier this week, The […]
In the third quarter of 2025, 1.77 million mortgages were issued on residential properties with one to four units, representing a decrease of 1.6% from the previous quarter but a 1.9% increase from the same period last year. That’s according to ATTOM‘s Q3 2025 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, released on Thursday. The company’s […]
Mortgage technology startup Tidalwave has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round to expand the market share of its agentic artificial intelligence (AI)-powered point-of-sale platform, the company announced Friday. The round was led by Permanent Capital, with participation from homebuilder D.R. Horton and Engineering Capital., bringing Tidalwave’s total funding to $24 million. Tidalwave […]
As someone who’s spent decades in the mortgage trenches—and as one of the owners of a $1 billion independent mortgage banking company—I’ve seen a few sunrises and sunsets in this industry. The 2008 crisis. Conservatorship. Waves of QE. Worsening LLPA’s. Adverse market fees. The pandemic housing chaos. Two percent refinances. The fastest rate spike in […]
Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Partners has entered into a strategic partnership with Southeast Mortgage of Georgia — linking the state’s largest real estate franchise with its largest non-bank mortgage lender. Leaders say the agreement is intended to streamline the home buying and selling process by coordinating lending and real estate services through shared technology and […]
As artificial intelligence (AI) stocks like Nvidia, Oracle, Palantir and Tesla are swelling, fear of an AI stock bubble has created divisions on concerns that may loom on the horizon. One plausible outcome that investors are reckoning with is what lies in store for their retirement accounts, but TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett says that […]
Guaranteed Rate Affinity, a joint venture between Guaranteed Rate Inc. and Anywhere Integrated Services, on Thursday announced the promotion of Jaime Joyce to chief operations and strategy officer. Joyce, who has been in the mortgage industry for more than two decades, began her career as a processor in 2002. She most recently served as the […]
A system designed for purposeEvery mortgage market is patchwork. Rules, products, and features exist because of past events, a crisis, a policy choice, or a market failure. The result is a structure that reflects history more than design. That doesn’t make it bad, but it does mean we carry baggage that limits what the system […]
The plaintiffs in the Taylor Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) suit filed against Zillow in mid-September filed an amended complaint on Wednesday. The amended complaint contains testimony from a dozen anonymous current and former Zillow-affiliated loan officers and agents that corroborate the claims made by the 10 homeowner plaintiffs. The latest complaint maintains the […]
Wealthfront, a fintech known for low-cost investing and savings products, is entering the mortgage business. The California-headquartered company announced Wednesday that was offering early access to Wealthfront Home Lending, which offers mortgages through the company’s automated, software-driven platform. The product is currently available for a limited number of Wealthfront clients who plan to buy or […]
The top leadership positions at Ginnie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have been empty for most of the past year, but the long wait to fill the seats may soon come to an end. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs advanced the nominations of Joseph Gormley as president […]
CrossCountry Mortgage (CCM) issued $600 million in debt, primarily to repay an outstanding mortgage servicing rights (MSR) line of credit, among other general corporate purposes, the company announced Tuesday. The transaction, handled through its parent company CrossCountry Intermediate HoldCo., priced the notes at 6.75%. The senior notes are due in 2032 and will be guaranteed […]
President Donald Trump has submitted to the Senate the nomination of Stuart Levenbach, an associate director at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). While some observers said the nomination comes at a “critical time” for consumers, others see the move as […]
Mortgage applications slumped 5.2% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Nov. 14. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 7% compared with the previous week. The refinance index decreased 7% from the previous week but was 125% higher than the […]
Amid legal chaos and a revamp of its leadership team, NEXA Lending announced on Wednesday the completion of its C-Suite with the addition of Von Maharaj as its chief financial officer. Maharaj brings nearly two decades of financial services experience, starting as a recruiter for accounting and finance professionals before transitioning into mortgage operations at Bear Stearns. […]
Facing what they describe as a broad request for information (RFI) on potential changes to federal reverse mortgage programs, industry experts are focusing on two pressing issues: mortgage insurance and liquidity constraints. In October, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), along with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae, issued an […]