Blend Labs announced an integration with MeridianLink Inc., a software platform for financial institutions and consumer reporting agencies. Lenders using MeridianLink Consumer loan origination software (LOS) will be able to leverage Blend’s unified platform and consumer banking origination software for a fast onboarding and application process for banking, credit card and loan products, Blend said […]
Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate raised agency conforming loan limits to $750,000 on Monday, representing an increase of 3.2% compared to the current limit of $726,200. “We raised the conforming loan limits to $750,000 on our Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 30-year fixed. This is in anticipation of the loan limit increase for 2024,” Kate Amor, senior vice president and head of enterprise […]
A coalition of housing trade groups — including the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), National Association of Realtors (NAR) and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) — called on the Federal Reserve to provide market certainty about the Fed’s rate path and its plans for the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) portfolio. Ongoing market uncertainty about the Fed’s […]
A mortgage lender isn’t the first place most people would turn to for yoga, meditation or personal wellness. However, Guaranteed Rate hopes to change that with the launch of its new consumer-focused Rate App. The free app, which officially launches Tuesday, allows users to price out mortgages, personal loans and other finance products that Guaranteed […]
When mortgage rates blew past the 7% level earlier this year, the securitization market “froze up temporarily,” according to Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at the government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae. “Investors who would buy a mortgage-backed security [MBS], which is backed by mortgages that have a 7% coupon, believe that when the Fed eases interest […]
United Wholesale Mortgage, the country’s top mortgage lender, announced an enhancement to its PA+ service on Saturday, allowing brokers and their processors to choose which part of the loan process they would like a lender’s loan coordinator to handle. Launched in May 2023, PA+ is a service that provides a dedicated UWM loan coordinator for […]
Top advocates for the wholesale channel criticized the increased volume of loan buybacks from government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac amid a shrinking mortgage market. In a session about brokers’ influence on national policy during AIME Fuse 2023 in Las Vegas on Friday, trade group representatives and wholesale executives said that loan repurchases […]
Mortgage lenders are betting on down-payment assistance programs, buy-down options and renovation products to provide brokers opportunities to win in a market with mortgage rates nearing 8%, a lack of inventory and high home prices. Meanwhile, in addition to diversifying their portfolios, brokerage firm owners are keeping their cost structure under control to be profitable […]
With 30-year fixed mortgage rates climbing to a 23-year high, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) called on the Federal Reserve to bring some certainty to financial markets. “It is time, and very important for the Fed to make clear two statements — the Fed is at the end of its rate hikes; the Fed will […]
New American Funding’s partnership with Matic Insurance and OneSource Solution will provide insurance and home setup services for existing and new customers while NAF is processing the loan. NAF Insurance and NAF Concierge will be integrated into NAF’s loan process to remove friction from the mortgage, home buying and moving experience, the California-headquartered lender said. […]
The state of the mortgage industry is rife with concern as elevated rates and low inventory have stunted both refinance and origination activity. As a result, the makeup of the mortgage ecosystem is shifting. Private correspondent aggregators play an essential role in the upkeep of a balanced mortgage ecosystem. While this term may be unfamiliar […]
Industry-leading lender Movement Mortgage will become an “early adopter” of FICO Score 10 T, the updated credit scoring model designed to take advantage of trended data information to help expand mortgage approval rates. Movement will employ FICO 10 T “to analyze their non-conforming loans, in conjunction with the classic FICO Scores,” the company said in […]
Fannie Mae on Thursday announced that its Desktop Underwriter (DU) system will include new changes to the maximum allowable loan-to-value (LTV) ratios for two- to four-unit, principal residence, purchase and limited cash-out transactions, as well as other updates to further align the system with recent changes to the Selling Guide. The new DU update will […]
The implementation of more careful loan screening procedures has contributed to lower levels of risk for mortgage fraud. Mortgage application fraud declined 3.1% year-over-year in Q2 of 2023 compared to the second quarter of 2022, according to CoreLogic Mortgage Fraud Report. However, they increased slightly(+1.6%), from Q1 to Q2 2023. Overall, in the second quarter […]
The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) shared its annual “A-List” on Monday. Shirley Gary, Tracy Allen, Realty Group, and the Advanced Super Team ranked highest in AREAA’s real estate sales list, while Shashank Shekhar and Joanna Yu topped the loan originators rankings. When added-up together, the A-List honorees generated more than $15.4 billion […]
Mortgage rates kept climbing this week as spreads on the 10-year Treasury yield widened, reaching a 16-year high. Freddie Mac‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which focuses on conventional and conforming loans with a 20% down payment, shows the 30-year fixed rate averaged 7.49% as of Oct. 5th, up 18 basis point from last week’s 7.31%. […]
As the housing market suffers through a drought of home sales and related mortgage originations in the current high-rate environment, home prices and home equity continue to climb, helping to spark a revival of another sector — home equity lending and investment. Between the summer of 2019 to date, there have been at least 26 […]
Fannie Mae on Wednesday released its October 2023 update to its Selling Guide, aiming to reflect changes in the mortgage industry, its surrounding regulatory environment and Fannie Mae policy positions. The first update is a change to the documentation requirements for rental income that is used in a qualifying decision. “We updated our policies for […]
As major home insurance carriers are increasingly pulling back their coverage options in disaster-prone areas, hundreds of thousands of people are moving to state-sponsored “last resort” insurance plans originally designed to offer a temporary fix. According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, such plans — typically used for those who have no other options […]
In an environment where 30-year fixed mortgage rates are racing towards 8%, loan officer pipelines are thinning dramatically. Originators who primarily served move-up buyers with high credit scores and strong down payments are struggling to find clients. But LOs who cater to first-time homebuyers’ needs – offering FHA loans and down payment assistance loans — […]
Indiana-based First Savings Bank plans to lay off over 100 mortgage employees in the coming months, according to documents filed with authorities in multiple states. News of the plans come as political instability and a strong job market push mortgage rates closer to 8%. “First Savings Bank has planned a layoff in which a significant portion of impacted employees are considered remote or […]
Digital lending platform Revvin joined forces with Truework, an income and employment verification platform, to provide comprehensive income verification coverage. The new partnership will allow lenders who use the Revvin platform to automatically verify any borrower at any point of the loan application process, according to a news release. Income verification technology is typically used […]
Mortgage applications ground to a halt for the week ending Sept. 29, falling 6% from the week prior as mortgage rates jumped to a 23-year high of 7.53%, according to new weekly data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Mortgage application activity is now at its lowest level since 1996, the MBA reported. Purchase mortgage application […]
Less than a month after Constellation Software acquired Optimal Blue, three members of its senior leadership departed the firm. Optimal Blue is Constellation’s product and pricing engine unit that was part of Black Knight Origination Technologies, which recently rebranded to Dark Matter Technologies after the integration. “Acquisitions commonly prompt change and leadership transitions, and our […]
Mortgage rates and bond yields kept rising Tuesday as the job openings unexpectedly increased more than anticipated. But is that job openings data legit today? And will job openings continue higher, pushing mortgage rates even higher in the future? I believe today’s job openings data needs some context, but it didn’t matter to bond traders […]
Newrez has launched Onward Home Mortgage, a joint venture mortgage company in partnership with Keller Williams Georgia Legacy Group (GLCG). Through the partnership with agents at Keller Williams GLG, mortgage professionals at Onward Home Mortgage and Newrez will target borrowers in the Southeast United States. “This is a marriage of outstanding organizations that will now […]
As housing inventory builds in the housing market due to waning buyer activity, home prices show little to no signs of letting up. And that’s creating more affordability headaches for homebuyers who are already sidelined by high mortgage rates. For my full analysis of this week’s housing data, watch the 11-minute video above. Don’t have […]
Mortgage tech company Xactus announced that its valuation solution Appraisal Firewall X has met federal requirements and is capable of fulfilling Fannie Mae property data collection orders. Appraisal Firewall X connects mortgage lenders with vetted and trained property data collectors to deliver the value acceptance + property data and hybrid appraisal solutions, the company said […]
The Florida Bankers Association (FBA) has named Kathy Kraninger, former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) director during the Trump administration, to replace Alex Sanchez as chief executive officer. Kraninger will be the fourth CEO of the trade group, which was established in 1888 to advocate for Florida banks. In a social media post, Sanchez said the FBA “will continue […]
Home prices continued to accelerate in August, rising a seasonally adjusted 0.68% from July and hitting another record high for the fourth consecutive month. Prices in nearly half of the nation’s 50 largest markets climbed by 0.75% or more. Even on a non-adjusted basis, August’s gain of 0.24% was more than 60% larger than the […]
Rocket Pro TPO, the wholesale arm of Rocket Mortgage, on Monday raised agency conforming loan limits to $750,000, ahead of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) decision expected in November. Amid fiercer competition in a shrinking mortgage market, other lenders may follow suit in the coming days or weeks, as in previous years. Companies are pressured to launch new […]
Real estate investment trust Rithm Capital Corp has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Computershare Mortgage Services Inc. for about $720 million, the companies announced Monday. The deal includes the purchase of Specialized Loan Servicing LLC. The deal represents the second major acquisition that New York-based Rithm, which operates NewRez, Caliber and other businesses, has announced in the past three months. In […]
Mortgage companies raising debt in the current high mortgage rates landscape is a sign that market conditions are improving, although a recovery from the downturn may come later than expected, analysts told HousingWire. Executives have decided to improve liquidity to fund their businesses and investments, targeting mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) deals. And recent transactions show […]
Why are mortgage rates rising? This is a question many people are asking — even some of the Federal Reserve members. We have had back-to-back weeks of the bond market getting wild since the key 10-year yield level of 4.34% broke higher. It didn’t help that the Fed was hawkish after the Fed meeting, as […]
The recently completed $300 million-plus acquisition of Home Point Capital by Mr. Cooper provided an attractive opportunity to bolster the company’s existing mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio, and it’s expected to boost the company’s bottom line within the next couple of quarters. This is according to Jay Bray, CEO of Mr. Cooper, in an interview […]
The loan officers that Scott Groves talks to are struggling. Really struggling. Mortgage rates are around 7.7%, the highest levels in over 20 years, and LOs across America are having to reset their strategies. It’s no longer about just outlasting a bad market for a couple of months. “I would say a vast majority of […]
Even though mortgage origination volumes are down, we’re experiencing a highly competitive purchase market. That means a number of businesses, seeking to grow their revenue, will likely look to expand their reach to the default and REO space. But for those who haven’t done their homework, this is not an easy step, nor is it […]
Having completed the $12 billion acquisition of Black Knight, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is confident in evolving into a true life-of-loan platform: powering origination to final settlement, all in one unified digital ecosystem, executives said during its conference call with analysts. “By integrating Black Knight servicing, and robust data and analytics offering with ICE’s industry leading […]
Mortgage rates climbed again this week as investors braced themselves for ‘higher-for-longer’ conditions following last week’s Fed meeting. Additionally, the yield on 10-year treasuries shot up to 4.6% on September 27 from 4.3% a week prior. Just before noon on Thursday, they were Freddie Mac‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which focuses on conventional and conforming […]
HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with John Ashley, chief information officer and chief information security officer at PRMG, to talk about what the company is building versus buying, and how regulators are ramping up privacy and security standards. Sarah Wheeler: Tell me a little bit about your background and what you’ve done […]
Rhode Island-based chartered bank Washington Trust Company has agreed to pay $9 million to settle a redlining case with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the parties announced Wednesday. The agreement requires court approval. Washington Trust, known as the oldest U.S. community bank, was accused of illegally avoiding providing mortgage services to majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island. […]
Homebuyers faced surging mortgage costs, fees and monthly payments in 2022 amid a tightening monetary policy designed to combat persistent inflation. And because their income didn’t keep up, lenders’ denials for a home loan jumped last year, according to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) report released Wednesday. Unfortunately, there’s been no sign of relief in 2023. […]
Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Fannie Mae announced on Wednesday that it will launch new programs and resources designed to tackle the homeownership gap experienced by the Latino community, designed to “to provide responsible access to housing and long-term sustainable homeownership opportunities.” The company also announced an expansion of its Special Purpose Credit Program (SPCP) pilot to […]
Maxwell, a Wells Fargo-backed mortgage fintech, announced Wednesday that it has struck a deal to acquire the digital lending platform Revvin (formerly known as MortgageHippo) to enhance its point-of-sale technology. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. That is Maxwell’s second acquisition since its inception in 2015. Maxwell acquired LenderSelect Mortgage Group […]
In the week following the Federal Open Market Committee‘s meeting, mortgage applications sunk. For the week that ended Sept. 22, mortgage applications fell 1.3% from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Based on the FOMC’s most recent projections, rates are expected to be higher for longer, which has driven Treasury […]