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 […]
Source: Blend In Q2 2023, Blend reported a non-GAAP net loss of $22.7 million in the second quarter, narrowing its financial loss compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $35.6 million in Q1 and non-GAAP net loss of $45.1 million in Q2 2022. By focusing on cutting costs and prioritizing the Blend Builder platform, executives […]
Mortgage Machine Services, a digital origination technology provider, has appointed Dan McGrew as director of sales. In this role, McGrew will shoulder the responsibility of marketing the company’s digital products, including the flagship loan origination system (LOS) Mortgage Machine. “As Mortgage Machine Services continues to pioneer technology for the mortgage industry, we knew we needed […]
Mortgage servicer Nationstar, doing business as Mr. Cooper, has filed a lawsuit against electronic payment processing vendor ACI Payments related to the damages it allegedly suffered from unauthorized mortgage payments imposed on its customers two years ago. In June, ACI Worldwide and one of its subsidiaries, ACI Payments, agreed to pay a $25 million civil penalty, without admitting any wrongdoing, for illegally […]
With the U.S. House of Representatives Republican majority unable to bring government funding measures to the House floor for a vote, federal officials, lawmakers and agencies are preparing for a federal government shutdown that would take place after current appropriations expire at midnight on September 30. Organizations including the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), […]
Acra Lending, a private mortgage lender, announced its integration with Tavant’s Touchless Lending Collateral Analysis. This partnership marks a milestone in Tavant’s expansion into non-QM lending. It is also turning Acra’s business into a technology-first one, the statement said. Collateral Analysis is a proprietary product of Tavant’s Touchless Lending automation platform. It was designed to seamlessly integrate […]
Plunk, an AI-powered home analytics platform, has partnered with two real estate industry marketing companies, Union Street Media and Realforce, to scale its real-time data and analytics across multiple digital channels. Plunk’s platform offers real-time insights into home valuation, risk assessment, and remodeling possibilities. The company is partnering with Union Street Media, a leader in business […]
Mortgage tech firm Blend Labs has added an assets-derived income capability to its existing “Blend Income” product. The newest enhancement will allow lenders to have additional ways to verify more income sources – including social security benefits, pension distributions, military benefits, child support and alimony payments – far earlier in the application process than traditionally […]
After a boost in July, the sales pace of new homes slowed in August, according to data published on Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In August, the sales pace of new homes fell 8.7% compared to July, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 675,000. […]
Available inventory of homes for sale is on the rise in late September, which is very unusual for this time of year. In fact, inventory is growing faster than this time a year ago. This is a demand-driven slowdown, because new listings supply is still running 9% to 10% fewer homes for sale each week […]
Equifax‘s new product integration with the United Kingdom’s IRIS Software Group aims to cut down underwriting time for mortgage borrowers at small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Equifax’s digital income and employment verification tool – The Work Number – is available to one million additional employees of U.S. SMBs who use IRIS Payroll Relief software, Equifax […]
Data provider Curinos partnered with Polly, a software-as-service mortgage technology firm, aimed to support lenders’ effective margin decisions. By integrating Curinos’ market pricing data into Polly’s cloud-native Product and Pricing Engine (PPE), the partnership will enable mortgage lenders to optimize workflows and positively impact margin management, Curinos said in a news release. “Our partnership will […]
Just weeks after New York-based digital lender Better Home & Finance Holding went public, Better issued pink slips to employees in early September in a new round of layoffs, Insider reported. Better laid off about a quarter of its U.S. mortgage sales and origination team, according to the news outlet, citing two former employees who […]
Federal student loan payments resuming on Oct. 1 will negatively affect consumer loan asset quality, including credit card, auto and, to a lesser extent, residential mortgages. However, the overall effect will be modest, according to a Moody’s Analytics report. On Oct. 1, repayments are due to restart on Department of Education (DOE) federal student loans (Direct Student Loans), which […]
Five days remain in the currently authorized National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). If it is not reauthorized by Congress before that date, the mortgage industry could see consequences, including ceding control of certain land use policies and the cessation of some mortgage lending. This is according to government researchers, other experts and lawmakers in a […]
Mortgage rates shot up last week after a hawkish Federal Reserve meeting, even though they didn’t raise rates. In addition, jobless claims data had another solid print, showing that the labor market hasn’t broken yet, which led to more selling of the 10-year yield. Mortgage rates did find some relief on Friday as bond yields […]
The Federal Reserve‘s effort to temper inflation has cooled the housing market that remains subdued with mortgage rates north of 7%. While the central bank left the benchmark rate unchanged in the target range of 5.25%-5.5% this week, Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan believes that mortgage rates will stay elevated before the Fed makes […]
Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo delivered a keynote address at the Barclays U.S. Rates and Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Conference in Tokyo, Japan, addressing Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities (MBS) potential value for investors and the company’s recently expanded social impact and sustainability work. “As I travel around the world, one thing is clear: global investors […]