WorkWave, a cloud-based SaaS provider, announced Tuesday the acquisition of TaskEasy, a service provider for rental property owners. The acquisition aims to provide WorkWave field service customers with local service jobs, allowing them to grow their business while streamlining sales, marketing and advertising expenses. TaskEasy, meanwhile, will get access to WorkWave’s customer base, according to […]
Last year, Rocket Mortgage, America’s top mortgage lender, benefited greatly from record low mortgage rates — racking up more than double the refi volume of any lender. But with rates rapidly climbing past the 7% level, the Detroit-based lender is now in a tough spot as it attempts to pivot to purchase mortgages and persuade […]
Rocket Companies on Tuesday launched a loyalty program to attract potential homebuyers into its ecosystem amid one of the most challenging mortgage markets in decades. Rocket Rewards will distribute points toward financial transactions across the Rocket Platform, such as using the company’s mortgage calculator, reading educational articles or watching informative videos. In the first phase of the […]
Mortgage tech platform Haven raised $8 million in Series A funding to scale its mortgage servicing infrastructure, taking advantage of a higher-rate environment. Fifth Wall led the funding with participation from Fidelity National Financial, RWT Horizons, and 1Sharpe Ventures as well as existing investors Conversion Capital, BoxGroup, AME Cloud Ventures and Operator Partners, the firm […]
Mortgage fintechs Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach reduced employee headcount by at least 20 this month as the industry struggles to stay afloat amid mortgage lenders rightsizing during one of the most challenging times. Workforce reduction came on October 20, and eliminated positions include director of marketing, two enterprise account managers, one enterprise sales manager, […]
This is projected to be a record year for consolidation among mortgage lenders, largely due to the dramatic shift from a refinance boom to a purchase mortgage market and the total origination volume, which has shrunk to about half the size from 2021. By the end of 2022, roughly 50 merger or acquisition (M&A) transactions […]
With the Fed meeting this week to raise rates again, the speculation is what happens after. Are we getting closer to the end of the Fed rate hike cycle? At that point it will be all about the economic data. I don’t see the Fed changing their tune on rate cuts until the labor market […]
Former employees at Finance of America Mortgage LLC (FAM) are transitioning to American Pacific Mortgage (APM), as the company will shut down by the end of the year, a source with knowledge of the process told HousingWire. Specifically, California-based APM has hired former FAM staff members in Northern California offices, the source said. The same source explained that there’s […]
Mortgage lender Homestar Financial Corporation on Friday announced appointing Gurp Bhandal as executive vice president of national production. Bhandal’s professional career spans more than 20 years in financial services. Prior to HOMESTAR, he served as the executive vice president of retail production at AmeriSave Mortgage Corporation and area lending manager roles at Citi. HOMESTAR cited […]
The emerging real estate brokerage model includes more than just mortgage, title and insurance. To compete, many brokerages are expanding to concierge services, iBuying, innovative financial offerings, home repair and more. That creates challenges from training agents to marketing to consumers. Join real estate CEOs from RE/MAX, Keller Williams and Fathom Realty to discuss: How […]
California-based Pennymac Financial Services delivered an increased profit in the third quarter of 2022, mainly due to the performance of its servicing portfolio. However, the company has been looking at the challenges ahead and has started to estimate the impacts of a recession on its businesses while monitoring the need for more cost savings initiatives. Profits came […]
Everyone knows that the current market is a challenging environment for housing professionals, as high rates mean fewer originations and even less refi business. But according to Shant Banosian, Guaranteed Rate’s top-ranked loan officer, now is the time for LOs to show up and work hard. “In my opinion, this next 12 to 18 months […]
LoanLogics on Thursday announced changes to its executive leadership positions, with Dave Parker stepping in as new CEO upon the departure of CEO Bill Neville. Neville said he is leaving LoanLogics, a data-driven mortgage audit, income calculation and loan quality software provider, in the “capable hands” of Parker. “Dave Parker understands the business side of […]
While mortgage rates surged in the summer, the serious mortgage delinquency rates returned to pre-pandemic levels in August. Inflation, however, could be a big hit to delinquency rates, and may increase the overall delinquencies in coming months as household budgets tighten. The number of borrowers classified as seriously delinquent, who are 90 or more days […]
Homebuyer affordability, the silver lining in a cooled down housing market, took a huge hit in September as surging mortgage rates led monthly payments to rise. The national median payment applicants applied for increased by 5.5% to $1,941 in September, up from last month’s $1,839, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). MBA’s PAPI, which […]
Nonbank mortgage lender and servicer Pennymac Financial Services imposed a new round of layoffs to its employees this week, ahead of its third-quarter earnings report on Thursday. The California-based company had several rounds of layoffs this year, including a workforce reduction of 236 employees in March, another 207 staff members in May and additional 32 […]
MortgageHippo, a digital mortgage proptech that offers a no code/low code digital mortgage platform to lenders, on Monday announced that it was rebranding to Revvin. The new name is based on the sound an engine makes when the running speed is increased by pressing the accelerator, signifying efficiency. According to a statement from Revvin, the […]
Nonbank mortgage lender and servicer Mr. Cooper Group reported a net income of $113 million in the third quarter thanks to servicing earnings shining through in a high-interest rate environment. Its profit, however, dropped 25%, offset by lower originations income from the second quarter. Mr. Cooper had a $56 million pretax operating income in the third […]
Bilt Rewards, which operates a loyalty program and credit card that converts rent payments into points, raised a new round of funding that it says gives the firm a valuation of $1.5 billion. The company, which works with some of the country’s largest multifamily developers and property managers, secured $150 million in a growth round […]
Mortgage rates have been on an upward trend for more than two months, and would-be homebuyers are increasingly hitting the brakes on their home purchase plans. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey shows that the mortgage composite index for the week ending Oct. 21 fell 1.7% from the prior week when it reached its 25-year […]
Single-family rental behemoth Invitation Homes is seeking a joint venture partner to take advantage of the latest drop in home prices, according to a report by Bloomberg. The company is working with commercial brokerage Eastdil Secured to find a partner for a $1 billion joint venture, according to Bloomberg’s sources. The search for a partner […]
America is in a “full damage control mode” while the Federal Reserve attempts to control inflation, inflicting pain on the mortgage industry – and that’s when “bad policies have a habit of rearing their ugly head,” according to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) president and CEO Bob Broeksmit. The main threat now comes from the Consumer […]
On stage in Nashville on Monday, Mortgage Bankers Association Chairwoman Kristy Fercho passed the torch to Matt Rocco, who will take over as chairman in 2023. Rocco, the CEO of Grandbridge Real Estate, a commercial real estate investment bank subsidiary of Truist Bank, said he’s laser-focused on strengthening the MBA’s affordable housing initiatives amid an […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Monday announced that it is replacing the Classic FICO credit model, which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have relied on for nearly 20 years, for the FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0. “They will provide more accurate credit scores, and we believe the market, including investors, will be provided […]
Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo on Monday announced changes to the re-pooling seasoning requirement for re-performing loans, which it says will increase issuer liquidity. The government mortgage insurer will shorten the seasoning requirement from six months to three months and allow issuers the option to pool re-performing loans into TBA-eligible Ginnie Mae II Multi-Issuer Pools. […]
In May, I wrote about the signs to watch for a real estate market slowdown. It’s now October, we’ve had the biggest spike in mortgage rates we’ve seen in decades, and all the signs of a slowdown are here: Inventory is rising. The price of new listings is dropping. More homes are taking price reductions. […]
The mortgage-servicing rights market just keeps on ticking even as the overall housing market takes a licking. And while depository banks that are fueling that growth, concern is mounting over Ginnie Mae MSRs held by nonbanks. Mortgage advisory firms Prestwick Mortgage Group and partner Mortgage Capital Trading (MCT); Incenter Mortgage Advisors; and MIAC Analytics are out with a total of 10 bulk mortgage-servicing […]
Conference season is here in full force. After a one-to-two-year break from in-person events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be challenging to navigate the slew of mortgage conferences that hit the industry each fall. For some, conference season never stops. In a recent episode of the Housing News podcast, HW Media CEO Clayton […]
Amid one of the most challenging mortgage markets since the great financial crisis, Finance of America Mortgage LLC (FAM) will shut down by the end of the year following its decision to exit the wholesale channel and the collapse of a forward retail deal with Guaranteed Rate earlier this month. The board of directors of […]
Drop in refis, soaring interest rates and rise in homeowner costs to utilize equity drove prepayment to the lowest level since November 2000. Prepayment activity dropped 14.9% to a single-month mortality (SMM) rate of 0.57% in September – below the recent record of 0.59% set in January 2019, according to a report by Black Knight. […]
Ginnie Mae on Friday announced that it has extended the mandatory implementation date of its controversial risk-based capital requirement (RBC) for nonbanks to Dec. 31, 2024. The rule — which reduced the minimum risk-based capital ratio from 10% to 6%, but put a 250% risk weight on the MSR asset and the dollar-for-dollar deduction from capital […]
In times as tough as these, mortgage lenders must be proactive in borrower outreach and find consumers’ home finance needs if they’re going to close a deal, a new report by mortgage relationship data company Sales Boomerang concludes. Based on decreases in borrowers’ mortgage inquiries, early payoff (EPO) of mortgages and new home listings in […]
Online bank Ally Financial recorded a $136 million impairment related to its investment in struggling digital mortgage lender Better.com, bank executives said Wednesday during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. The bank disclosed to shareholders and analysts that the $136 million impairment was a “nonmarketable equity investment” related to its mortgage business. “Following the impairment, our […]
Nations Direct Mortgage, a residential lender in both the retail and wholesale channels, on Wednesday announced appointing Jack O’Brien as its senior vice president and national sales director. Prior to joining Nations Direct, O’Brien held leadership positions at LoanDepot, was Northeast regional sales manager at Fifth Third Bank; principal at J.H. O’Brien & Associates and […]
A doubling of 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates, shrinking profit margins and a risk of recession presents a challenging environment for independent mortgage banks (IMBs), but smaller IMBs are better positioned to weather challenges, claimed the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA), a lobby group that represents smaller mortgage lenders. Large IMBs with portfolio holdings […]
Fitch Ratings in late October 2022 set negative outlooks for four nonbank mortgage lenders. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?w=1024″ width=”4429″ height=”2953″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?w=1024″ alt=”New York, NY, U.S.A. – Fitch Ratings: Fitch Ratings Inc. is an A” class=”wp-image-366713″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg 4429w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=150,100 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Fitch-Ratings.jpeg?resize=600,400 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 4429px) 100vw, 4429px”>Fitch Ratings […]
In June of this year, I raised the fifth recession red flag, putting the housing market in a traditional recession where sales, incomes, jobs, and production would be falling, which is happening now. And unfortunately, one of those productions items is housing completions data — which looks terrible in the latest report. As someone concerned […]
U.S. debt purchasers are positioned to benefit from rising delinquencies due to improvement in portfolio supply from an increase in non-performing loan (NPL) sales, according to a recent report from Fitch Ratings. This increase in delinquencies is attributed as a byproduct of mounting recessionary pressures, with higher interest rates and inflation raising the risk of […]
Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight, launched its first hedging and trading platform CompassEdge, unifying its existing risk management and loan sale platform CompassPoint within a single system. CompassEdge is designed to support every originator – regardless of range, size or type – and provide pipeline risk management tools and analytics with dynamic loan […]
Mortgage demand continued its downward trend last week, reaching the lowest level in 25 years, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). That indicates lenders may still face substantial declines in their origination volume in the last quarter of 2022. Depositary banks such as JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America have already delivered double-digit contraction in […]
Loan quality and audit services company QC Ally announced on Tuesday that Kristin Broadley has joined the company as its new chief innovation officer. In this role, Broadley will help expand QC Ally’s tech-enabled loan quality initiatives and audit services. Broadley’s professional career spans more than two decades. Her most recent role was vice president […]
To say that mortgage lenders are facing challenging times would be a considerable understatement. The federal funds rate, which is set as a range between an upper and lower limit, currently stands at 3% to 3.25%. The last time that the rate reached 3.25% was in 2005 — and we all know how that story […]
Racial Equity Accelerator for Homeownership, a collaboration between Urban Institute and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of San Francisco, on Monday released a report that examines how the adoption of alternative data can benefit Black households within the mortgage lending landscape. The report found a 30-percentage point gap in homeownership between Black and white households […]
With how important and critical information is in the current housing environment, we’re excited to share these session highlights from HousingWire Annual in Scottsdale, A.Z. with you through this free virtual event. The HousingWire Annual Remix includes replays of the top sessions at the event like the fireside chat with FHFA Director Sandra Thompson and […]
The Howard County Food Bank in Columbia, Maryland, gained valuable volunteers and donations from Planet Home Lending as the organization partnered with Farmlink to deliver farm-fresh produce to the food bank. Volunteers from Planet Home Lending didn’t just donate canned goods and other grocery items — they got their hands dirty, pulled weeds, fertilized plants […]