Servicers’ forbearance rate declined marginally again in September, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Monday. But the trade group expects pressure in the coming months due to the worsening economic conditions and the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian. The total number of loans in forbearance decreased three basis points from the previous month to 0.69% […]
Rocket Pro TPO, a division of Rocket Mortgage, launched a set of new tools this week for non-delegated correspondent lenders. Through the program, the homebuyer uses Rocket Pro TPO’s digital client portal to apply, submit documents and e-sign. Rocket then generates loan estimates, closing disclosures and final closing documents to the client through the portal. […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association announced Thursday it promoted Joel Kan to vice president, deputy chief economist. Kan has worked at the association since 2006, rising from survey specialist to associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting in 2015. In his new role, Kan will lead the macroeconomic and mortgage market forecasts and oversee MBA’s […]
Twitter has become somewhat ubiquitous in today’s social media landscape, with more than 200 million users worldwide. The timeline moves about as quickly as the news does, which is why it can be such a valuable resource for those trying to keep up with current events. Mortgage professionals are no exception – whether you find […]
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo & Co., two of the nation’s largest banks, each faced a double-digit decline in their mortgage origination volumes in the third quarter of 2022. And the coming days don’t look any kinder: the banks’ top executives said on Friday the landscape remains challenging due to macroeconomic and geopolitical issues. That’s […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association and fellow trade group the Black Homeownership Collaborative have joined the chorus of voices imploring HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge to reduce mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs) and suspend life-of-loan requirements for borrowers with FHA-insured loans. The trade groups last week sent a letter to Fudge noting that since the start of the […]
On Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation came in hotter than expected, and people are scared that the Federal Reserve will now be more aggressive with their rate hikes. Personally, I believe the Fed knows that rental inflation data can lag so at this point of the […]
With mortgage rates surging to the 7% mark, industry observers believe that a new refi wave won’t return for several years. Lenders have started to prepare their businesses for at least two more years of reduced production. The latest weekly survey data from Freddie Mac shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage surged 26 basis points from […]
In the reflection, a mortgage executive in 2022 sees shades of the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”675″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?w=1024″ alt=”Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art” class=”wp-image-366089″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?resize=150,84 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?resize=300,169 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?resize=768,432 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?resize=1024,576 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Saving-and-Loan-Crisis-art.png?resize=600,338 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>In the reflection, a mortgage executive sees faint images of the […]
Home Point Financial Corp. has terminated a master repurchase agreement and securities contract with Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Capital and Morgan Stanley Bank, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The financing arrangement was struck on June 3, 2020 with the maximum aggregate borrowing authority totaling $300 million, according to Home Point’s […]
The forecast for the housing market in 2023 gets worse by the month, with the latest report predicting a million-plus decline in existing home sales. Fannie Mae‘s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group now forecasts total single-family home sales to decline 18.1% to 5.64 million units this year from 2021, a further downward revision from September’s […]
Black Knight announced the integration of its digital servicing platform and its Surefire CRM, which it says will enhance customer engagement and retention. Servicing Digital, offered as an app or responsive web design, allows customers to easily access their loan- and home-related information, as well as perform self-service capabilities. Surefire is a mortgage-specific marketing automation […]
Mortgage demand continue to decline amid surging home loan rates, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The mortgage composite index for the week ending Oct. 7 fell 2% from the prior week and 68.7% compared to the same period in 2021, on an adjusted basis, the survey shows. The refinance index decreased 1.8% from […]
Moon Mortgage, a crypto-backed mortgage provider, on Tuesday announced raising a $3.5 million seed round, led primarily by Cadenza Ventures and CoinFund. The funds will be utilized to finance its lending product, CryptoMortgage. Moon Mortgage’s CryptoMortgages will allow investors to take out loans against their digital assets. The product also takes the investors’ digital assets […]
Mortgage Coach, a mortgage platform that enables lenders to educate borrowers with home loan presentations, announced that its platform will be integrated with Insellerate, a customer relationship management (CRM) platform. The integration streamlines the sales process by enabling loan officers to generate and customize total cost analysis loan presentations with contact data directly from the […]
The first Walmart-based in-store branch from retail mortgage cooperative Lenders One opened this week in Newton, New Jersey. And two additional mortgage branches are expected to open in Walmarts in New Jersey and Florida within the next 30 days. Family First Funding, a Toms River, New Jersey-based retail lender, opened a branch in the Walmart […]
As mortgage rates rose more than 90 basis points to finish September at 6.72%, overall rate lock volumes predictably fell sharply – down 10% from August and almost 60% off levels from 2021. Falling rate lock dollar volume was driven by a 26.2% drop in cash-out refinance locks in September from the previous month, which […]
Atlanta-based Angel Oak Companies instituted a round of layoffs at its retail mortgage company on Friday, not long after trimming the workforce in its wholesale and correspondent business. The latest jobs cut was at Angel Oak Home Loans, which reduced its headcount by 57 employees, comprising 15% of the total, a spokesperson told HousingWire. The […]
Ohio-based mortgage lender Lower imposed a round of layoffs last week due to market conditions, affecting 6% of its workforce, according to a spokesperson for the company. “We’ve right-sized areas of our business impacted the most by this volatile market, such as refinance, operations, training, and recruiting,” Lindsey LeBerth, the company’s director of communications, wrote […]
Despite continued home price appreciation and a volatile mortgage rate environment that has resulted in the least affordable housing market in decades, there remains a minority of consumers who still feel that now is a good time to buy a home. According to Fannie Mae‘s latest Home Purchase Sentiment Index, 19% of consumers feel that […]
On Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 263,000 new jobs were added in September. While that growth seems like good news in this economy, it runs directly counter to what the Federal Reserve wants to see. And the even worse news for the Fed was that the unemployment rate fell back to 3.5%. That […]
Guaranteed Rate this week walked away from negotiations to acquire Finance of America’s forward mortgage retail channel, which may result in FoA closing the division, sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations told HousingWire. Meanwhile, FoA confirmed Friday that Finance of America Mortgage LLC (FAM), its forward mortgage company, will no longer fund and purchase […]
Switzerland-based global lender Credit Suisse Group AG had a rough start this week after its stock was beaten down by 11%, the value of its riskiest debt fell more than 10% and the cost of purchasing derivatives insuring against the bank defaulting rose sharply. The bank’s stock eventually recovered most of the losses by the end of the day […]
The latest weekly survey data from Freddie Mac shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased four basis points last week to 6.66%, after jumping 40 basis points in the previous week, reflecting volatility due to the ongoing economic uncertainty. But qualifying borrowers can get lower rates with jumbo mortgages, as the spreads between these loans and […]
Keller Mortgage, the lending arm of real estate holding company kwx, is the latest lender to be hit by the rapidly decreasing demand for mortgages. On Monday, the firm underwent a “mass layoff,” according to posts by former Keller Mortgage employees on LinkedIn. This is at least the second round of layoffs at Keller Mortgage […]
Pennymac executives say their goal is to become a “dominant player” in wholesale. On Thursday, the publicly traded multichannel lender launched a new technology platform for brokers called “POWER+,” a key step toward generating more broker business. “The platform was designed and developed using direct broker feedback, which shaped our workflow and functionality,” said Kim […]
In an email sent on Tuesday, loanDepot CEO Frank Martell reminded staffers that in times like these, there are “no easy answers.” “We must deal with the realities of our market, face the future with determination, and focus on our strengths while addressing our challenges as a team,” he wrote. To that end, Martell detailed […]
FHFA Director Sandra Thompson The U.S. housing market has faced periods of high interest rates, home price appreciation and lack of inventory before. But these forces all happening at once makes the current landscape especially volatile and challenging, according to Sandra Thompson, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. “If you put things in […]
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in late July creating federal minimum standards, which would allow notaries nationwide to perform remote online notarizations (RON). Title industry experts say it would be a game-changer for the mortgage space, but they expect some resistance. “Actually, I feel remote online notarizations could streamline the process for […]
Mortgage applications for the week ending Sept. 30 decreased 14.2% from the prior week, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. On an unadjusted basis, the mortgage composite index decreased 14% compared with the previous week. The refinance index decreased 18% from the previous week and was 86% lower than the same […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) expects to issue in the next 90 days a request for information from the public to update its 203K program, a step to address the current affordability crisis by boosting the supply of homes. “We’re looking at revamping the 203k program,” Julienne Joseph, deputy assistant secretary in the Office of […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Tuesday issued a request for feedback from the public on how it can increase access to small balance mortgages through its single-family mortgage insurance programs. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) back in April said it would be taking a hard look at small balance mortgages, which […]
Due to heavy financial losses and shrinking production, loanDepot has reduced its funding capacity by $1 billion, laid off thousands of workers and exited the wholesale lending business. But that hasn’t stopped the nonbank lender from issuing pay raises to its top executives. In a filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, […]
The shift from a refinance boom to a purchase market will leave some mortgage lenders and loan officers with only two options: “Consolidate or exit the business,” according to Mary Ann McGarry, Guild Mortgage’s chief executive officer. Meanwhile, McGarry said Guild is well positioned to acquire these assets but will be very patient in closing […]
Home prices are now posting the biggest monthly declines since January 2009, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor report from Black Knight. Median home prices in August fell 0.98% in August, only slightly better than July’s 1.05% monthly decline. The average home price is down 2% ($8,800) from its June peak nationally as we enter […]
Rocket Companies, the parent company of America’s largest mortgage lender, announced that longtime Chief Financial Officer Julie Booth and General Counsel Angelo Vitale are retiring. In a statement issued Monday, Rocket said both Booth and Vitale will remain with the company in strategic advisory roles. Booth’s retirement is effective November 15. Brian Brown, Rocket’s chief […]
What do the next 15-18 months look like for the broker channel? According to United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) CEO Mat Ishbia, who rallied brokers at the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) Fuse conference in Las Vegas on Saturday, the next year and a half will be a proving ground that will level set the market for […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) CEO Mat Ishbia announced three initiatives for brokers at AIME Fuse on Saturday. The most impactful may be an alternative to the traditional lender title process, called TRAC. Ishbia said his company has hired attorneys to review title and closing docs, make sure the title is clear and then help facilitate […]
Willie Newman ” data-medium-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-Willie-Newman.png?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-Willie-Newman.png?w=1024″ width=”1200″ height=”706″ src=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-Willie-Newman.png?w=1024″ alt=”HW+ Willie Newman” class=”wp-image-329916″ srcset=”https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-Willie-Newman.png 1200w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-Willie-Newman.png?resize=150,88 150w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-Willie-Newman.png?resize=300,177 300w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-Willie-Newman.png?resize=768,452 768w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-Willie-Newman.png?resize=1024,602 1024w, https://www.housingwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/HW-Willie-Newman.png?resize=600,353 600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”>Willie Newman, president and CEO of wholesale lender Homepoint Michigan-based lender Homepoint leadership effectively “reset the organization” amid the mortgage downturn, Willie Newman, the CEO and president, told […]
A federal judge has ruled in favor of a coalition of community housing groups against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), vacating part of a Trump-era rule that impacted the reporting obligations of certain mortgage lenders. The D.C. District Court found that the CFPB, under Trump appointee Kathy Kraninger, acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” […]
Nearly six months after CEO Hugh Frater announced his resignation, Fannie Mae has found a permanent replacement. Priscilla Almodovar, the president and CEO of national housing nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners, will take the helm of the mortgage finance behemoth on Dec. 5. David Benson will continue to serve as interim CEO until Almodovar takes the […]
Social media app TikTok is expected to reach 1.8 billion users by the end of 2022 – will you be one of them? Many mortgage professionals are turning to the platform as a way to connect with prospective borrowers and educate them on mortgage, as well as market themselves. We spoke to UMortgage Branch Manager […]
Non-QM real estate investment trust Angel Oak Mortgage Inc. on Wednesday announced the departure of CEO Robert Williams. The company appointed Sreeni Prabhu, a managing partner at affiliate Angel Oak Capital Advisors, as the new president and CEO. The leadership shakeup comes after two consecutive quarters of financial losses. Angel Oak Mortgage Inc., which went […]
The latest weekly survey data from Freddie Mac shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped 40 basis points to an average of 6.70% this week, the highest level since 2007. The survey also indicates a large dispersion in rates, meaning that homebuyers can save hundreds of dollars by shopping around with different lenders. A year ago […]
The entire agenda at HousingWire Annual is jam-packed with informative speakers and invigorating panels. Included in this agenda are also four, breakout sessions that cover different key parts of the housing sector. In these 20-minute sessions, attendees will walk away with tangible and actionable information from leaders at mortgage, valuation, real estate and title companies. […]