There’s only one month left until HW Annual kicks off on Oct. 3rd. As the conference quickly approaches, so does the deadline to lock in the exclusive room rate for the Fairmont Princess Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. Take advantage of staying on the property and being close to all the conference sessions and networking events […]
Rocket Companies, the parent company of Rocket Mortgage, extended the second round of voluntary career transition offers to employees amid the company’s forecast of much lower origination volume in the third quarter. “We recognize career growth options in certain areas of our business are limited right now, while the housing market normalizes following two years […]
Digital mortgage lender Better.com and blank-check firm Aurora Acquisition Corp. extended the deadline to conclude their merger agreement, but the companies have already started to discuss options in case the deal fails. In May 2021, Novator Capital-sponsored special purpose acquisition company Aurora announced plans to make Better.com public in the fourth quarter of 2021. The deal valued the SoftBank Group-backed digital lender at […]
Inflation slowed more than expected in July, the result of a dip in gas and energy prices. But soaring housing costs continue to weigh heavily on family budgets. Rents and home purchase prices are up – 17% and 20% respectively – from last year. It seems as if every day there is yet another news story highlighting […]
California-based Impac Mortgage Holdings received a notice on Friday from the NYSE American LLC requiring a plan to adjust its stockholders’ equity level amid consecutive financial losses. Otherwise, the mortgage lender will be subject to delisting proceedings, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. In the most challenging mortgage market in well over a decade, Impac stockholders’ equity reached […]
In 2021, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) CEO Mat Ishbia set a three-year goal to make UWM the No. 1 lender in the country. Ishbia, who started running his father’s mortgage firm in 2013 and has since grown it into the country’s No. 2 lender, isn’t satisfied with second place, behind Rocket Mortgage. “I don’t have […]
California real estate startup Reali is shutting down, with plans to lay off most of its employees on Sept. 9. The firm is the latest to fall victim to rising mortgage rates and a drop in home sales. The San Mateo, California startup cited “the challenging real estate and financial market conditions and unfavorable capital-raising […]
Restoring price stability will cause some pain now, but will forestall the greater pain of higher inflation, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a speech on Friday. Powell, speaking at an economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, made it clear that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) would continue to be tightly focused […]
This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Neena Vlamis, CEO, President and founder of A and N Mortgage, which is headquartered in Chicago. HousingWire: What is your current favorite HW+ article and why? Neena Vlamis: HousingWire, I love the staff! Until I was recently asked to be on a webinar, I did not have my eyes wide open. Now I am a member […]
Homepoint is in a tough spot. Like its peers, the wholesale lender’s origination volume has plunged over the past year due to a dearth of refinancings and a sluggish purchase market. But there’s another threat that Homepoint executives must worry about – United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the top dog in wholesale, has embarked on a strategy […]
South Carolina-based Movement Mortgage has acquired the brokerage Superior Rate Mortgage of New England to expand operations in the region, the company announced Wednesday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is another step to boost its sales amid shrinking loan origination volumes. The company announced new hires in the sales executive team in early August. With the […]
Volatile mortgage rates jumped back to the mid-5% level this week, slowing down the housing market, according to the latest survey from Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased 42 basis points this week to an average of 5.55%, up from last week’s 5.13%. A year ago this time, rates averaged 2.87%. The index compiles purchase […]
How will President Biden’s executive action to erase $10,000 in federal student loan debt affect homeownership? While industry watchers don’t expect the debt forgiveness to move the needle in a significant way, it could have a net positive impact on homeownership long term. About 45% of borrowers, or almost 20 million people, would have their […]
It has been a nonstop year for the housing industry. From sky-high home prices to fluctuating mortgage rates and staffing changes, it is no wonder that Realtors, loan officers and other industry professionals are feeling burnt out. Not to worry, there are panels at HW Annual to re-ignite your passion for the housing industry and […]
Top wholesale lender United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) is the latest originator to join the resurgent home-equity lines of credit (HELOC) market. The Pontiac, Michigan-based lender has started to offer standalone and piggyback options, as fast-rising home values allow homeowners to tap the equity in their houses to pay debts, expenses or investments. UWM’s products announced […]
Homepoint has launched a new program to reduce rates for borrowers with lower income, the wholesale lender announced Wednesday. The initiative comes after the company reported a loss in the second quarter of 2022 amid a price war, mainly from its wholesale-only rival United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). Homepoint is offering a 75 basis point pricing bonus for conforming […]
Demand for mortgage loans continued to decline last week, remaining at the lowest level in two decades, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 1.2% for the week ending Aug. 19, compared to the previous week. It was also down 63% compared to the same week […]
It will get worse for the housing market – and mortgage industry – before it gets better. That’s the takeaway from a group of economists at Fannie Mae who slashed their forecast for 2022 home sales this week. “Housing remains clearly on the downtrend — and has been for several months now — due to the […]
If you are joining us at HW Annual Oct. 3-5, make the most out of your trip by also joining us for the Marketing Leaders Success Summit. Kicking off HW Annual, this summit will be packed with the marketing insider tips and tricks you need to take your business to the next level. Below are […]
July was another rough month for homebuilders, with mortgage applications for new home purchases dropping 16.1% from a year ago, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association‘s builder application survey. Compared to June 2022, applications decreased by 7%. “Mortgage applications to purchase newly built homes weakened in July, as prospective homebuyers continue to delay decisions […]
A Maryland couple is suing appraisal firm 20/20 Valuations, its appraiser and mortgage lender loanDepot after their home was appraised at a far lower value than it was a few months later when they removed indications that a Black family lived there. Nathan Connolly and Shani Mott, in a suit filed in Maryland District Court […]
Well, here we are rounding out another spring and summer market. Kudos to the Loan Officers who have found a way to transition from the refinance boom of 2020 — 2021 and into the purchase market of 2022. As we begin to finish the third quarter, it is important to take some time to reflect, […]
Not only was HW Annual designed to bring you the latest insights on how to navigate today’s fast-changing market, but also, it was created with community and collaboration in mind. Hopefully, you are as excited to join together with everyone in the housing industry as the HousingWire team is. If you still haven’t taken advantage […]
Ginnie Mae’s recent announcement regarding their Single-Family Applicant and Issuer Financial Eligibility Requirements represents a major step forward in reducing a potential systemic risk to the housing financial system. Since the 2008 financial crisis, a significant structural change has taken place which over time threatens the long-term stability of housing finance. The growth in the number […]
Ginnie Mae is not budging on its proposal to put a 250% risk weight on gross mortgage servicing rights. The requirement would be for nonbanks, who make up the bulk of the Federal Housing Administration market. Ginnie Mae specifically called out those institutions that are not “regulated by a federal prudential regulator” or state-chartered in […]
After a July doldrums during which there were no agency-eligible private-label securitizations (PLS) backed by mortgages on residential investment properties, the ice was broken this month with a new offering sponsored by Blue River Mortgage III LLC. The prime PLS offering, dubbed GCAT 2022-INV3, is backed by a pool of 1,259 mortgages valued at $423 million. More than […]
Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported a net loss of $82 on each loan they originated in the second quarter. It’s a significant drop from the first quarter, when lenders saw a gain of $223 per loan, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA attributed the losses to […]
Purchase mortgage rates declined this week on the news that inflation appears to have peaked and appear to be stabilizing. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased this week to an average of 5.13%, down from last week’s 5.22%, according to the latest purchase mortgage survey from Freddie Mac. A year ago this time, rates averaged 2.86%. The […]
Struggling digital mortgage lender Better.com is teaming up with secretive big data firm Palantir to create a proprietary loan platform that is says will enable Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and mortgage investors to make “richer and deeper data-driven mortgage capital allocation decisions.” Tinman Marketplace, as it has been dubbed, will be powered by Palantir’s Foundry […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) this week launched temporary rate buydowns, a product that allows borrowers to receive lower mortgage rates at the beginning of their loan terms by using seller concessions as part of the payment. It’s a complementary product to the wholesale lender’s “Game On” initiative, a cut-rate pricing strategy devised to grow market […]
Bill Lyons, founder and CEO of Griffin Funding and 2020 HousingWire Vanguard Honoree, sat down with HousingWire to discuss his company’s repeat ranking on the Inc. 5,000 list, along with his upcoming appearance at HW Annual Oct. 3-5. Don’t miss more of Lyon’s great insights when he takes the stage Oct. 4 at the Vanguard […]
Mortgage lender Angel Oak Home Loans has implemented SimpleNexus‘ all-in-one mortgage app to streamline its loan origination process. The Atlanta mortgage lender, which offers agency and non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) products, will implement the tech firm’s Nexus Origination and Nexus Engagement tools. A customized loan application developed for Angel Oak Home Loans will support both agency […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Ginnie Mae are walking back some of the more controversial proposed eligibility requirements for sellers, servicers and issuers they oversee. But the agencies will not wipe out the requirements entirely. An initially proposed 200 basis point hedging requirement will instead be 50 basis points for both agencies. Institutions […]
The Community Home Lenders Association and the Community Mortgage Lenders of America, two Washington, D.C. lobby groups representing smaller mortgage lenders, will join forces. The new group, the Community Home Lenders of America, will conserve CHLA’s acronym. The group will operate out of one office and merge assets. Several former congressional aides and a former […]
Inco-Check is rebranding to QC Ally, the company announced Wednesday. Inco-Check, a provider of QC and audit solutions, was founded in 2000 and acquired in May by Narrow Gauge Capital. “While celebrating Inco-Check’s legacy of high-quality audit services, this new branding reemphasizes our shared goals and collaboration with our client partners to enhance their business,” […]
Demand for mortgage loans declined to the lowest level since 2000 last week due to affordability challenges and uncertainties regarding the U.S. economy, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 2.3% for the week ending Aug. 12, compared to the previous week. It was also down […]
Worried about the changing tides in the real estate market and the current recession? To help you feel as prepared and informed as possible, we’ve designed the HousingWire Annual agenda to address the top questions in housing right now, including questions around the recession and how housing professionals are working to stay competitive in this […]
Nearly 70 mortgage lenders and brokers made it on the list of Inc. Magazine‘s 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. for 2022. The companies are U.S.-based, privately held and independent as of Dec. 31, 2018. Additionally, all these businesses had a minimum revenue of $100,000 in 2018 and $2 million last year. All the top […]
Canadian real estate tech firm Voxtur Analytics Corp. has agreed to buy mortgage servicing rights trading platform Blue Water Financial Technologies for a cool $101 million. Voxtur, which has been on a buying binge over the last few years, plans to combine Blue Water’s capital markets SaaS platform with its own constellation of real estate […]
The fate of Wells Fargo & Co.’s mortgage business has been the subject of industry speculation in the wake of a Bloomberg report indicating that the lending giant plans to shrink its enormous mortgage footprint, including a likely pull-back from the correspondent lending business. Shortly after that story went live, analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods(KBW) published a report stating that […]
Blend Labs executives say they are being conservative in managing the company after recording a massive financial loss in the second quarter of 2022. The California-based mortgage tech company plans to reduce costs, including cutting 25% of its workforce, and will focus on products with a higher return on investment amid an extreme market downturn. […]
A combination of fast-rising home values and the fact that nearly two-thirds of borrowers with at least some home equity have mortgage rates below 4% — and would not benefit from refinancing — is helping to propel a resurgent market for home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs). HELOCs allow homeowners to tap the equity in their […]
Servicers’ forbearance portfolio volume descended in July since mortgage forbearance rate dropped below 1% in April. The total number of loans decreased one basis point to 0.34%, according to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The mortgage forbearance rate on a declining trend is positive news after the economic impacts of the pandemic hit borrowers hard. The […]
In the face of a declining mortgage market and heightened regulatory scrutiny, Wells Fargo, the country’s largest depository mortgage lender by volume, is planning for a smaller footprint in correspondent lending and third-party servicing business. The depository bank will likely shrink or potentially halt correspondent lending, in which Wells Fargo funds the loan arranged by […]
By now, it is no surprise to hear that promoting women to leadership positions is beneficial for company performance and company culture, but it is time to go beyond talk. These leadership duos will share their experience in finding allies in the c-suite during the Women of Influence Forum at HW Annual on Oct. 3. […]