General World News

Rocket offers more voluntary buyouts

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Better.com extends deadline to go public via SPAC

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

NYSE notifies Impac about risk of getting delisted

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Real estate startup Reali to shut down

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Does Powell’s tough talk mean another 75 bps rate hike?

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

HW+ Member Spotlight: Neena Vlamis

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Will new products stop the bleeding for mortgage lenders? 

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Movement Mortgage acquires brokerage Superior Rate

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Purchase mortgage rates jump to 5.55%

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

UWM enters the HELOC space

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Homepoint cuts rates by 75 bps for low-income borrowers

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Mortgage apps continue downward trend

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Homebuilders get hit with more bad news

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Opinion: Ginnie Mae’s revised requirements reduce risk

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Ginnie Mae digs in on 250% MSR risk weight for nonbanks

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

2 new private-label deals backed by rentals hit the market

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Average IMB lost $82 on each loan originated in Q2

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

UWM turns to seller concessions with new mortgage product launch

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Angel Oak Home Loans adopts SimpleNexus’ platforms for agency and non-QM lending

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

FHFA and Ginnie Mae relax proposed seller servicer requirements

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Smaller mortgage lender lobby groups to merge

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Quality control provider Inco-Check rebrands as QC Ally

Posted on

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,” […]

General World News

Mortgage apps decline 2.3% to the lowest level since 2000

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

66 mortgage lenders, brokers make Inc. 5000 list

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Who’s positioned to capitalize on Wells Fargo’s mortgage retreat

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Blend takes a $478M loss, cuts 25% of its workforce

Posted on

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. […]

General World News

HELOCs are now “raging back”

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Mortgage forbearance rate continued to decline in July

Posted on

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 […]

General World News

Wells Fargo to shutter correspondent lending?

Posted on

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 […]