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SitusAMC President Michael Franco SitusAMC subsidiary Securent is expanding its reach into the private-label market with plans to soon introduce a loan-defect insurance product for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transactions, according to executives from both companies.  The initial focus of Securent, which was launched late last year, has been to provide loan-level loan-defect insurance for third-party mortgage originators […]

The Federal Housing Finance Agency introduced new upfront fees on Wednesday for some high-balance and second-home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Upfront fees for high balance loans will increase between 0.25% and 0.75%, tiered by loan-to-value ratio. For second home loans, the upfront fees will increase between 1.125% and 3.875%, also tiered […]

Some Federal Housing Administration-approved mortgage servicers have routinely flouted the agency’s loan modification program, according to Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and 20 other state attorneys general. The attorneys general wrote in a Dec. 21 letter that a number of mortgage servicers employed by FHA-approved lenders failed to adequately implement loan modification options the […]

Mortgage applications decreased 2.7% from two weeks earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association survey for the week ending Dec. 31, 2021. The results include adjustments to account for the holidays. The holiday adjusted Refinance Index decreased 2% from two weeks ago and was 40% lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally […]

The most wonderful time of the year, as the song would have us believe, comes to a close with Epiphany, the 12th day of Christmas, Jan. 6. I do hope everyone had a joyous holiday season, spending some relaxing time with family and friends. The holiday season is winding down. So is the 24-month refinance […]

loanDepot announced this week that it will begin servicing Ginnie Mae loans in-house, following a 2021 decision to do the same for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-backed loans. The top-ranked nonbank lender said in a press release that servicing Ginnie Mae loans “carries great significance” because the agency is the primary guarantor of securities containing Federal […]

Pontiac, Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) capitalized on a booming private-label market in 2021 by sponsoring its inaugural securities transaction this past May, a prime jumbo deal involving 508 mortgages with an aggregate principal balance of $351.9 million. That was the start for the nonbank lender, which dominates the nation’s wholesale mortgage lending sector with an estimated […]

This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the predictions for next year, along with […]

This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Sarah DeCiantis, chief marketing officer at United Wholesale Mortgage. As a 2019 Vanguard and Women of Influence, DeCiantis is the catalyst behind United Wholesale Mortgage’s strategic approach to marketing, which has helped the company become the No. 1 wholesale lender. DeCiantis oversees advertising, public relations, social media, creative and […]

This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the predictions for next year, along with […]

This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the predictions for next year, along with […]

Blank check company Aurora Acquisition Corp. said on Monday that Vishal Garg is still Better.com‘s CEO, and that it will keep the proposed merger with the digital mortgage lender. The communication comes after Garg took leave early this month in response to an onslaught of negative media coverage because he laid off 900 employees via […]

As we turn the page on 2021, it’s important to check in with ourselves and identify what we are leaving in the past and what we are taking with us into the new year. To some, that exercise might translate to forming resolutions. I’m taking a slightly different approach, however, by opting to reflect on […]

Last week’s announcement from the Department of Housing and Urban Development cleared the way for lenders to adopt targeted lending programs, but so far, they are treading carefully. The pronouncement was more than 40 years coming, and arrived after both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Housing Finance Agency had publicly weighed in […]

A former employee alleged that an executive at Atlanta-based mortgage lender Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) sexually assaulted her, and executives fostered a culture of widespread sexual harassment at the firm. Former mortgage loan processor Tiar McCart claims, in a suit filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia in October, that […]

The delinquency landscape continues to improve on a monthly basis, with the total delinquency rate in the nation falling to 3.59% in November, according to Black Knight’s November mortgage monitor published this week. In October, the analytics vendor clocked the national delinquency rate at 3.74%. The 15-basis point improvement continues to point to the effectiveness […]

The average 30-year-fixed rate mortgage dropped to 3.05% during the week ending Dec. 23, after achieving 3.12% the week prior, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.66%. The 15-year-fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.30% last week, declining from 2.34% the week prior. A year ago at […]

Utilities, telecommunications and rent payment data ought to be used in mortgage underwriting, especially since federal regulators say they are focused on improving racial equity and may update their credit scoring models. So argued a report released Tuesday by Michael Stegman, a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute and former senior policy advisor on housing […]

Mortgage applications fell 0.6% for the week ending Dec. 17, with fewer borrowers looking for purchases in the lower end of the market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey published on Wednesday. The decrease was driven by the purchases index falling 3.3% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Concurrently, the refi index […]

As 2021 draws to a close, it’s clear that the private-label residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) market has notched a year for the record books. For the full year, the RMBS 2.0 market — defined as all post-financial-crisis prime, non-prime and credit-risk transfer (CRT) transactions — is projected to exceed $115 billion in issuance. That’s more […]

Higher inflation, post-pandemic economic recovery and a reduction in Federal Reserve stimulus incentives are key economic factors expected to put upward pressure on interest rates as we move into 2022 — increasing the already stiff competition among mortgage lenders. Furthermore, a more competitive mortgage lending environment will only magnify the importance for lenders to have […]

If you take the temperature of how loan officers are feeling ahead of the holiday season, the scale would likely read “uneasy.” They have good reason to feel anxious. Numerous shops, including Better.com, Interfirst Mortgage, and Freedom Mortgage have announced layoffs in the past few weeks, and some LOs worry their jobs may also be […]

The share of mortgage loans in forbearance decreased by 39 basis points to 1.67% as of Nov. 30, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the latest sign that the sun is setting on loan forbearance agreements hammered out under the CARES Act. Under COVID-19 legislation signed by President Donald Trump in April 2020, many homeowners […]

DocMagic announced on Monday the rollout of eDecision, a fully automated platform that it said will significantly expand the level of analysis applied to e-eligibility determination for eClosings. The automated loan document preparation and eMortgage services provider claims the new platform delivers a clear-cut, highly accurate decision telling users exactly how far they can take […]

Two federal regulators said on Monday that they will double down on scrutiny of mortgage servicers, following complaints of housing rights violations made by military families and veterans. In a joint letter, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said they are watching to ensure mortgage servicers fully comply […]

Most of the time, the economy is like a slow-moving ocean liner that changes direction gradually and without much effort. But when a new, powerful variable presents itself, like the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the economy can change on a dime. COVID was a veritable iceberg for our ocean liner economy, but the ship did not […]

Detroit-based platform Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, announced on Monday it is acquiring the personal finance app Truebill for $1.275 billion in cash. The acquisition, expected to close prior to the end of the year, is a step toward a centralized platform for clients to manage their financial lives, the company said. It’s […]

Jeffrey Wilen The Covid-19 pandemic hit Jeffrey Wilen and his family hard. In July 2020, he lost his job as an editor at a consulting firm for spa professionals. By that point, his wife, fearing infection, had already decided to resign as a part-time assistant teacher to stay home with their three kids.  It took […]

Redwood Trust Inc. has long been a major player in the private-label securitization market, and it sees a looming problem brewing in the housing industry. That issue is about boundaries — specifically, the line drawn between the roles of private industry and the government in the housing market. Redwood completed more than $1 billion worth of […]

Special purpose acquisition companies’ appetite for real estate and mortgage businesses apparently isn’t dead yet, despite recent problems involving Better.com that pushed a merger with Aurora Acquisitions Corp. to next year, if at all. Blank check company Southport Acquisition Corporation concluded on Tuesday a $230 million capital raising to pursue acquisitions mainly in mortgage and real estate verticals in the United States.  […]

As we approach 2022, some concerning headwinds confront the mortgage origination industry. For companies to survive and thrive, mortgage executives must focus on three primary factors: risk, strategy and efficiency. In terms of managing financial risk, considerations include interest rate, market and reputation. Risk is becoming more pronounced as the Federal Reserve announced its plan […]

It is an eventful week within the Slack channels of Knock, and an anxiety-filled one for the company’s about 50 loan officers. On Tuesday, according to multiple sources within the New York-headquartered mortgage lender and “power buyer,” a weekly video meeting of Knock loan officers took a turn when Robert Foos, Knock’s director of sales, […]

The process of vetting loan pools assembled for private-label securitization deals is, to a degree, like sausage-making.  Few take the time to understand the process, but everyone eating the sausage wants to trust that the ingredients won’t cause them heartburn. A recent report by the Kroll Bond Rating Agency, however, raises a yellow flag about current […]

Mortgage applications for new home purchases in November dipped 2.2% year-over-year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s builder survey published this week. From October 2021, applications also decreased by 3%. The mortgage trade group estimates that on an unadjusted basis there were 65,000 new home sales in November, from 68,000 new home sales from the […]

The average 30-year-fixed rate mortgage increased to 3.12% during the week ending Dec. 16, up from 3.10% the week prior, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.67%. The 15-year-fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.34% last week, declining from 2.38% the week prior. A year ago, at this time, it averaged […]

In 2012, Dmitry Godin was seemingly on top of the world. Interfirst Mortgage, the retail mortgage business he founded in 2001, had grown to $14.5 billion in originations, cementing its place as the 15th-largest originator in the country. By July 2013, things were going so well that Godin and his wife purchased a lakefront mansion […]

Toronto-based cryptocurrency lending platform Ledn has raised $70 million in a Series B funding round to support the growth of its digital assets lending business, including a new Bitcoin-backed mortgage product. The round valued the company at $540 million and was led by 10T Holdings, the company announced on Wednesday. Other investors included Golden Tree Asset Management, Raptor Group, and FJ Labs. […]

The Federal Reserve announced that it is accelerating its tapering of bond-purchases starting in January. The central bank’s Federal Open Markets Committee said that “in light of inflation developments and the further improvement in the labor market,” it will reduce the pace of its monthly purchases by $20 billion for Treasury securities and $10 billion for agency […]

Mortgage applications fell 4% for the week ending Dec. 10, large part because fewer borrowers are looking to refi their exiting mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey published on Wednesday. The decrease was mainly driven by the refi index falling 6.4% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Concurrently, the purchase index increased 0.7% from […]

The non-QM mortgage market, which encompasses most home loans not backed by a government-sponsored guarantee, is expected to reach the $25 billion mark this year in private-label securitization volume.  Over the next several years, however, assuming interest rates continue to tick upward absent great volatility, the non-QM (or non-qualified mortgage) market has the potential to […]

Layoffs swept through Freedom Mortgage’s Fort Mill, South Carolina office last Friday, sources familiar with the situation confirmed to HousingWire this week. The exact numbers have not been publicly disclosed, but laid off employees said it’s in the hundreds. A manager at Freedom, who requested anonymity, told HousingWire that the sales side of the Fort […]

Mortgage lenders generated more defective loans in the second quarter, reflecting the transition from a refinance to a purchase market, according to ACES Quality Management’s latest critical defect report. The critical defect rate climbed to 2.27% in the second quarter of 2021, ending the trend of improvement in the previous two quarters. In the most […]

This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Josh Mettle, division president at NEO Home Loans. With over 20 years of mortgage experience, Mettle has dedicated his career to the mortgage industry. Prior to NEO Home Loans, Mettle served as senior vice president, director of physician lending at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. He also is an author, podcast […]

In the world of mortgage-financing, there exists a product line defined by what it is not — non-qualified mortgage (non-QM), non-prime, non-agency or an alternative-documentation loan.  In the secondary market, these non-QM loans are in demand this year and are expected to continue propelling the growth of private-label securitizations in the year ahead, according to […]

One week after laying off 900 employees via Zoom and courting a mountain of bad press, Better.com’s founder and CEO Vishal Garg is taking leave “effectively immediately,” according to an internal memo sent to employees of the digital mortgage lender on Friday. In the interim, Kevin Ryan, chief financial officer at Better and a former […]