Mortgage applications jumped 8.15% from the week ending Jan. 29, breaking a two-week streak of decreases, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The refinance index also increased 11% from the previous week – up to its highest level since March 2020 – and was 59% higher year-over-year. The seasonally adjusted purchase […]
Ginnie Mae announced its first guarantee of a mortgage-backed security backed by digital pools, or pools of loans that consist entirely of eNotes. The MBS were loans closed by Rocket Mortgage in December, are issued as of Jan. 1, 2021 and have coupon rates ranging from 2.5% to 3.5%. The total principal value of the […]
Summary List Placement Senate Democrats took the first step to pass President Joe Biden’s rescue package on Tuesday, advancing a budget resolution in a 50-49 party-line vote. Every Democratic senator supported it and no Republicans voted in favor. GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania was absent. “We’re not going to dilute, dither, or delay because […]
Summary List Placement The US unemployment rate may not reach pre-pandemic levels for the rest of the decade without additional stimulus from the federal government, according to projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). As Insider’s Joseph Zeballos-Roig reported, that analysis sees the unemployment rate falling to 5.7% this year, and 5% in 2022. It’s […]
Today’s HousingWire Daily focuses on the newly released HousingWire February magazine issue. In this episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath discusses what readers will find in this issue, which focuses on the unique challenges servicers face in 2021. HW Magazine is a part of the HW+ premium membership community. If you’re not a member yet, […]
Summary List Placement More than two-thirds of Americans support core elements of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief package, including stimulus checks and a minimum wage increase, despite support among lawmakers split down party lines. In a poll released by Yahoo News on Monday, responses indicated a majority of Americans favor Biden’s plans to provide pandemic […]
A coalition of 33 state attorneys general filed a motion against PHH Mortgage and its predecessor Ocwen Loan Servicing for allegedly charging unlawful servicing fees to nearly one million borrowers. The attorney generals, co-led by New York’s Letitia James and Minnesota’s Keith Ellison, are opposing a proposed class action settlement that would permit PHH to […]
Digital mortgage servicer Valon (formerly known as Peach Street) announced on Tuesday it picked up $50 million in a Series A funding round spearheaded by venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz. Valon now boasts $53 million in total funding to date, and it is aiming its sights on industry giant Black Knight. Others participating in this […]
Last year brought with it one of the most surprising years housing has ever seen, but for mortgage servicers, their work has only just begun. As 2019 came to a close, economists vigorously debated the chances of a recession in 2020. While divided, many suggested that a recession would be a possibility near the end […]
United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia will be featured in the keynote session at HousingWire’s Spring Summit on March 4. In a one-on-one discussion with HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins, Ishbia will discuss the way UWM responded to the COVID crisis, the decision to take his company public and the future of the mortgage broker model. […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency appointed Clinton Jones as its new general counsel, saying this was the next step in turning the FHFA into a “world-class regulator.” Jones will step into the role immediately, taking the place of Alfred Pollard, who will retire from the FHFA at the end of March. “Alfred has served admirably […]
Summary List Placement West Virginia Governor Jim Justice strayed from his Republican colleagues in interviews on Monday and urged Congress to pass a big stimulus package, denouncing the ongoing partisan arguments on pandemic relief. Ever since President Joe Biden unveiled his $2 trillion stimulus plan, Republicans said that the plan was too costly and would […]
The wholesale mortgage lending division of Rocket Companies has launched a national mortgage broker directory on its website, providing potential leads to mortgage brokers and also poking at its biggest rival, United Wholesale Mortgage, in the process. “The directory not only includes the 43,000 individual loan officers who work with us, but every mortgage broker […]
Summary List Placement A group of 10 Republican senators introduced a stimulus proposal last week to counter the $2 trillion plan President Joe Biden already proposed. The GOP plan totals to an estimated $618 billion – nearly a third the size of Biden’s proposed aid package. Led by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican […]
Summary List Placement A group of 10 Senate Republicans on Monday unveiled their plan for a smaller economic relief package ahead of an afternoon meeting with President Joe Biden. The group is attempting to strike a bipartisan deal on a targeted economic aid plan. Their blueprint is less than a third of the $1.9 trillion […]
United Wholesale Mortgage, now a publicly traded company, will return to the Super Bowl this year. The wholesale lender will be running a new Super Bowl commercial spotlighting independent mortgage brokers and its website FindAMortgageBroker.com for a second straight year. See the video below: “We will always find ways to elevate and shine a light […]
We start the beginning of each year with a magazine issue that focuses on servicing, and this year is no different. But after the tumultuous year we experienced in 2020, servicing will now be more important than ever. Flashback to the Great Recession that began in 2008 and the devastation that followed, servicers were put […]
Summary List Placement Democrats wield full control over the levers of power in Washington for the first time in a decade. A surprise victory in two Senate runoffs in Georgia delivered Democrats a narrow majority in the Senate, opening the door for a larger stimulus package and healthcare reform. In the week since his inauguration, […]
Summary List Placement Democrats are pushing for a $15 federal minimum wage, over double the current rate of $7.25 (which was enacted in 2009). Under the proposed wage increase, nearly 32 million Americans — 21% of America’s total workforce — would get a raise, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). As […]
Summary List Placement The GameStop frenzy continues. The video-game retailer was on the brink of death in 2019, and has clung on for nearly two years, as Insider’s Ben Gilbert reported. As recently as August, its stock was trading at just $5 per share. By January 27, GameStop had hit new highs of over $325 […]
The new acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Dave Uejio, told staff in an email on Thursday that the bureau will direct its attention to mortgage servicers, promising “aggressive action” to ensure companies follow the law. In the email, Uejio laid out his vision for the coming months, saying that his top two […]
The volume of homes sold or refinanced in 2020 was incredible, with total origination volume expected to top $4 trillion for the year once all the numbers are in. Wanting to take advantage of record low mortgage rates to gain more space in a pandemic, consumers didn’t follow traditional seasonal buying patterns, fueling a non-stop […]
Over $4 trillion in originations made its way through the housing market last year, and new data from mortgage software firm LBA Ware revealed that by the end of 2020, loan officers played every last card in their deck to get those deals closed by New Years. Total funded loan volume by loan officers in […]
This HousingWire Daily interview features a crossover episode from HousingWire’s Housing News podcast, a show that highlights a new mortgage or real estate executive each week to add perspective to the top stories crossing HousingWire’s news desk. In this episode, HomeBridge Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Brian “Woody” White discusses what increasing diversity within the housing […]
Summary List Placement In an interview with CNBC, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the US is “suffering” from a K-shaped recovery — and again identified a wealth tax as one way to address inequality. “We’ve been talking about wealth inequality in this country for several years now,” Warren said. “This pandemic could accelerate it at a […]
Over the past six months, mergers and acquisitions, huge financing rounds and public offerings have dominated headlines across the real estate and housing finance sector. This level of action is keeping finance executives like Jeremy Collett, Executive Director, Capital Markets at Guaranteed Rate busier than ever. “This is such an interesting topic right now,” said […]
Summary List Placement Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts stressed the need for a wealth tax to counter wealth inequality in the country during an interview on CNBC on Thursday. Brought on to discuss the GameStop trade that shook the stock market in the last two weeks, Warren told CNBC’s Wilfred Frost and Sara Eisen that […]
A “sick, sad joke.” That’s the phrase a former Trump administration appointee for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, used to describe the government agency he was later selected to lead. President Donald Trump kept Mulvaney in his role for as long as possible, only nominating Kathy Kraninger at the end of […]
Summary List Placement High earners are continuing to fare well during the pandemic. Fifty-nine percent of those with a household income of $100,000 or more have increased their savings, a new MagnifyMoney study found. By comparison, only 28% of those earning less than $35,000 were able to save more. (The study surveyed 1,200-plus Americans in […]
Home Point Financial, the parent company of Michigan-based wholesale lender Homepoint, intends to raise $94.25 million dollars on its Wall Street debut on Friday. The lender plans to price 7.25 million shares of common stock at $13.00 per share on Friday, the company said in a statement late Thursday evening. Home Point Capital itself is […]
Former Freddie Mac CEO David Brickman will take the helm of a newly formed commercial agency lending platform, created by a partnership between commercial mortgage brokerage Meridian Capital Group and investment manager Barings. Brickman will lead the company as CEO. Under the terms of the agreement, the joint venture will acquire the assets and liabilities […]
Summary List Placement The Biden administration ruled out splitting its $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan into two on Thursday, heightening the odds that Democrats will pass their package through a party-line majority vote using reconciliation. “I just want to take the opportunity to be crystal-clear: We’re not looking to split the package. That is not […]
Summary List Placement An expansion of child tax credits is included in President Joe Biden’s stimulus proposal. Critics are arguing that the move will do little to alleviate child poverty in the US. The expansion of child tax credits gives families with children under the age of six $3,600 per year, and $3,000 per year […]
Mortgage lenders and professional sports franchises have a lot more in common than you might think — mergers and acquisitions, recruitment, branding and star players, to name a few. But their most important connection is their need to always stay competitive and prioritize their customers’ experience. Today, we are in the largest mortgage market in U.S. […]
Summary List Placement A prominent House Democrat slammed Robinhood’s move to restrict trading on some stocks like Gamestop and endorsed the idea of holding a congressional hearing on the popular trading app’s decision. Rep. Ro Khanna, a leading member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said there was “visceral anger” at hedge funds for their role […]
Summary List Placement As part of a series of executive actions on healthcare President Joe Biden will take on Thursday, he will end a policy that prohibits federal funds from being used for abortions, reversing his predecessor’s actions. The White House said that Biden will “protect and expand access to comprehensive reproductive health care,” on […]
The average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell four basis points last week to 2.73%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. This is the second week mortgage rates have ticked downwards since Jan. 14’s sudden jump, but still more closely resembles the rates seen around Thanksgiving. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate also […]
Summary List Placement The US economy grew less than anticipated in the last three months of 2020 as the moderating pace of recovery padded against the coronavirus’s dire resurgence. US gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 4% in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Barring last quarter’s record leap, the […]
The Federal Open Market Committee left future economic policies virtually unchanged at its Wednesday meeting, indicating that short-term mortgage rates will stay low for years to come. “The pace of the recovery in economic activity and employment has moderated in recent months, with weakness concentrated in the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic,” the […]
The housing industry is keeping a close eye on the Biden administration’s proposal of a first-time homebuyer tax credit of $15,000. If passed, the funds — which would help cover a down payment — could be accessed immediately by the buyer at the closing table. Biden’s tax credit — along with Biden’s other economic goals […]
Summary List Placement A top economic advisor to President Joe Biden pushed back Wednesday on the idea of limiting stimulus check eligibility. During a Bloomberg conference, White House economist Jared Bernstein argued the federal payments are “better targeted than I think most people realize,” and added “it’s not just people at the bottom who need […]
Summary List Placement Secretary of Energy nominee Jennifer Granholm expressed her intent to create new jobs through President Joe Biden’s climate plan during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, bolstering economic growth while fighting the climate crisis. Biden signed a series of executive orders on Wednesday to “confront the existential threat of climate change,” with one […]
Summary List Placement Former President Donald Trump significantly reduced spending on enrollment efforts in the Affordable Care Act, leaving President Joe Biden with around $1 billion in unused funds to spend on healthcare, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. In a new report released on Monday, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that over fiscal years […]
LoanDepot, one of America’s largest mortgage lenders, released pricing of its hotly anticipated independent public offering (IPO) on Wednesday. The multichannel lender said it would be selling 9.41 million shares of common stock; funds held by its private equity backer Parthenon Capital Partners would sell 5.59 million shares in the upcoming IPO. The offering price […]
Summary List Placement President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Wednesday that addresses the climate crisis, and both climate groups and corporate America have expressed support for big action on the climate and the job creation that would come with it. Climate change is one of the four crises the president said is […]