United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) on Friday announced three new tools to help independent mortgage brokers streamline loan processing, improve workflow efficiency and expand marketing efforts. The announcement, made at the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts’ (AIME) Fuse conference in Nashville, introduced UWM’s Income Calculator, Loan Lab and an upgraded version of Brand 360 created in […]
Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group slightly lowered its mortgage rate outlook in October and now projects rates to end 2025 at 6.3%, down from its 6.4% forecast in September. The modest decline, however, is expected to lift single-family mortgage originations to $1.88 trillion this year. That’s up from the prior estimate of […]
Prosecutors reviewing the mortgage occupancy fraud case against New York Attorney General Letitia James determined there is evidence that undercuts the allegations against her, according to an ABC News report based on sources. According to a September memo summarizing the findings, any financial benefit James may have received would have been minimal — roughly $800 […]
IDIQ has appointed Robin Clayton as vice president of marketing — with Clayton bringing more than 20 years of experience in mortgage lending, housing and marketing technology. Clayton will oversee marketing strategy and growth initiatives, expanding IDIQ’s presence in the mortgage and housing industries. She will report to Michael Scheumack, the company’s chief marketing officer […]
NEO Home Loans, powered by Better, said Thursday that Bri Lees has been appointed as its head of marketing, a move aimed at strengthening the connection between its adviser-led model and Better’s digital platform. Lees will oversee NEO’s brand, communications and marketing growth strategy, developing systems that align the company’s operations, presence and scalability. “NEO […]
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte said on social media Wednesday that his agency is reviewing the loan-level price adjustment (LLPA) matrix — the fees charged on conventional loans to account for risk. Pulte said the review is being led by Barry Habib, the founder and CEO of MBS Highway and a well-known […]
Editor’s Note: This article is an extension of Mr. Rebmann’s presentation at HousingWire’s 2025 AI Summit held in mid-August. Lenders are under unrelenting pressure to cut costs, accelerate processes and enhance borrower experiences while navigating a less-than-certain originations environment. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a tool to meet these demands, yet quantifying its business […]
With the rise in gig economy workers and borrowers looking to use their cryptocurrency assets as collateral for a loan, non-QM mortgages and non-agency loans are beating records, according to Tom Davis, the head of sales at Deephaven Mortgage. In an interview at the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s annual conference in Las Vegas, Davis sat down […]
Fannie Mae announced new leadership roles on Wednesday for three key existing leaders at the government-sponsored enterprise. It appointed chief operating officer Peter Akwaboah as acting CEO while the company searches for a permanent chief executive. According to a press release, the leadership roles are effective immediately. Akwaboah joined Fannie Mae from Morgan Stanley, […]
Union Home Mortgage (UHM) has launched a new product suite, UHM Platinum, to broaden its loan offerings and increase its presence in the nonqualified mortgage (non-QM) market. The company said the initiative is part of an effort to strengthen both new and existing relationships with investors and provide greater flexibility in mortgage options. Through UHM […]
Covius, a financial services firm that offers insights and technology to the housing industry, says it’s poised for growth through its acquisition of Title365 from Blend Labs. Company executives believe the move will strengthen their foothold in the booming home equity market. The deal, announced in June, is pending regulatory approval, which is expected to […]
PennyMac Financial Services Inc. plans to grow organically and in a “capital-light” fashion amid a wave of consolidation in the mortgage industry. If the macroeconomic environment remains supportive, the company expects to deliver solid returns on equity to investors through 2026. “While there can be some fluctuations in our results due to typical seasonality, if […]
Navigating change and technological transformation took center stage this week at the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s annual convention in Las Vegas, where industry leaders discussed consolidation, artificial intelligence and how to keep pace with shifts across the mortgage landscape. Bill Emerson, director of Rocket Companies and moderator of the session, opened the discussion by noting that […]
Nearly 90% of working-age Americans are concerned about how they’ll generate income in retirement — and more than half worry about outliving their savings. That’s according to the 2025 U.S. Retirement Survey by Schroders, a London-based multinational asset manager. The report, released Tuesday, found that 87% of Americans who’ve yet to retire expressed at least […]
PennyMac Financial Services Inc. disclosed its third-quarter 2025 earnings on Wednesday, highlighted by a profit of $181.5 million from July through September — a figure that represented 33% growth from the prior quarter and 162% growth from the same period last year. The California-based mortgage lender increased its net income during the third quarter through […]
Trade groups representing community banks and home lenders are urging the Trump administration to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to help bring down mortgage rates. The idea relies on amending the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements (PSPA) to enable the GSEs to purchase up to $300 billion of their own […]
A federal judge in Illinois has sentenced a former loan originator to 18 months in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar reverse mortgage and home repair fraud scheme. Gary Bohn, who previously worked for American Fidelity Financial Services, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the scheme, which also involved other loan officers, brokers and […]
Better Home & Finance Holding Co., or Better.com, on Tuesday announced the launch of its wholesale lending program, powered by the company’s Tinman AI platform. The program supports Better’s home equity line of credit (HELOC) and closed-end second (CES) loans and allows brokers to price out variable- and fixed-rate loans ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 […]
We have known each other for years and frequently appear on the same panel or podcast. Recently, Mosi has made some points to address some of the challenges of down payment assistance (DPA) programs, and we wanted to share and build on those thoughts because they are major shifts we feel the industry needs to […]
Credit bureau TransUnion is pushing back against the idea of replacing the current tri-merge mortgage credit model with a single credit pull, arguing that the shift would increase systemic risk and restrict access to credit. The conclusion comes from a TransUnion study released during the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Annual Convention and Expo, as the […]
Top former U.S. economic leaders, Gary Cohn and Lawrence Summers, raised red flags about the nation’s fiscal trajectory, the challenges of balancing monetary policy and the global context of U.S. debt. However, they Summers says economy is “remarkably resilient.” Speaking at the 2025 Mortgage Bankers Association‘s Annual Convention and Expo, Cohn and Summers also credited […]
A new study from the Nationwide Retirement Institute found that 58% of Millennial investors feel they have to choose between homeownership and retirement security as housing prices continue to rise faster than wages. “Millennials are navigating their prime earnings years in a financial landscape marked by volatile markets, high interest rates and shifting economic norms,” […]
Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Bob Broeksmit on Monday called 2025 a “historic year” for the trade group, highlighting major legislative and regulatory victories during his opening address Monday morning at the association’s Annual Convention and Expo in Las Vegas. Broeksmit shared with the audience that the MBA helped shape roughly 10% of all […]
With rates too high to make buying a home palatable, or even possible, we have a housing market that has been variously described as frozen or sick. What is certain is that many people are depressed about missing out on the interest rates that existed in 2021, and they fear that rates will never get […]
Artificial intelligence has become the mortgage industry’s most powerful and most misunderstood new ally. While some lenders chase hype, others are quietly transforming operations with measurable, data-driven automation and AI. Few leaders bridge both the business and technology sides of this transformation as fluently as Rajan Nair, CEO of Indecomm, a provider of the Genius […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced Sunday that it expects total single-family mortgage origination volume to increase to $2.2 trillion in 2026, up from $2.0 trillion expected in 2025. Speaking at its 2025 Annual Convention and Expo, Mike Fratantoni, chief economist and senior vice president for research and business development; Joel Kan, vice president, deputy chief […]
NEXA Lending is continuing to shake up its leadership by adding Tammy Richards to its team as chief strategy officer. The news follows several other leadership announcements for the Arizona-headquartered company. Most recently, NEXA announced a rebrand from NEXA Mortgage to NEXA Lending. Richards confirmed the news on her LinkedIn page and NEXA CEO Mike […]
Detroit-based Rocket Companies announced Friday that it has reduced its workforce following the completion of its acquisition of Mr. Cooper Group. The jobs cut will impact less than 1% of its employees. “Following the Mr. Cooper acquisition, we carefully reviewed our combined structure, identified overlapping roles and made the difficult decision to streamline teams,” the […]
Welcome back to Tech Pulse — HousingWire‘s weekly series rounding up the latest in technology news, including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Here’s what happened this week: Are MLS policies built for the ChatGPT era? Zillow‘s integration with ChatGPT has ignited a debate over MLS compliance, with industry leaders examining the implications for data privacy […]
The legal dispute over ownership and transparency of the NBA‘s Phoenix Suns has apparently come to an end as the parties have executed a stipulation of dismissal in the Delaware Court of Chancery, formally ending the lawsuit without a judge deciding the merits. The filing, submitted Friday, stipulates that both parties will cover their own […]
Movement Mortgage said Friday that it has completed a three-year overhaul of its technology systems, culminating in the launch of its new loan origination system, MORE LOS. The rollout marks the final phase of Movement‘s initiative to modernize and merge the company’s core systems into a single platform — including data and infrastructure, cybersecurity, finance, […]
FundingShield, a provider of wire and title fraud prevention technology, reported a surge in fraudulent activity and compliance lapses across the mortgage and settlement services industry during the third quarter of 2025, marking one of the riskiest periods on record for loan transactions. Nearly half (46.6%) of transactions in a $90 billion portfolio were flagged […]
MeridianLink Inc., a provider of lending software for financial institutions, launched MeridianLink Insight for Mortgage on Thursday. The new platform is designed to help mortgage lenders make faster, data-driven decisions using real-time benchmarking and borrower insights. The system offers data collection and ready-to-use dashboards, reports and reporting tools that integrate directly with MeridianLink’s mortgage loan […]
John Luddy I sell reverse mortgages with a missionary passion. I think that we have a moral obligation to sell it to our clients. If you think this product sells itself, you’re wasting your time here. You will not make it in this business. It does not sell itself. They will go back into the […]
Philadelphia-based Incenter Lender Services, which works with nonbank and depository mortgage lenders across the country, on Thursday announced the launch of the Incenter CRA Exchange Platform. The tool is billed as a unique, one-stop “matchmaking solution” for sellers of loans made under the Community Reinvestment Act. The exchange is offered free of charge to banks, […]
Leadership in mortgage origination is changing alongside shifting market conditions — but that’s a good thing, according to a panel of senior mortgage executives at The Sales Mastery event powered by Momentum Builder in Dallas this week. Bill Hart, national leadership coach at Movement Mortgage, Natalie Overturf, vice president and divisional sales leader at CMG […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is seeking public feedback on its proposed strategic plan for 2026–2030, the agency announced Wednesday. The document, described as “consistent with its statutory requirements and President Trump’s executive orders,” marks a sharp shift from the Biden-era plan. It introduces new priorities such as fraud detection and deregulation, while scaling […]
Mortgage applications for new homes dipped in September from the previous month but remained higher than last year’s levels, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Builder Application Survey released Thursday. The data offers a snapshot of housing demand at a time when market watchers are seeking clues about new-home sales amid the federal government […]
White House Budget Director Russell Vought said Wednesday that he intends to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), contradicting previous statements by the Trump administration that it would not close the bureau. It’s also not clear Vought has the authority to shut down an agency established by Congress. Speaking on The Charlie Kirk […]
Let’s talk seller impersonation fraud. While this scam has been nationwide for a few years now, it is likely to become more prevalent as we head into 2026. So, how does it work, and what should everyone in real estate know about it? It starts with a phone call or an email. A “seller” wants […]
New American Funding (NAF) on Wednesday named Nathan Ballentine as its new regional vice president for South Carolina. In this role, Ballentine will lead growth and development across the state, spearheading market expansion and sales initiatives. With more than 25 years of experience in the mortgage industry, Ballentine will focus on recruiting and onboarding top-performing […]
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Wednesday that he’ll soon be giving President Donald Trump several candidates to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve. “Likely sometime after Thanksgiving, in December, we’ll present the president with three or four candidates for him to interview,” Bessent told CNBC’s Sara Eisen. Bessent disclosed that he’s trimmed the […]
Phoenix Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia — who is also the president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) — has filed a countersuit against minority owners Scott Seldin and Andy Kohlberg, accusing them of trying to force him to buy their shares “at an exorbitant premium.” The countersuit, filed Tuesday in Delaware state court, follows an […]
Archwest Capital, a private lender to residential real estate investors, reported Wednesday that it closed its first rated securitization backed by $300 million in residential transition loans (RTLs). The transaction was oversubscribed by nearly five times, signaling strong investor appetite for business-purpose RTLs. “As we continue expanding our lending footprint nationwide, securitizations like these enhance […]
Reverse mortgage industry executives see a growing role for proprietary products despite persistent challenges in the secondary market. But they also agree on one thing — the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and its related mortgage-backed securities (HMBS) programs remain critical pillars of the business. Their comments came during the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association […]