Some mortgage lenders are seizing the moment to sell billions of dollars in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), capitalizing on strong demand and high valuations. Among them are Movement Mortgage and Sierra Pacific Mortgage, sources told HousingWire. On the buy side, investors are eager to acquire MSRs either to build a portfolio that enables borrower recapture […]
DIY automation pitfalls/myths: It’s time to rethink your strategy In today’s mortgage industry, nearly every organization is battling inefficiencies caused by manual processes. Whether it’s a loan officer pulling data from one system to enter it into another, or underwriting teams relying on endless email threads and spreadsheets, the day-to-day operations behind most lending workflows […]
President Donald Trump’s bombshell Truth Social post on Wednesday night sent the stock prices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac soaring. But removing the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) from conservatorship after 16-plus years would be a complicated endeavor. And if they’re not removed carefully, costs for borrowers could spike. Trump’s announcement that he’s considering a public […]
Mike Kent is a busy man. He’s been a key figure at Onity Group’s Liberty Reverse Mortgage for most of the past decade. He’s also served as co-chair of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) since 2019, and he now serves as senior vice president of reverse asset management and industry relations for Liberty […]
Legacy Group Capital on Thursday announced its first institutional capital partnership with LibreMax Capital LLC, an $11.8 billion asset management firm that specializes in securitized products and asset-backed finance. The deal involves an 18-month revolving period during which principal payoffs can be reinvested to originate new loans, creating a projected $400 million in additional funding […]
New American Funding (NAF) announced that it’s expanding its Housing Advocate Certification (HAC) program to real estate professionals nationwide. Originally developed and launched internally through its NAF Black Impact initiative, the HAC program has trained more than 1,000 company employees, NAF said. Now the mortgage lender is inviting external real estate agents and brokerages to […]
The mortgage industry has undergone significant changes over the past few decades. One of the most notable has been the separation of origination from servicing. This decoupling was initially driven by the desire for greater efficiency, specialization and the need to respond to growing regulatory and market pressures. However, recent technological advances, especially in artificial […]
Two days after Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte said any decision over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exiting government conservatorship would be up to President Trump and Trump alone, the president has weighed in. In a message posted on Truth Social Wednesday night, Trump said “I am giving serious consideration to bringing […]
Guaranteed Rate Affinity (GRA) announced this week that it has appointed longtime reverse mortgage industry professional Dino Guadagnino to serve as regional vice president of reverse mortgages. His arrival comes as GRA focuses on “strengthening its commitment” to the space and to “the senior borrowers it serves,” the company stated. Guadagnino most recently served as […]
The rising cost of homeowners’ insurance coupled with the rising regularity of weather-related natural disasters is serving to erode the longstanding barrier between mortgage lenders and loan losses, according to a new report published by First Street. As the frequency of disasters has risen — destabilizing the insurance market, limiting coverage and raising consumers’ costs […]
Amid a surge in AI adoption and mounting cybersecurity threats, only 51% of nonbank mortgage lenders say they feel fully prepared to handle compliance risk — a warning sign in an industry that’s undergoing rapid digital transformation. That’s according to a new joint study from HFS Research and Cognizant. “Reinventing Non-Bank Mortgage Lending Journey in the Age of […]
Fannie Mae upwardly revised forecasts in its May 2025 Economic and Housing Outlook, reflecting modest improvements in economic growth expectations, as well as mortgage rates and home sales projections. The government-sponsored enterprise now expects real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.7% in 2025 and 2% in 2026 on an annualized basis. These figures are […]
Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), made clear this week that credit-score pricing is firmly on his radar — and changes are coming to the requirements for mortgages purchased by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Pulte’s comments come amid scrutiny of Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), which licenses one of the most […]
Mortgage lending has long catered to a bygone era of steady paychecks and W-2 forms, leaving millions of self-employed and gig economy workers underserved. But as the gig economy booms, lenders are finding success in the nonqualified mortgage (non-QM) sector by engaging with AI-powered tools like Prudent AI. “Our technology eliminates the tedious ‘stare and […]
Mortgage applications decreased 5.1% from a week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 16, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 5% compared with the previous week. The refinance index also decreased 5% from the previous week and was 27% higher […]
Mortgage lenders and services today face significant operational challenges, especially when relying on third-party processors for their outsourced services. While these middlemen operators can streamline certain tasks, the benefits are outweighed by their extreme high costs as well as the limitations over operational controls. Here we will focus on the complexities involved with outsourcing, and […]
Citing the desire among many older homeowners to leave their homes to members of their family, New Jersey-based reverse mortgage lender and servicer Longbridge Financial has announced a new proprietary reverse mortgage product that aims to help borrowers preserve home equity for their heirs. The latest offering in the company’s Platinum line of proprietary reverse […]
John Toohig stood at a podium as the moderator of a panel about home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and asked an illustrative question of the audience of mortgage professionals. “How many of you have a mortgage first lien, 30-year with a 4% coupon or lower?” A majority raised their hands. “You are all the […]
Kind Lending today announced the appointment of Geri Farr as its senior vice president of West retail sales. Farr, who has over a decade of leadership in the mortgage industry, will focus on helping the company grow its expansion across the West and is tasked with strengthening teams and driving performance across the region. According […]
Housing issues for U.S. veterans continue to be a major topic of conversation among housing advocates and lawmakers. Despite Monday’s passage of a bill to establish a partial claim option for veterans, some are still calling for the reinstatement of the Veteran Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program. VASP was started last year under the Biden […]
Mortgage rates rose in the past week, but even as they remain close to 7%, there’s little evidence to suggest they’ll move much higher and further constraint housing affordability. On Tuesday, 30-year conforming rates averaged 6.93% while 15-year conforming rates averaged 6.76%, according to HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center. In comparison, these figures stood at 6.88% […]
It won’t be Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte or Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent making the decision about removing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship. That’s entirely up to President Trump, Pulte told Mortgage Bankers Association Chair Laura Escobar in a freewheeling conversation at the MBA Secondary Mortgage Marketing conference in New […]
When George Vrban recently took out a reverse mortgage himself, some eyebrows were raised. But his decision wasn’t born out of financial desperation — it was part of an overall strategic retirement plan. George Vrban, a name synonymous with expertise and trust in the reverse mortgage industry, reached a personal and professional milestone by obtaining […]
Following about 20 minutes of debate on the floor of the House of Representatives on Monday, H.R. 1815 — known as the V.A. Home Loan Program Reform Act — was passed by voice vote and will now be given to the Senate for additional debate. The passage by the House keeps the bill moving through […]
When looking at the fastest-growing state populations for residents 60 and older, Colorado is not at the top of the list, but it’s close. Outstripped only by Alaska and Wyoming, respectively, Colorado and Oregon have seen their shares of older residents increase by 1.9% between 2013 and 2023. This has led some state residents to […]
What you might have heard about Ginnie Mae is simply rumor, according to Joe Gormley, the government-owned company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. Gormley says that Ginnie Mae has adequate staffing to fulfill its mission, has no plans to shrink the size of issuers and furthermore is happily accepting new issuers. In a […]
Aggressive tariffs, mortgage rates near 7% and declining consumer sentiment could all have a major impact on the housing market. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has adjusted its outlook in response. The trade group downwardly revised its expectations for existing-home sales and mortgage origination volume for the rest of the year. MBA now forecasts existing-home […]
Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) have grown in popularity in recent months as borrowers search for affordability relief anywhere they can find it. With rates in the high-6% range on 30-year fixed products, borrowers are increasingly turning to 7/1 ARM products, said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, during the trade group’s Secondary & […]
John Williams, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, acknowledged a deterioration in business and consumer sentiment due to uncertainty tied to trade and fiscal policies — although this has not yet shown up in the “hard data.” As a result, he expects the U.S. economy to slow this year. According to […]
In just one year, the mortgage industry has gone from raising “concerns about too much government” to “hearing concerns about too little government,” said Laura Escobar, chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and president of Lennar Mortgage. In 2024, the trade group expressed frustration over what it described as “regulatory knots,” criticizing government initiatives […]
Non-QM (Non-Qualified Mortgage) lending has become essential to today’s mortgage landscape, providing solutions for creditworthy borrowers who fall outside traditional lending criteria. Gregory Tsang is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of eRESI, a Non-QM correspondent whole loan investor offering both Delegated and Non-Delegated options. Co-founded in 2019 alongside President Tim Wang, eRESI was created […]
HousingWire recently sat down with Erin Wester, Optimal Blue’s chief product officer and a 2024 HousingWire Women of Influence honoree, to discuss how lenders can simplify capital markets operations and improve profitability with the right technology partner. Sarah Wheeler: Capital markets is often viewed as the most complex part of mortgage lending. Do you believe […]
Reverse mortgage originators often remain a key point of contact for their clients from initial consultation to long after the loan closes. But getting to the closing table can come with its own set of unique challenges, whether it comes from rules that govern the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program or the potential bias […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), under the leadership of acting director Russell Vought, is continuing to assess regulations it deems outdated or unnecessary. To that end, the bureau published a notice in the Federal Register this week that seeks to rescind a 2021 rule which “temporarily permitted mortgage servicers to offer certain loan modifications […]
Rocktop Technologies LLC, a technology and artificial intelligence-enabled solutions-as-a-service firm, announced the acquisition of Incenter Capital Advisors, which provides advisory services in the trading and pricing of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) and post-transactional support in the transference of these assets. The acquisition, announced on Friday, unites Rocktop’s data and document infrastructure that supports valuation, transaction […]
Selene, a provider of industry leading loan servicing, diligence and title solutions, today announced the appointments of Jocelyn Martin-Leanoas President, Selene Finance and Doug Whittemore as Chief Strategy and Growth Officer for all Selene Holdings’ business lines, effective immediately. In these roles, Martin-Leano will oversee all Selene Finance operations and Whittemore will focus on Selene’s […]
The federal judge overseeing the case brought by reverse mortgage lender Longbridge Financial against market leader Mutual of Omaha Mortgage over allegedly deceptive advertising practices has ruled that some of Longbridge’s claims warrant limited injunctive relief, finding that “the law and facts clearly favor some of Longbridge’s claims.” The order was handed down Tuesday by […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) is rolling out new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools designed to help brokers analyze competitors’ loan estimates and assist borrowers online. The tools aim to improve retention as refinancing activity is expected to rise. The company announced the launches during its UWM Live! event on Thursday in Pontiac, Michigan, amid intensifying competition […]
In recognition of the cohort’s size and contribution to the state, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation is aiming to offer tips to older residents to make it easier for them to age in place in their own homes. According to a 2024 report from the Alaska Commission on Aging, the state is home to more […]
HousingWire reports on the quarterly earnings of publicly traded mortgage and real estate companies, offering a glimpse into the financial performance of key players in the housing market. As earnings results wrap up for the first quarter of 2025, here’s a rundown of what’s happened at the major lenders, brokerages, listing portals and title firms. […]
The national critical defect rate for mortgages fell to 1.16% in the fourth quarter of 2024. That marked the second-lowest level on record, according to a report released Thursday by ACES Quality Management. For the entire calendar year of 2024, the average critical defect rate was 1.52%, down 9.52% from 2023. Post-closing quality control data […]
One of the nation’s leading reverse mortgage lenders, Finance of America (FOA), posted strong first-quarter 2025 earnings results. The company beat its estimates for funded loan volume, posted a profit and maintains a bullish outlook for the quarter ahead. Drilling down deeper into the marketing and product landscape for the company, FOA President Kristen Sieffert […]
While on its face it represents positive momentum for health in the U.S., rising life expectancy also comes with a key financial concern — longevity risk, or the potential for someone to outlive their retirement savings. This is a key challenge that many prospective retirees may not be ready for. This is according to research […]
BOK Financial recently announced the launch of its new mortgage finance line of business, a new vertical dedicated to meeting the credit needs of nonbank mortgage originators across the country. As a top 10 dealer of mortgage-backed securities that offers trading liquidity to more than 500 counterparties, BOK Financial has supported its client base for […]
Ohio-based Union Home Mortgage (UHM) on Wednesday announced a partnership with ARIVE, a lending software platform built specifically for independent mortgage professionals. With ARIVE, UHM brokers will be able to originate from anywhere, issue preapprovals, manage leads, access products and pricing, and more. The partnership will also connect UHM to a network of users and […]