Ginnie Mae has taken a far more active role in the reverse mortgage industry over the past two years, stemming from the failure of a major industry lender that threatened liquidity for other major players in the space. The government-owned company has long overseen the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) program, through which […]
A panel of experts with the Yale School of Medicine this week offered tips for aging in place, giving service to both physical health while addressing the social and emotional well-being of older people who seek to stay in their homes as they get older. Research from multiple sources has shown that older people have […]
After a lengthy decline precipitated by lower inflation, a cooling labor market and hints of a Federal Reserve policy change, mortgage rates appear to have bottomed out for now. According to HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center, the average 30-year conforming fixed rate dropped to 6.23% on Sept. 27. That was the lowest figure of the year, […]
Despite 2024 being a challenging year for sales volume, the reverse mortgage industry is still encouraged by the engagement of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on matters related to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, as well as attention to back-end loan issues from Ginnie Mae. This feedback came from a panel discussion of […]
Despite additional challenges that may come with caring for an older person afflicted with dementia, both patients and their caregivers would prefer to age in place within the home of the patient. Both parties cite a desire to preserve the patient’s independence, and to avoid both concerning stories of congregate care facilities and the guilt […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Monday announced the launch of a new initiative involving 12 other corporate stakeholders. The entities will seek to find potential solutions for closing the racial homeownership gap. The new initiative comes in the form of a group called the “CONVERGENCE Collaborative,” which is a “coordinated effort to identify and […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has announced two promotions within its leadership team. The trade group named Wendy Penn as vice president of affordable housing initiatives and Amber Lawrence as vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Penn and Lawrence join 12 other women on MBA’s executive leadership team. The association praised both executives […]
Consumer confidence toward purchasing a home increased in September to its highest level in more than two years due to the expectation of lower mortgage rates, according to Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI). But that’s only an early sign that the market is shifting. Due to the expectation of rising home prices in […]
We are seeing tremendous transformation within the loss mitigation space. Remedies for distressed borrowers previously limited to bankruptcy relief have seen significant expansion through the creation of FHFA, Dodd-Frank, and the CFPB. Hardships have been expanded to include weather disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, we have seen an extension and expansion of loss […]
Dan Hanson of loanDepot speaks during a panel discussion at the HousingWire IMB Summit in Dallas on Oct. 1. (Photo courtesy of Willie & Kim Photography) Mortgage industry leaders expect more mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2025, fueled by declining interest rates and renewed market confidence after two years of what they describe as “modest […]
In the modern mortgage landscape, quality control (QC) stands as a critical pillar supporting the industry’s integrity and stability. As market conditions fluctuate and regulatory scrutiny intensifies, lenders must adopt a comprehensive approach to QC that goes beyond compliance checkboxes. Consolidated Analytics’ Ed Gerding offers recommended strategies and best practices to elevate lenders’ QC programs […]
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Julia Gordon and David Berenbaum, deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Housing Counseling at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), returned to this year’s National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego. Both leaders were in a reflective state of mind. […]
Homeowners 62 and older saw their collective home equity levels rise in the second quarter of 2024 by roughly $600 billion, increasing to a total of $14 trillion and continuing a streak of forward momentum observed in the first quarter. This is according to the Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI), a measure of senior-held home […]
Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Diane Yu, co-founder and CEO of TidalWave, to talk about the benefits of building an AI-first company in today’s business environment. Yu founded and sold ad tech platform FreeWheel to Comcast in 2014, and she served as chief technology officer at Better.com from 2021-2022. This interview has […]
William Chang is stepping down from his roles as chief capital markets officer at PennyMac Financial Services and chief investment officer for PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust, the company announced Thursday. Industry veteran Mark Elbaum will succeed him. Chang, who joined the company in 2012, will “pursue other interests in the mortgage banking industry” after leaving […]
The game plan is not to survive until 2025. The executives in this session are rising above and operating from a growth mindset. They have decades of experience with receipts to show their approach works, and they’re going to share their hard-earned wisdom with our audience. Watch the full session below. To go back to […]
Seniors often face a range of emotions when the discussion of downsizing to a different home arises. (Image generated by AI through Midjourney While many older homeowners often entertain the idea of downsizing into a smaller home to better accommodate natural changes to mobility in later life, this doesn’t mean the decision is an easy […]
EasyKnock, which offers sale-leaseback solutions to homeowners, announced a legal victory in Texas on Wednesday as it was awarded more than $153,000 by an arbitrator. The company has been fighting legal battles on multiple fronts through a series of consumer-initiated lawsuits and actions by regulators in several states. The arbitrator’s decision, issued in U.S. District […]
SitusAMC has struck a deal to sell a majority stake of two subsidiaries focused on mortgage risk management to investment firm VineLight Venture. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction involves the loan insurance firm Securent Risk Retention Group along with its data, brokerage and services business, Risk and Insurance Services. It […]
In today’s digital marketing landscape, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising has emerged as a powerful tool for real estate and mortgage businesses seeking immediate visibility and results. According to recent studies, businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 spent on Google Ads, highlighting PPC’s potential to drive growth and profitability. Additionally, 75% of […]
David Berenbaum, deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Housing Counseling at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), addressed industry attendees at the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego last week. He emphasized the important role that the public-private partnership between the industry and HUD […]
OptifiNow announced the implementation of its high-tech customer relationship management (CRM) platform with nonqualified mortgage (non-QM) lender Arc Home LLC on Tuesday. The platform offers a new broker scoring system designed for better account management and a tagging system to improve email marketing campaigns. The CRM company launched in 2016 to provide third-party origination (TPO) […]
In a recent episode of the “New Home Insights Podcast,“ John Burns, the founder and CEO of John Burns Research & Consulting, sits down with Don Mullen, founder and CEO of Pretium Partners, for a fireside chat at the Rental Communities Summit. Prior to founding Pretium, Mullen was the head of global credit and mortgages […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced new enhancements to its artificial intelligence-based chatbot on Wednesday, including the ability for brokers to “chat with documents,” calculate income immediately and help identify products that match borrowers’ needs. The wholesale lender launched an AI-powered search engine dubbed ChatUWM in May 2024. The chatbot provides instant responses to clients — […]
Whichever candidate — Kamala Harris or Donald Trump — wins the 2024 presidential election will not have a significant impact on the path of interest rates, but they will bring changes to the mortgage industry from a regulatory standpoint, according to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) president and CEO Bob Broeksmit. “Neither candidate is serious about […]
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Julia Gordon offered her insights on the agency’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program at this year’s National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Annual Meeting and Expo, reflecting on her journey toward greater understanding of both the program itself and the industry that utilizes it. Gordon also offered some perspectives […]
As many as 80% of the 60-and-older population are unable to afford either long-term care or basic necessities like food, reflecting the serious financial challenges faced by older Americans despite their overwhelming preferences for aging in place. This is according to reporting by Phoenix-based National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate KJZZ, based on data from the […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Tuesday issued an informational notice to mortgage lenders in which it reiterates various loss-mitigation options afforded to companies and borrowers who are engaged in FHA lending programs in presidentially declared major disaster areas (PDMDAs). The guidance applies to origination and servicing for both traditional forward mortgages as well as […]
Rocket Mortgage has struck a deal to handle the servicing and recapturing activities for a portion of the mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) of real estate investment trust Annaly Capital Management, the companies announced on Tuesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Annaly has $75 billion in assets invested across its agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), […]
California-based loanDepot on Monday announced it has closed a $300 million offering of notes backed by a revolving warehouse line of credit and secured by mortgages. loanDepot said this is the 10th time it has closed a transaction of this kind. It follows other strategies to strengthen its financial position, including selling mortgage servicing rights […]
Starter homes are more affordable to the average American than they were a year ago, but they have become significantly less affordable over the past decade. That’s the conclusion Redfin reached in a data report released Monday. The national real estate brokerage analyzed household income levels and monthly housing payments to calculate its affordability metric. […]
Mauricio’s Umansky’s The Agency is getting into the mortgage business. The brokerage has entered into a joint venture with Barrett Financial Group to offer what the companies believe will be a wide range of mortgage products and streamlined underwriting to The Agency’s luxury clients. Dubbed Aclara Lending, the joint venture will start in Southern California […]
Two of the top five lenders in the reverse mortgage industry are now engaged in a legal skirmish over marketing practices that one lender calls deceptive. Longbridge Financial, a top five reverse mortgage lender and servicer based in New Jersey, is suing Mutual of Omaha Mortgage over a series of websites maintained by the latter. […]
In the newest episode of the Power House podcast, host Clayton Collins chats with Robert Pieklo, chief operating officer of American Financial Resources (AFR), and Adam Carmel, CEO of Polly. They discuss the latest developments in the mortgage market, along with key dynamics and growth strategies for lenders as interest rates continue to fall. The […]
The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) concluded the 2024 edition of its Annual Meeting and Expo on Thursday afternoon. Those in attendance told HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD) that the event provided ample opportunity for networking and educational content while boosting hopes that the industry can grow in the coming years. Different kinds of […]
Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Manish Garg, senior vice president of product and technology at EarnUp, an autonomous financial wellness platform, to talk about how his company is using gen AI to deliver a personalized experience for customers at scale. Garg has a deep background in building enterprise software and has spent […]
Capping off a dramatic few weeks in Washington, D.C., the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have passed a continuing resolution that will fund the government through Dec. 20 — more than a month after Election Day, and just weeks before the new Congress is scheduled to be sworn in and the presidential […]
The question from the housing industry after the Federal Reserve’s half-point interest rate cut is simple — will this bring buyers back to the stalled housing market? A new report from Redfin suggests that it is already happening. The company analyzed mortgage rate-lock data from Optimal Blue and found that locks have risen 68% this […]
Elevated mortgage rates have strained housing affordability for more than two years. With rates now falling — and more downward movement expected after the Federal Reserve‘s recent interest rate cut — two new reports suggest that affordability is getting better too. The third-quarter 2024 housing affordability report from Attom says that falling mortgage rates, rising […]
New York-based Simplist Technologies, which has developed a consumer-facing mortgage platform, introduced a new software solution on Thursday for mortgage professionals that combines a loan origination system (LOS) with a point-of-sale system (POS). The integrated platform, known as Sonar, has artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to automate rote tasks and speed up workflow processes. Sonar was […]
As a vast majority of older adults prefer to remain in their current homes as they age, a key to successfully aging in place lies in preparation and adequate understanding of the dwelling, according to a new examination by the The Wall Street Journal. The report cited 2021 data from Harvard University’s Joint Center for […]
Multiple listing services (MLSs) have a wealth of data, and one technology company thinks it has found an innovative way to use it. Real estate data company StreetWire has partnered with Northern California MLS MetroList to produce an insurance product called Home Value Lock. It’s designed to protect homeowners from declining home values. The coverage […]
The American dream of homeownership is slipping away for many, as the gap between wages and home prices continues to widen. In the 1970s, home prices aligned more closely with income levels. Today, escalating real estate costs—particularly in high-cost areas—are pricing millions of Americans out of the housing market. One potential solution? Extending the traditional […]
The first day of this year’s National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego wound down with an announcement that marks the end of an era. The association honored two of its most prominent past and present members with distinguished service awards. These were given to Peter Bell, NRMLA’s current […]
Negative depictions of Americans ages 50 and older have lessened over a five-year period, with negative sentiment in online media and marketing images dropping from 28% in 2018 to 10% in 2023, according to research published this week by senior advocacy organization AARP. “The 50-plus population is pictured as more active and independent, less fearful, […]