Planet Home Lending confirmed on Tuesday the acquisition of certain retail assets from Axia Home Loans, describing the transaction as an opportunity to expand its operations in the Western, Northwestern, and Midwestern markets. HousingWire broke the news in early August. Axia is also winding down its wholesale division as a result of the retail asset […]
Non-QM wholesale lender Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions (AOMS) has promoted longtime production head Tom Hutchens to president. The Atlanta-based company, which is part of the larger family of Angel Oak mortgage entities, said John Jeanmonod, formerly Angel Oak’s regional vice president of sales, would replace Hutchens as executive VP of production. Tom Hutchens of Angel […]
Onity Group, parent company of top five reverse mortgage lender and servicer Liberty Reverse Mortgage, will acquire reverse mortgage assets from Mortgage Assets Management, LLC (MAM), a subsidiary of investment funds managed by Waterfall Asset Management. The deal, initially announced by Onity during its Q2 earnings call, suggests that Waterfall is committed to the reverse […]
As many as half of surveyed U.S. adults said that retiring at age 65 is “unrealistic,” instead saying that age 74 is a more attainable goal to reach full retirement. This is according to a survey conducted by Equitable, a financial services provider. “Equitable’s survey revealed that nearly half of consumers (47%) believe it is […]
Kiavi, a San Francisco-based lender for residential real estate investors, announced on Tuesday the closing of a $400 million rated securitization of residential transition loans (RTLs) in an “oversubscribed” transaction. The deal marked Kiavi’s 19th securitization, elevating its total issuance to over $5 billion since it launched its securitization program in 2019, including $1.4 billion […]
Refinance activity last week hit its highest level since August 2022, when mortgage rates were closer to 5%. But it’s far too early to celebrate. Refinance activity received a major boost last week as mortgage rates declined on the back of expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates and a possible recession looms. The […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday released an advisory opinion stating that contracts for deed are under federal home lending rules and should provide consumer protections. In these contracts – also known as “land contracts” or “bond for deed” –the seller retains the legal title to a home until the borrower completes all […]
California-based HighTechLending, a top-10 lender in the reverse mortgage industry, recently announced that it was rebranding its wholesale channel to American Senior Lending Wholesale Division in an effort to better align its identity with key business lines designed to serve older borrowers. One of the ways the company aims to continue making a name for […]
Rural parts of the U.S. have roughly 35% fewer home health aides to assist their aging populations than urban areas do. This is according to research from the University of Minnesota as cited by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), a private nonprofit research organization that receives funding from the U.S. Census Bureau. Researchers found that […]
Open Mortgage on Friday shut down its distributed retail channel and laid off more than two dozen employees. The divisional closure comes 1.5 years after the Texas-based lender changed ownership and nine months after it exited the reverse mortgage business. The company will focus on the third-party origination (TPO) space going forward. Employees told HousingWire, […]
More evidence is emerging that the recent decline in mortgage rates is prompting more borrowers to refinance. In its July 2024 Market Advantage report released on Monday, mortgage technology firm Optimal Blue reported that refinance demand, measured by the level of locked loans, grew to its highest point since September 2022. Data from HousingWire‘s Mortgage […]
The reverse mortgage industry’s key performance indicators were split in July, according to data from industry analysts. Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements increased by 8% from June to July, with the total of 2,274 falling reasonably in line with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) HECM case numbers. This is according to data compiled by Reverse […]
Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Melissa Langdale, president and chief operating officer of The Mortgage Collaborative, to talk about the recent FHFA TechSprint focused on gen AI use cases in housing. The use case developed by Langdale and her team was recognized as the most promising use case of gen AI for […]
Mortgage tech firm Blend Labs delivered another loss in the second quarter of 2024 even as it signed deals with new customers across the mortgage and consumer banking channels. But executives expect a shift in the landscape due to declining interest rates, which may help them achieve profitability in the final three months of the […]
Guild Holdings Co., the parent company of Guild Mortgage, delivered a profit in the second quarter of 2024, mainly due to the performance of its growing servicing portfolio. Meanwhile, its origination volume increased by 69% from April to June compared to the previous quarter but at lower margins. Net income in Q2 2024 increased to […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Thursday announced an expansion of relief measures to homeowners on the Hawaiian island of Maui who are seeking to rebuild single-family homes after the devastating wildfire that destroyed the town of Lahaina. This week marks the one-year anniversary of […]
After 25 years at Intuit, Glenn McGillivray has joined Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, in the newly created role of chief people and places officer, the company confirmed on Thursday. McGillivray will be responsible for the growth and development of the company’s workforce, including oversight of Rocket’s human resources and diversity, equity and […]
Global credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar this week assigned a “good” rating to reverse mortgage industry leader Finance of America (FOA), reconfirming the ranking the company was assigned at a similar point last year. The rating is officially classified as “MOR RVO2” by Morningstar. The agency noted the recent business history of FOA — including […]
Christopher George, the founder of California-based multichannel mortgage lender CMG Financial, has struck a deal to acquire Greenwoods Financial Group, the owner of Greenwoods State Bank. Financials of the deal were not disclosed. George will become an indirect wholly owner of a $575 million FDIC-state chartered bank based in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, that offers products […]
Industry-leading reverse mortgage lender Finance of America (FOA) recorded another loss in the second quarter of 2024, but it managed to move closer to profitability while also expanding its dollar volume of loans through other business metrics that show improvement. This is according to the company’s Q2 2024 financial results, as well as statements given […]
Refinance applications picked up as mortgage rates fell last week, but purchase loan activity had only a small gain, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA’s survey — which covers 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications in the U.S. — found that the seasonally adjusted refinance index increased […]
California-based mortgage lender loanDepot reduced its financial loss in the second quarter of 2024 while still feeling the impacts of a January cyberattack. During the three-month period, the company increased its volumes and margins while implementing an efficiency program and selling mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). On Tuesday, loanDepot reported a non-GAAP adjusted net loss of […]
Attorneys for Ginnie Mae have responded to Texas Capital Bank (TBC) over the government’s motion to move the case to a different venue. They say that the bank’s own filing on the matter avoids the key issues that the government sought to raise regarding the original clause that specifies where any related legal actions should […]
Mortgage industry executives are on alert amid the global stock-market meltdown caused by fears that the Federal Reserve may have kept the federal funds rate too high for too long, which could bring the U.S. economy into recession. Tensions in the bond markets have provoked a decline in mortgage rates, which is good news for […]
The downward movement in mortgage rates over the past few months accelerated last week as a cooler-than-expected jobs report and indications of a Federal Reserve rate cut led to a steep drop in loan pricing. At HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center on Tuesday, the 30-year conventional loan rate averaged 6.8% — a new low point for […]
Lower continues to make moves designed to support its expansion efforts, hiring former Waterstone Mortgage executive Dustin Owen as its new divisional sales leader and senior vice president of growth. Owen, who is based in the Orlando area, spent the past 16 years at Waterstone, most recently as its vice president of Eastern division sales. […]
The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) have submitted a joint letter to Ginnie Mae acting president Sam Valverde, offering their thoughts and perspectives on the government-owned company’s proposed supplemental Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) program. That program, referred to by industry participants as “HMBS 2.0,” was […]
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) has signed a $57.8 billion state budget for 2025, which features several provisions designed to assist the state’s senior residents with health care, food assistance and aging-in-place provisions like home-based care. This is according to announcements by Healy’s office and AARP. Signed into law on July 29, the budget features […]
Rising home prices managed to outpace an all-time high of $13.8 trillion in mortgage debt, pushing mortgage holder equity to a new high of $17.6 trillion in the second quarter of 2024. On top of that, tappable home equity reached a new high of $11.5 trillion, a 4% gain compared to the first quarter and […]
Fears of a recession in the U.S. sent shockwaves through financial markets around the world on Monday. The Dow-Jones dropped 1,000 points by 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, the NASDAQ lost up to 6% of its value and Japanese stocks suffered their biggest crash since 1987, with the Nikkei 225 stock index dropping 12.4%. The turbulence […]
CreditXpert stands apart in the industry by offering innovative solutions that emphasize credit optimization over traditional credit repair. In this executive conversation with Mike Darne, VP of Marketing, we explore how CreditXpert is delivering precise credit optimization solutions and their commitment to making homeownership more accessible and affordable. HousingWire: CreditXpert brings value to people in […]
Prospective borrowers with strong credit are locking in mortgages this week at the lowest rates in more than a year, loan officers and lending executives told HousingWire on Friday. A sample of more than a dozen industry professionals said they were quoting most borrowers in the high 5% to low 6% range on government loans […]
Meanwhile, the bid-to-value ratios for both types of auctions declined from two-year high points in May. Winning bids at foreclosure auctions in June declined to an average of 58.7% of a property’s estimated after-repair value (ARV), while those at REO auctions averaged 58.6% of the ARV. Foreclosure-auction bid-to-value ratios declined by at least 10% on […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced on Friday that it has published a final rule in the Federal Register opening up communications between mortgage lenders and defaulted borrowers to remote and electronic methods. This is designed to broaden the ways for borrowers to meet with lenders following the success of remote communications on housing issues […]
Santa Ana, California-based mortgage services and data firm Consolidated Analytics announced on Friday that it has acquired the assets of investor claims and loss-analysis company Investor Claim Solutions (ICS). Consolidated Analytics is a private company and terms were not disclosed. The company stated that the acquisition will help it improve its overall market position as […]
Two lenders based in New Jersey have struck an M&A deal. OceanFirst Bank N.A. is acquiring Garden State Home Loans Inc., which will become a new division for the regional depositary bank, HousingWire has learned. Garden State’s president and CEO, Justin DeJoseph, emailed employees on July 25 to announce the transaction. In the message reviewed […]
Despite some recent relief from mortgage rates, top executives at the parent of Rocket Mortgage continue to expect a challenging landscape for the industry in the coming months, mainly due to regulatory changes, low affordability levels and consolidation. What will be their playbook? Leaders at the Detroit-based Rocket Companies say they will continue to invest […]
Sen. Mike Braun, R-Indiana., and a coalition of eight other Republican U.S. Senators are taking aim at energy-efficiency standards for new housing construction, citing the additional costs they would add to the purchase of new homes. In April, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) settled […]
West Palm Beach, Florida-based Onity Group, the parent company of top-five reverse mortgage lender Liberty Reverse Mortgage, recorded a decline in income during the second quarter of 2024. Despite the financial result, Onity — formerly known as Ocwen Financial Corp. — is doubling down on the reverse mortgage space by entering into an agreement to […]
Connecticut-based Ellington Financial, the parent company of top-10 reverse mortgage lender and servicer Longbridge Financial, announced this week that it has completed a securitization backed by a pool of proprietary reverse mortgages. The $232 million securitization closed on Thursday and was backed by a pool of proprietary reverse mortgages, all of which were originated by […]
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.62% on Thursday, a new low for 2024 that appears to be tied to the expectation that the Federal Reserve could move to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September. This is according to data reported by Mortgage News Daily. On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell […]
The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) on Thursday issued a comment letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), saying that a major reason for the increase in mortgage closing costs from third parties is due to a lack of competition among third-party providers. On top of “click fees” that CHLA said are charged […]
Homebuyers often adjust their plans for the uncertainty that an election year can bring. With less than 100 days until the 2024 election, a majority of buyers are taking note. That’s according to survey results released Thursday by Veterans United Home Loans, which show that 60% of prospective buyers are taking the election into account. […]
Rapidly rising home prices are bad news for prospective buyers, but they’re proving quite beneficial for homeowner equity. That’s according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions that found that in the second quarter of 2024, 49.2% of mortgaged homes were “equity-rich,” defined as having a loan balance of less than half of the […]
Roughly one month ago, Ginnie Mae released a term sheet for a highly anticipated new development for the reverse mortgage industry: a new Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) product referred to as HMBS 2.0. The new term sheet detailed several differences from the existing HMBS program, including a reduction in the HMBS pool […]