In another odd twist for 2023, the ability to split up after a divorce seems to be another casualty of the high mortgage rate environment. Couples who may have locked in a very low mortgage rate in previous years — but who are now seeking to end their marriages — are finding themselves needing to […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is increasing the “floor” and “ceiling” FHA loan limits in 2024 to $498,257 and $1,149,825, respectively, the FHA announced Tuesday. The new FHA loan limits apply to forward mortgages for a one-unit property and take effect on Jan. 1, according to the publication of FHA Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2023-21. In […]
Nonbank mortgage companies increased their profitability as a group in the third quarter of 2023, compared to the previous quarter, due to the performance of their servicing and origination businesses. It’s good news in the current shrinking market. Analysts at the credit rating firm Moody’s Investors Services wrote in a report on Monday that they don’t expect […]
Rapidio, a mortgage underwriting technology provider, on Monday released the income assessment component of its underwriting product, FlexStack Component System. The new tool is an automated income verification feature, which is available across various types of loans, including conventional loans, FHA and VA loans. It validates, verifies, calculates and assesses guideline eligibility before presenting the […]
CubiCasa, a Finland-based proptech company, partnered with OneKey MLS – a major mortgage licensing system (MLS) serving the New York Metropolitan area – to provide user-friendly floor plan creation tools. Under the motto “scan a floor plan in five minutes” CubiCasa focuses on providing value for real estate professionals through the digitization of properties. The […]
In the wake of the landmark Sitzer/Burnett commission lawsuit case, the real estate world is in turmoil. As industry players scramble to assess the fallout, there’s a silver lining for the astute – opportunity amidst chaos. The savvy real estate agents and loan officers see this not a crisis but a golden opportunity. Now is […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) this week appeared to relay caution to its members about the announcement from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) last week that it had published a new, final rule on the Enterprise Regulatory Capital Framework (ERCF) related to commingled securities. “The final rule includes modifications of certain provisions of the […]
Mortgage rates have pulled back in recent weeks giving consumers and loan originators some breathing room, but headwinds in the industry are far from over. The decline in the 10-year Treasury yield and agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) yields — due to a soft jobs report in late October — led to a slight pick up […]
Lower mortgage rates tend to take housing supply off the market and demand has been picking up lately as rates have fallen. However, the recent drop in housing inventory has more to do with seasonality factors than lower mortgage rates. Higher mortgage rates did push inventory higher during the seasonal period when it would normally […]
Fidelity National Financial (FNF) was attacked by a “cybersecurity incident” that led the system to shut down some of its network, the company said. FNF blocked access to certain systems, which resulted in disruptions to title insurance, escrow and other title-related services, as well as mortgage transactions and technology for the real estate and mortgage […]
Mike Cagney’s financial technology firm Figure Technologies has taken another step to go public with its lending division, LendCo, hiring investment banks to coordinate the initial public offering (IPO), per a Bloomberg report. People familiar with the transaction told Bloomberg that Figure is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Jefferies Financial Group Inc. for the IPO. […]
Mortgage rates dropped significantly in the last few weeks, but the cost of borrowing remains high prompting many homebuyers to wait for even lower rates. The 30-year, fixed mortgage rate averaged 7.29% for the week ending Nov. 22, according to Freddie Mac‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That’s down significantly from last week’s 7.44% and up […]
While foreclosure completions remained relatively flat in October, foreclosure starts rose to 33,000, hitting their highest level in 18 months, according to the ICE Mortgage Monitor report. In October, there were 217,000 loans in active foreclosure, up 3,000 since September. However, this remains 25% under the pre-pandemic levels. The national delinquency rate fell three basis […]
Mortgage applications rose to their highest level in six weeks after the 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 7.44% last week. Total home loan applications increased 3% for the week ending Nov. 17 compared to the previous week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Mortgage rates for the 30-year fixed loan averaged […]
Seemingly forever, the average time between reaching a sales agreement and closing on that property has hovered around 45 days — a month and a half. It’s not something consumers think about much when they set out to buy a first home or plan to upsize to accommodate life changes. In fact, if you were […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Tuesday published a final rule that amends several provisions of the Enterprise Regulatory Capital Framework (ERCF) for government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The final rule is primarily related to guarantees on commingled securities, multifamily mortgage exposures secured by properties with government subsidies and derivatives and […]
California-based mortgage lender CMG Financial announced the integration of Shamrock Home Loans’ origination team, which will boost its presence in New England. That’s not the first addition to CMG this year. In March, the company struck a deal to acquire Homebridge Financial Services‘s retail division to grow its retail lending business footprint. CMG makes its services and products available through wholesale and correspondent […]
HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler and Brena Nath, director of HW+ and events at HousingWire. On HousingWire branding calls earlier this year, someone asked us what our tagline, “Moving Markets Forward,” means to me. Having referred to this phrase for over 10 years, the explanation we’ve used is as adaptable and forward thinking as […]
California-based retail lender American Pacific Mortgage (APM) has named vice chairman Bill Lowman as its chairman of the board, succeeding APM founder Kurt Reisig. Lowman will continue his daily work as an adviser to the APM senior management while more fully guiding the company through his work on the board, the company said earlier this […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is pausing foreclosures on homes financed with VA loans for six months to help military borrowers in danger of losing their homes, a department spokesperson said in a statement to HousingWire on Monday. The Veterans Assistance Partial Claim Payment program — which began July 2021 — allowed military borrowers […]
Did the recent move lower in mortgage rates turn the housing market positive? With mortgage rates moving almost 75 basis points lower from the highs, does the data show that demand has improved? Let’s take a dive in the weekly tracker to see. Purchase application data Last year, when mortgage rates fell from 7.37% to […]
The transition of three veteran sales executives from South Carolina-based lender Movement Mortgage to its California competitor Summit Funding led to a legal battle over poaching. HousingWire reported in July hat Movement’s national sales director Deran Pennington, leader of the South and Central division Matt Schoolfield and leader of the Eastern U.S. division Chris Shelton parted ways after more […]
New York-based Rithm Capital, the parent company of Newrez, announced on Friday it completed the acquisition of Sculptor Capital Management for $719.8 million. The deal was made public four months ago and created a dispute among investors to take the firm, leading Rithm to increase its price by 14% compared to the original bid. The transaction also created legal battles […]
Freddie Mac will launch a new fee-based repurchase alternative pilot program for performing loans in 2024, designed to improve the quality of performing loans through a potential replacement of its current repurchase policy for defective performing loans. “The pilot will use a fee-based structure that is more efficient, transparent and rewards lenders that deliver high-quality […]
Mortgage demand for new homes jumped in October as the inventory for existing homes remained depleted. Mortgage applications for new-home purchases rose 39.7% in October on a year-over-year basis and were up 6% from the previous month, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey for October. “Home builders have been able to […]
Mortgage rates fell this week as the October inflation report drove down the yield on the 10-year Treasury. On Thursday, investors priced in a 99.7% chance that the Fed will hold interest rates steady in December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The 30-year, fixed mortgage averaged at 7.44% as of Nov. 16, according […]
HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Jason Bressler, CTO at United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) to talk about how the lender is developing a smart, innovative IT team by giving them a safety net to fail. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Sarah Wheeler: UWM develops all their software in-house. […]
Stavvy, a fintech firm specializing in digital and remote collaboration for lending and real estate companies, acquired SigniaDocuments, a technology suite from Texas-based lender Evolve Mortgage Services. Terms of the deal were not announced. Stavvy will acquire assets, including eClosing tools, eNote and eVault services, eRegistry capabilities for agency and non-agency loans and SigniaDocuments’ SMART […]
Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) wants to court more brokers by offering no-cost appraisals on 1-0 temporary rate buydowns amid fierce competition in the industry. The wholesale lender will cover up to $600 of the appraisal cost on all conventional and government-backed home loans until March 31 when a broker uses UWM’s 1-0 temporary rate […]
Detroit-headquartered lender Rocket Mortgage faces a class-action lawsuit for making repeated, unsolicited telephone calls, violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). According to the suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona on Tuesday, Kellie Deits – a resident of Arizona — received a call from a Rocket Mortgage representative in […]
Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank, the 28th largest U.S. mortgage lender, has decided to close its wholesale channel, which produced over $1 billion in volume in the first half of this year. “After careful consideration, Citizens has made the difficult decision today to discontinue originations in the mortgage wholesale channel,” Chace Gundlach, senior vice president and […]
Both purchase and refinance applications increased to their highest weekly pace in five weeks after mortgage rates logged the largest decline in a year. Total home loan applications increased 2.8% for the week ending Nov. 10 compared to the previous week, according to weekly data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The 30-year, fixed mortgage […]
Total mortgage delinquencies rose slightly in the third quarter of 2023 as the job market cools and inflation puts more pressure on homeowners. However, delinquency rates are still well below historical averages, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Delinquent home loans on one- to four-unit properties rose to 3.62% of all […]
Fannie Mae announced a slew of leadership changes following the expected retirement of two senior executives. President David Benson will step down from his position in early to mid-2024 after 21 years at the company. Benson served in a wide range of roles, including interim CEO, chief financial officer, executive vice president (EVP) of capital markets […]
Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported an average net loss of $1,015 on each loan they originated in the third quarter of 2023. That’s nearly double the reported loss of $534 per loan in the previous quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The average pre-tax production loss was […]
Government sponsored-enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will each have a $70 billion cap for multifamily loan purchases in 2024, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Tuesday. The combined $140 billion volume considers the given market condition. Still, it can increase if necessary, as the FHFA will continue to monitor the multifamily mortgage market, it says in a recently published fact sheet. […]
Better Home & Finance Holding, the parent of digital lender Better.com, delivered a massive loss in the third quarter of 2023, its first earnings report since it became public in late August. Executives at the company told analysts that more cost-cutting initiatives are needed in a shrinking market to reach profitability. Better reported a GAAP net […]
Big Four title firm Old Republic is selling its mortgage insurance business to Arch Capital Group Ltd., according to an announcement on Monday. As part of the $140 million transaction, Arch will acquire all of the capital stock of Old Republic’s wholly owned subsidiary RMIC Companies Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiaries that together comprise Old […]
The automated phone systems and website of lender and servicer Mr. Cooper are running again following a cybersecurity incident that forced the company to lock down certain technology systems. On Oct. 31, the company suffered a cyberattack that disrupted loan payments. Mr. Cooper restarted servicing operations on Nov. 4 by taking customer calls and payments, […]
In the world of mortgage lending, there’s an all-too-common sentiment that echoes through the industry: “My loan origination system (LOS) sucks.” Regardless of the specific LOS in use, this feeling seems pervasive among lenders, and the dissatisfaction stems from lenders’ desire to deliver more digitally driven, bespoke borrower experiences. In reality, the LOS is not […]
Total housing inventory growth has been slow in 2023, but with rising mortgage rates over the last few months, inventory has grown a bit faster than average. The question now is: Have we hit the seasonal peak in inventory for 2023? The housing inventory growth rate has decelerated for three weeks, and we were barely positive […]
Mortgage rates this week saw the biggest one-week decline in a year and potential homebuyers waiting for rates to drop responded, said Josh Mettle, division president and co-creator of NEO Home Loans. “I think we were up right around 15% increase in the number of initial mortgage applications. That doesn’t take into consideration the number […]
With soaring home prices and mortgage rates putting a damper on the market for new home loans and refinancing options, it’s a challenging time for homebuyers and lenders alike. But it’s not all grim news. While the current climate may be causing existing-home sales and inventory to fall, it’s driving renewed interest in home equity […]
CoreLogic announced on Thursday the launch of “ScanToSketch,” an augmented reality (AR)-based property measuring and sketching tool to create home appraisal reports. Developed using CoreLogic’s appraisal software brand “a la mode,” the tool has been used to complete roughly 20,000 property sketches. So far, its data has been featured in over 12,000 appraisal reports, according […]
A total of 2,256 homebuyer assistance programs are available in the U.S. housing market after 54 programs were added in the third quarter, according to Down Payment Resource (DPR), a homebuyer assistance program data and solutions firm. Among the available homebuyer assistance programs were 295 that allow borrowers to lower their interest rates by paying […]