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In an industry facing headwinds, Connecticut-headquartered mortgage servicer and lender Planet Home Lending stands out among its peers, reporting double-digit increases in mortgage origination volume while competitors struggle to hit last year’s levels. Planet Home Lending, founded in 2007, was the only firm among the country’s top-10 lenders that generated more year-over-year origination volume in […]

Today’s low-volume, purchase-focused market is more competitive than ever, as mortgage lenders work to win more market share than their neighbor and aim to be as profitable as possible. Compressed margins make it crucial to work as quickly and efficiently as they can, taking every opportunity to reduce costs and maximize every basis point of […]

Home prices are going up across the country after slowing for more than a year, according to a new report from data and analytics company Black Knight. The report found that nationally, home prices in June rose by 0.67% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis. Meanwhile, the annual home price increase was 0.8% in June, […]

I am going to be controversial here. The GSEs have become more aggressive in their levels of buybacks with lenders. I say this without the benefit of the specific data, and I would love to see some from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or the FHFA, but in the absence of that, I have interviewed […]

The decision to allow the ICE – Black Knight merger to proceed announces the digital integration of the real estate value chain anticipated for over 25 years. Digitization redraws industry boundaries and changes how the value of information is expressed, enriched and exchanged. The capital, capability and content are present to make all real estate markets […]

Here’s one for you: How many fintech companies does it take to reduce the cost to originate a loan? There’s no great punchline to throw in here — only the sobering fact that it cost a record high of $13,171 to originate a loan in the first quarter of 2023, according to Fannie Mae’s recent […]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) and Black Knight jointly stipulated to dismiss a federal court case against ICE’s $11.7 billion proposed acquisition of Black Knight, clearing a major regulatory hurdle that should allow the deal to go through. “The joint stipulation dismisses the federal complaint and dissolves the temporary restraining order […]

The housing inventory data from last week makes me wonder if we are starting the seasonal decline in active listings in August. Mortgage rates also had a crazy week and purchase apps fell once again. Weekly active listings rose by only 2,939 Mortgage rates went from 7.04% to 7.20% and back to 7.03% Purchase apps […]

Mortgage rates are finally headed lower after a crazy week of jobs data showing that the economy isn’t going into recession. Job growth is slowing as we get closer and closer to the target range of the make-up demand in labor, but it hasn’t broken yet. What do I mean by a make-up demand in […]

Rates are high, housing inventory is down, and competition for new originations is fierce. Leaders across mortgage and banking are turning to their marketing partners with some variation of the same ask: “We need to improve the effectiveness and profitability of our campaigns, increase originations, and oh, by the way, budgets have been slashed — so […]

Aurora Acquisition Corp., the special purpose acquisition company planning to make public the digital nonbank lender Better.com, said on Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ended an investigation of the companies with no enforcement action.  In July 2022, HousingWire reported that the SEC launched an inquiry into Aurora and Better to evaluate allegations of federal securities law violations, […]

Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, returned to profit in the second quarter of 2023 after posting losses in the past three consecutive quarters. The Detroit-headquartered lender’s GAAP net income in Q2 was $139 million, an improvement from the GAAP net loss of $411 million in 2023 Q1. Rocket posted a $33 million adjusted […]

Black Knight reported slimmer profits and slowing organic growth in the second quarter, largely due to weaker mortgage volume from clients as well as near-term effects from the proposed merger deal with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). The company’s profit dropped 61% quarter over quarter to $55.3 million in Q2 2023. Profit rose 32% from $40.3 million […]

Mortgage rates continued to inch towards 7% this week as the 10-year treasury yields climbed past the 4% threshold. Investors assessed the state of the U.S. economy after Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S.′ long-term, foreign currency issuer default rating from AAA to AA+ on Tuesday. The following day, the U.S. Treasury announced that it would […]

HSBC Bank USA on Tuesday disclosed that it is facing an investigation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for alleged redlining practices.  The federal investigation is based on a complaint filed by the non-profit organization National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC).  According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), HUD is investigating whether “HSBC Bank USA violated […]

Mobility Market Intelligence (MMI), a data intelligence and market insight tool provider for the mortgage and real estate industries, has acquired Bonzo – a relationship management and mortgage marketing platform. Ohio-headquartered Bonzo will operate as an independent service provider that is led by the current leadership team, which includes co-founder and president Jason Perkins, co-founder […]

Freddie Mac generated $2.94 billion in net income in the second quarter, up 41% from the first quarter and 20% year-over-year. Like its larger government sponsored enterprise cousin Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac’s second quarter was boosted by rising home prices. Executives on Wednesday said home prices rose 2.4% through the second quarter and are forecast […]

New York-based Rithm Capital executives see surging rates and increasing capital requirements for banks as an opportunity to acquire diversified assets and operational platforms at a time when the parent company of New Rez and Caliber plans to spin off its mortgage business.   “If you think about where we are in the cycle, interest rates are at some of the highest […]

For all the confusion and volatility that the pandemic caused the mortgage industry, it was clear that the near-zero interest rates were always going to be temporary. After many warnings, The Fed finally made its move in March 2022. Its aggressive inflation-crushing policy extinguished the greatest refi market in history – these days, nearly 90% of […]

Stavvy, a fintech company specializing in digital and remote collaboration for lending and real estate companies, acquired Brace, a digital mortgage servicing platform. Terms of the deal were not announced. With the acquisition, servicers and homeowners looking for mortgage assistance will have access to a streamlined platform that allows them to interact on their terms, […]

Fannie Mae netted $5 billion in profits in the second quarter, up $1.22 billion from the first three months of the year. Executives attributed the swollen profits to the continued strength of home prices, which have risen 5% in the first six months of the year. In fact, Fannie Mae is no longer predicting a […]

More than 2,200 different multifamily lenders provided $480.1 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units in 2022, a reduction of around 1% when compared to 2021 levels. This is according to an annual report of the multifamily lending market compiled and released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). One-third of […]

This year’s HousingWire Women of Influence list recognizes a remarkable group of women in housing who represent the pinnacle of excellence and innovation. These extraordinary women have shattered glass ceilings, defied expectations and carved a path of success through their dedication, expertise and unwavering commitment to transforming the housing landscape. Through their visionary leadership, they […]

Dallas, Texas-based Mr. Cooper Group on Tuesday announced it has completed the acquisitions of Home Point Capital and Roosevelt Management Company. With the deals, Mr. Cooper has moved closer to its $1 trillion mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio target.  Mr. Cooper concluded on Monday a tender offer for Home Point’s outstanding shares after extending the deadline twice. According to Equiniti Trust Company, the […]

When the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to zero on March 15, 2020 and set off an extraordinary real estate boom, Rocket Mortgage was ready. The Detroit-based lender’s unmatched combination of name recognition, digital infrastructure and consumer technology enabled it to originate more than $670 billion in mortgages in 2020 and 2021, smashing records in […]

Many U.S. banks have tightened their lending standards for residential real estate (REE) loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOC) in the second quarter amid the collapse of regional banks and a cascade of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to tame inflation. Banks expect to further tighten standards for the remainder of […]

The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) late last week released two comment letters expressing the association’s agreement with proposed rules on bolstering borrower protections for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing for home renovations. A CUNA letter was aimed at expressing its support to financial services companies, with an additional letter adding its individual comments […]

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Monday published a newly-proposed rule in the Federal Register that would allow mortgage servicers to use telephonic or other electronic means to communicate with a distressed borrower, in a way that is most likely to yield a response. “[T]his rule proposes to update HUD’s current […]

Mike Cagney’s Figure Technologies laid off 20% of its staff and plans to take its profitable lending business public next year, Bloomberg reported.  About half of the workers laid off last week were engineers and this was the first round of staff reductions for the company, according to the outlet. ​​”Last Friday I found out […]

Rocket Companies announced major leadership changes on Monday.  The company appointed Varun Krishna, a veteran in the financial technology world who held executive positions at Intuit and PayPal, as its new CEO. In addition, Bob Walters has informed the board of directors of his intention to retire from his role as CEO of Rocket Mortgage and president and Chief Operating Officer […]

As we can see below, Tracking housing inventory this summer is like watching a zombie slowly walking on the beach. Last week inventory growth dropped and new listing data declined again. Strong labor data pushed up mortgage rates and purchase applications fell week to week. Weekly active listings rose by only 4,988 Mortgage rates rose […]

JPMorgan Chase will buy nearly $2 billion worth of mortgages to grease Banc of California‘s purchase of PacWest Bancorp, Bloomberg reported. The bank entered into an agreement to buy $1.8 billion of single-family residential loans at a discount, according to the outlet.  Banc of California and PacWest announced on Tuesday an all-stock merger with a […]

Mauricio Umansky‘s residential brokerage The Agency is venturing into core services. Through partnerships with Bubble Insurance Solutions and New American Funding, real estate agents at The Agency will have access to mortgage lending services and insurance services for their clients. With Bubble Insurance Services, The Agency is launching its own affiliate insurance service, Agencia Insurance […]

Ex-workers took action in a New York court this week to ensure that a $3.5 million settlement with Sprout Mortgage for unpaid wages goes through. It follows a request from the shuttered lender to halt the agreement due to an involuntary bankruptcy petition filed by three creditors.    New Wave Lending Group, JMJ Financial Group and EF Mortgage filed on July 5 an […]

Austin, Texas-based OJO promoted industry veteran Chris Heller to president while Jerimiah Taylor will move into the chief real estate officer role that Heller held. The moves come amid OJO’s continued growth in 2023, which the company attributes to is OJO Pro+ offering. Heller, who has held leadership roles at Keller Williams and loanDepot‘s mellohome, […]

California-based Pennymac Financial Services increased its profits by 92% in the second quarter of 2023 from the prior quarter. Although the performance was propelled by its servicing portfolio – as occurred in previous quarters – mortgage production returned to profitability. The company reported on Thursday its net income came in at $58.3 million in Q2 2023, up […]

The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) on Thursday sent a letter to Sandra Thompson, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), urging the slower implementation of changes to the credit score reporting process. The letter, which was also sent to the CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, expresses appreciation to FHFA for […]

About two years after Better.com announced its plans to go public via special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Aurora Acquisitions Corp., the fate of Better.com’s journey to IPO will be decided next month. “Aurora shareholders will be asked to consider and vote upon a proposal (…) to approve and adopt the agreement and plan of merger […]

Mortgage rates rose slightly this week ahead of the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee‘s rate hike. The 25-basis point increase to the federal funds rate was widely anticipated and priced in by capital markets. Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which focuses on conventional and conforming loans with a 20% down payment, shows the 30-year […]

After a year’s worth of warnings about a recession, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the central bank’s staff no longer forecasts a nationwide economic downturn. It’s welcome news for the economy to achieve a soft landing, a scenario in which inflation falls, unemployment remains relatively low and a recession is avoided. Housing […]

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the country’s largest wholesale lender, expanded its debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) loan options to four after launching its first product in March. Dubbed “Investors Flex,” the non-QM product for real estate investors, offered purchase and refinance loans up to $2 million that could be used to finance up to 20 […]

The Federal Reserve (Fed) raised the federal funds rate 25 basis points to the 5.25 to 5.5% range on Wednesday, its highest level in 22 years. While the markets have already “priced in” this rate hike, which was widely expected, most investors are already wondering what it would take for the central bank to lift […]

Add Guaranteed Rate to the list of lenders offering down payment assistance programs to target first-time homebuyers facing historic affordability challenges. The Chicago-headquartered lender released OneDown — a mortgage loan that allows customers to buy a home with a minimum down payment of 1% of the purchase price. G-Rate will provide 2% of the required […]

As mortgage rates remained stubbornly high last week, hovering around 6.87%, mortgage applications fell from a week prior. For the week that ended July 21, mortgage applications fell 1.8% from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.  “Mortgage rates were essentially flat last week but remained high, with the 30-year fixed staying at […]

Also released on Tuesday, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index indicated that home prices rose month-over-month for the fourth consecutive time in May. However, this decade-long rally in U.S. home prices could finally come to an end, said Robert Shiller, professor of economics at Yale University yesterday on U.S. house prices rose slightly in […]