The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) this week announced that it had secured a settlement of more than $3 million from Philadelphia, Penn.-based ESSA Bank & Trust over allegations that the company engaged in redlining majority Black and Hispanic communities from access to credit services around the Philadelphia area. According to a complaint filed by […]
Polly, a leading provider of innovative mortgage capital markets technology, recently announced the appointment of industry veteran Cheryl Messner as chief customer officer (CCO). Messner, who has extensive experience and expertise in mortgage fintech, joins Polly as the company experiences significant growth and adoption in the industry. “Polly has revolutionized traditional pricing and loan delivery, […]
Mat Ishbia is optimistic about the mortgage market. The Pontiac, Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) CEO believes that 2022 and 2023 are equally challenging years, but the market will improve in 2024. Meanwhile, 2025 and 2026 will be off the charts. What does Ishbia think about surging mortgage rates, lack of housing inventory and monetary […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) officially implemented an updated pricing framework for Loan-Level Price Adjustments (LLPAs) in May to improve homeownership prospects for first-time homebuyers with lower income and weaker credit scores. It’s a simple goal, but as is often the case in U.S. housing policy, it is being executed in a very complicated […]
Mortgage rates jumped last week amid a debt ceiling impasse and expectations of another federal funds rate hike. However, rates have started to reverse course over the last few days, following news of a debt agreement and an expectation that the Federal Reserve may pause hikes. On the fiscal side, President Joe Biden and House Speaker […]
Connecticut-based lender and servicer Planet Home Lending has acquired the assets of Illinois-based retail lender Platinum Home Mortgage Corporation. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. With the acquisition, Planet will inherit the majority of Platinum’s origination staff and branches throughout the country. The deal also expands Planet’s footprint in the Midwest, Northwest and West Coast […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) submitted for public comment on Wednesday its proposal to create a new partial claim option, a result of its acknowledgment that its current loss mitigation toolkit isn’t enough to support struggling borrowers as rates surge. The Payment Supplement Partial Claim will allow servicers to use the FHA partial claim to bring a […]
Austin-based rent reporting fintech Boom announced on Wednesday that it has raised $4.5 million in a seed round to improve user experience, expand its product offerings and market its app to customers. The seed round was led by Chicago-based venture capital fund Starting Line, followed by Clocktower Technology Ventures, Company Ventures, Gilgamesh Ventures, and Plaid […]
Higher mortgage rates caused by the debt ceiling drama and resilient inflation reduced demand for home loans last week, affecting the already depressed refinancings in particular, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) data. The trade group’s market composite Index declined 3.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 26 compared to […]
The debt ceiling deal struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Saturday represents momentary relief for the mortgage market, as it reduces the chances of a federal government default. But that’s just the first step in an ongoing effort to avoid the chaos. The deal has to receive Congressional approval before […]
Swiss bank UBS Group AG plans to wind down a business in its US mortgage unit that focuses on “to-be-announced” (TBA) trading, Bloomberg reported late last week. The decision is part of UBS’s strategy to focus more on financing mortgage originators, the outlet said, citing an anonymous source discussing non-public information who asked not to […]
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a buzzword in virtually every industry right now. And, in the mortgage industry, AI will play an instrumental role in helping loan officers to be more efficient, according to Nima Ghamsari, Blend‘s co-founder and CEO. “Some of these borrowers have hundreds of products that they can choose from. How is an […]
New listing data rose last week, according to Debt-ceiling drama pushed bond yields up last week, taking mortgage rates to a new 2023 high in the middle of the spring home-selling season. Active housing inventory, thankfully, saw some decent growth last week. Purchase application data had a second straight week of declines. Here’s a quick […]
Borrowers seeking mortgage financing to purchase a home could find themselves saving $100 a month or more by shopping around, and locating cheaper lenders with which to do business. This is according to a new blog post published this week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). By analyzing Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data […]
Texas-based Colonial Savings, F.A. has decided to exit the origination business amid one of the most challenging cycles in decades, provoked by the Federal Reserve‘s tightening monetary policy and a banking crisis. The company will focus on full-servicing banking and mortgage servicing businesses, it announced on Thursday. The origination activity will cease effective July 31, 2023, but all outstanding […]
These days I start every conversation with, “Yes, I have used ChatGPT,” just to get that out of the way for the sake of efficiency. The speed of discourse about Generative AI in all aspects of life from personal to business topics has been astounding. And while the use cases for generative AI as a […]
SoftPro, the nation’s top provider of title, closing, and escrow software, announced on Thursday that it has launched ClosingsLIVE, a cutting-edge communication portal for real estate settlements. The platform grants authorized parties secure access to order status, documents, and milestones, catering to the demands of clients and all transaction participants. “ClosingsLIVE is a gamechanger app […]
Older Americans are sitting on more than $12 trillion in home equity, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA)/Riskspan Reverse Mortgage Market Index. These homeowners are seeking different retirement solutions to help allocate their home equity and make it more durable over the next 20 to 30 years. According to data from Statista, […]
The Federal Reserve‘s monetary tightening policy and the recent banking crisis have the potential to change the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) market’s dynamics more than anything seen over the last two decades, according to secondary market experts. The Fed and U.S. banks, which glommed onto these assets in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, are […]
Last week, the U.S. debt ceiling impasse and the resilient economy led mortgage rates to climb to the highest level in two months. Some indexes show the 30-year fixed rate has reached the 7% mark, which has reduced borrowers’ appetite for home loans. The latest MBA data published on Wednesday morning shows that mortgage loan […]
Freddie Mac on Tuesday announced enhancements to its automated income assessment tool—already used for direct deposits—to also include the borrower’s digital paystub data. The government sponsored enterprise said lenders can calculate income faster and more precisely, improving loan quality, simplifying the mortgage process and expanding access to credit. The ability to include paystub data and […]
The growing wave of loan-repurchase requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has yet another major wrinkle, industry sources reveal, and this new problem, if accurate as alleged, threatens to disrupt future merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the mortgage-finance industry. This new development is being propelled by an alleged Fannie Mae “request” that, according to industry sources, was […]
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives recognize that the wave of loan-repurchase requests represents an added challenge for lenders who already have a stretched balance sheet. However, Fannie Mae’s position is that the loan-repurchase increases are an economic problem, not an underwriting process issue. Meanwhile, Freddie Mac said it’s in talks with lenders to address the problem through […]
Mortgage tech company Blend has launched a soft credit inquiry function for lenders at a time when the industry is facing higher credit report fees. Credit bureaus and Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO) upped the cost of pulling a hard credit file starting in 2023. In some cases, the costs have increased by four to five […]
The lack of housing inventory – a major pain point for real estate agents and loan officers – is an issue that Mark Cohen, principal owner of Cohen Financial Group, also sees in the upper end of the Southern California market. The $1 million to $4 million homes market is very competitive, and qualified borrowers […]
Homebuilders, whose sentiment hit the midpoint mark of 50 earlier this month for the first-time since July 2022, have yet another reason to celebrate. The sales pace of new homes has also increased for the fifth consecutive month, according to data published on Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In April, the sales […]
Residential mortgage industry analysts and executives continue to see challenges ahead. For starters, the banking crisis is still unfolding, impacting the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) space, reducing jumbo loan offerings, and putting pressure on commercial real estate companies. Even if the U.S. debt limit impasse is solved, the U.S. can face a downgrade to its long-term debt, […]
Residential mortgage industry analysts and executives continue to see choppy waters ahead. The banking crisis is still unfolding, impacting the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) space, reducing jumbo loan offerings, and putting pressure on commercial real estate companies. Even if the U.S. debt limit impasse is solved, the U.S. can face a downgrade to its long-term debt, with […]
Rocket Mortgage introduced a new 1% down home loan program aiming to target more than 90 million borrowers. Rocket’s new product comes on the heels of rival United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) rolling out a similar program. Dubbed ONE+, a buyer using this program who’s purchasing a single-family home, and whose income is equal to or […]
Top-producing loan officer Christopher Keelin has taken his 80+ team members over to CrossCountry Mortgage to take advantage of the lender’s technology while scaling his business. Keelin, who has more than 15 years of experience, joined CrossCountry in April from New Jersey-based Family First Funding, where he spent more than six years. Keeling also previously […]
According to It was a wild ride for the housing market last week! The 10-year yield rose noticeably, sending mortgage rates near 7% right in the heart of the spring selling season. New listings data fell, however, active inventory grew. And purchase apps had a weekly negative print, continuing the 2023 theme of higher rates […]
Lender Price, a leading provider of mortgage loan product and pricing technology, has launched Base Price Solution (BPS), a new pricing tool designed to help banks, lenders, and credit unions optimize their pricing strategies. With the new product, lenders have the ability to quickly generate base pricing, which eliminates the need for multiple spreadsheets used […]
Add Rocket Mortgage to the list of companies selling mortgage servicing rights (MSR) in a difficult operating environment. The Detroit, Michigan-based lender sold about $20 billion in MSRs to JPMorgan Chase in April, following a decline in its servicing book in the first quarter of 2023. The company’s unpaid principal balance reached $524.8 billion as […]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asked a judge to dismiss Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Black Knight‘s claims over the agency’s constitutionality and separation of power as “impertinent” and “immaterial.” The FTC, which is trying to prevent a merger between the two mortgage tech firms, said the two companies made “bare statements of legal conclusions that […]
As you can see in the chart above, days on the market falling isn’t a good thing, but it’s the reality of the world we live in after 2010. The U.S. housing market inventory channels have changed due to how the U.S. housing credit channels have changed. This is not, nor can it ever be, […]
Did you know Logan Mohtashami — the chart guy — got his professional start working as a pizza boy? From serving delicious food to serving career-changing mortgage data like no one else can, Mohtashami is a force to be reckoned with. Twitter trolls beware. Mohtashami, lead analyst at HousingWire, will share his chart-powered wisdom at […]
Despite a marked improvement from the fourth quarter of 2022, independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks still lost a mountain of money in the first quarter. On average, IMBs reported a net loss of $1,972 on each loan originated from January to March, a 35% improvement from the reported loss of […]
FormFree, a leading provider of mortgage lending technology, announced on Wednesday that it has appointed Jonathan Nahil as its new chief technology officer (CTO). Nahil brings to the role over 20 years of experience as a software architect and leader of development teams in renowned technology organizations. “I’ve helped organizations break the status quo with […]
The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) called on the NMLS policy committee to make it a requirement for every state to adopt a broker-specific license option amid the committee seeking feedback on a proposal to adopt a standardized approach for the mortgage industry licensing. The NMLS does not require mortgage brokers to provide audited […]
As we all know, we have a record number of apartments under construction. With rent inflation already cooling down, keeping the pressure on to fight inflation is a must because the The best way to fight inflation and get lower mortgage rates is to get more apartment units finished, and so far, this has been […]
The watchdog for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says an audit discovered that the temporary policy for endorsement of loans with COVID-19 forbearance activity had multiple compliance issues. The Office of Inspector General for HUD said the department should improve two major areas – ensuring lenders follow the outlined policy, and […]
Recent home price declines are leading to decreased tappable equity, but there are still opportunities in home equity lending, according to a report published by Home Equity Lending News. While 30-year fixed rates on first mortgages are far from the 4% range – which many existing first mortgages were refinanced to during the pandemic – […]
Transactions in the fix and flip market have been booming in recent years, with more than 407,000 homes flipped in 2022, up 14% over 2021 and up 58% over 2020, according to a recent report by real estate data firm ATTOM. In fact, ATTOM reports that one in 12 home sales in the nation last year, […]
Incentivized by a 200 basis point decline in mortgage rates, 14 million homeowners in America refinanced their mortgages between the second quarter of 2020 and the fourth quarter of 2021, according to a recent research report by the New York Fed. Approximately 5 million homeowners extracted $430 billion in home equity from their cash-out refinancings […]
After falling 0.8% in March, housing starts were back up again in April, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Home starts checked in at an estimated annual pace of 1.401 million in April, up 2.2% month over month. Despite this […]