While layoffs sweep the mortgage industry, particularly consumer-direct lenders, non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) lenders are going on a hiring spree. Non-QM lenders Angel Oak Mortgage, Acra Lending and Newfi alone currently have at least 130 openings on jobs listings sites. According to Evan Kidwell, chief operating officer at Griffin Funding, a consumer-direct lender that launched non-QM […]
Another large mortgage-servicing rights bulk offering is on the market this week on the heels of a $10 billion MSR package that went out to bid earlier this month. The latest deal is being marketed by New York-based Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp., or MIAC. It is a $6.23 billion bulk-sale offering of agency MSRs, with bids […]
The Supreme Court weighed in on a class action lawsuit against Quicken Loans, now Rocket Mortgage, regarding its appraisal practices during the financial crisis, delivering a procedural win for the mortgage lender. On Monday, the Supreme Court remanded the class action to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to reexamine its […]
The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased to 3.45% during the week ending Jan. 13, up from 3.22% the week prior, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey. A year ago, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.79%. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.62% last week, up from 2.43% the week prior. A year ago […]
Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate will discontinue its third-party wholesale channel, Stearns Wholesale Lending, just one year after it acquired the multichannel lender. “Guaranteed Rate will continue to thrive and win market share by having a laser focus on leveraging our industry-leading purchase platform augmented by the best loan officers in the business,” Guaranteed Rate CEO Victor […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s announcement last week that it will hike upfront fees for high-balance and second-home loans effective April 1 will provide a boost for the private-label securities market, according to executives at one of the leading sponsors of private-label securities. In fact, FHFA’s new fee structure for government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and […]
Mortgage applications climbed 1.4% for the week ending Jan. 7, 2022, according to a survey published by the Mortgage Bankers Association this week. The growth was buoyed by a 2% increase in the trade group’s seasonally adjusted purchase index, the MBA said. Per the report, the unadjusted purchase index increased 51% compared to the previous […]
Redfin announced Tuesday layoffs of 121 employees as it shakes up its mortgage department, including purchasing a lending company. The real estate company entered into an agreement to acquire mortgage lender Bay Equity Home Loans for $135 million, two-thirds in cash and one-third in stocks, Redfin said in a press release and public filing. The […]
Fannie Mae opened 2022 with its 45th credit-risk transfer (CRT) deal through its Connecticut Avenue Securities (CAS) real estate mortgage investment conduit, or REMIC, bringing the collective value of notes issued through the conduit to nearly $52 billion since the first offering in 2013. The 45 CAS deals involved credit-risk transfer (CRT) notes issued to private investors […]
Mortgage delinquency rates hit pre-pandemic levels in October due to labor market improvements and home equity increases, according to the most recent CoreLogic Loan Performance Report. The expectation is that rates will continue to decline during 2022. In October, 3.8% of mortgages were delinquent by at least 30 days, including foreclosure, close to the 3.7% […]
PennyMac Financial Services announced today that it’s launching a new technology platform for its broker channel, and it has rebranded its broker division from PennyMac Broker Direct to Pennymac TPO. The California-based wholesale lender claimed the new tech offering, called POWER+, would give brokers “speed, control and access to expert advice,” as well as “guidance […]
Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 199,000 jobs were created in December — a miss from estimates. They also reported we had 141,000 in positive revisions to the previous jobs report. The unemployment rate is currently at 3.9% and we had another big print from the household survey which showed 651,000 jobs gained. […]
This video is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps in January, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the predictions for this year, along with a […]
Pink slips arrived for nearly three dozen loan officers at Wyndham Capital Mortgage on Wednesday, HousingWire has learned. The consumer direct mortgage lender, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, said it laid off 35 LOs across its offices in Dallas, Charlotte, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, and Phoenix. In a statement, Jeff Douglas, CEO of Wyndham […]
This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Joe Langner, CEO at ReverseVision. Langner has more than 30 years of senior leadership experience, driving growth at marquee mortgage technology and software companies. As a former executive vice president and chief sales officer at Ellie Mae, Langner helped execute the firm’s initial public offering in 2011. His other […]
Denver-based Incenter Mortgage Advisors is in the market with a $10 billion bulk-sales package of mortgage-servicing rights (MSRs) tied to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. The MSR offering involves 36,185 loans that are fairly evenly split between Fannie- and Freddie-backed mortgages. The weighted average age of the loans is 10.8 months, with an average interest rate of 2.898%, according to […]
Rocket Companies announced this week that its CEO Jay Farner has stepped away from his role as Rocket Mortgage CEO, to assume the role of CEO of Rocket Central, the mortgage company’s fintech platform. Farner assumed his new role Jan. 1, according to a press release from the Detroit-based company, and will retain his role […]
A federal law mandates that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac help households on moderate, low, or very low income. The government-sponsored enterprises must do this by setting a plan every three years, dubbed Duty to Serve, that provides lending liquidity and preservation goals for manufactured, rural, and affordable housing. But according to the Federal Housing […]
The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased to 3.22% during the week ending Jan. 6, up from 3.11% the week prior, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey. A year ago, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.65%. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.43% last week, up from 2.33% the week prior. A year […]
SitusAMC President Michael Franco SitusAMC subsidiary Securent is expanding its reach into the private-label market with plans to soon introduce a loan-defect insurance product for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transactions, according to executives from both companies. The initial focus of Securent, which was launched late last year, has been to provide loan-level loan-defect insurance for third-party mortgage originators […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency introduced new upfront fees on Wednesday for some high-balance and second-home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Upfront fees for high balance loans will increase between 0.25% and 0.75%, tiered by loan-to-value ratio. For second home loans, the upfront fees will increase between 1.125% and 3.875%, also tiered […]
Some Federal Housing Administration-approved mortgage servicers have routinely flouted the agency’s loan modification program, according to Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and 20 other state attorneys general. The attorneys general wrote in a Dec. 21 letter that a number of mortgage servicers employed by FHA-approved lenders failed to adequately implement loan modification options the […]
Mortgage applications decreased 2.7% from two weeks earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association survey for the week ending Dec. 31, 2021. The results include adjustments to account for the holidays. The holiday adjusted Refinance Index decreased 2% from two weeks ago and was 40% lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally […]
The most wonderful time of the year, as the song would have us believe, comes to a close with Epiphany, the 12th day of Christmas, Jan. 6. I do hope everyone had a joyous holiday season, spending some relaxing time with family and friends. The holiday season is winding down. So is the 24-month refinance […]
loanDepot announced this week that it will begin servicing Ginnie Mae loans in-house, following a 2021 decision to do the same for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-backed loans. The top-ranked nonbank lender said in a press release that servicing Ginnie Mae loans “carries great significance” because the agency is the primary guarantor of securities containing Federal […]
Pontiac, Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) capitalized on a booming private-label market in 2021 by sponsoring its inaugural securities transaction this past May, a prime jumbo deal involving 508 mortgages with an aggregate principal balance of $351.9 million. That was the start for the nonbank lender, which dominates the nation’s wholesale mortgage lending sector with an estimated […]
This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the predictions for next year, along with […]
This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Sarah DeCiantis, chief marketing officer at United Wholesale Mortgage. As a 2019 Vanguard and Women of Influence, DeCiantis is the catalyst behind United Wholesale Mortgage’s strategic approach to marketing, which has helped the company become the No. 1 wholesale lender. DeCiantis oversees advertising, public relations, social media, creative and […]
This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the predictions for next year, along with […]
This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the predictions for next year, along with […]
Blank check company Aurora Acquisition Corp. said on Monday that Vishal Garg is still Better.com‘s CEO, and that it will keep the proposed merger with the digital mortgage lender. The communication comes after Garg took leave early this month in response to an onslaught of negative media coverage because he laid off 900 employees via […]
As we turn the page on 2021, it’s important to check in with ourselves and identify what we are leaving in the past and what we are taking with us into the new year. To some, that exercise might translate to forming resolutions. I’m taking a slightly different approach, however, by opting to reflect on […]
Last week’s announcement from the Department of Housing and Urban Development cleared the way for lenders to adopt targeted lending programs, but so far, they are treading carefully. The pronouncement was more than 40 years coming, and arrived after both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Housing Finance Agency had publicly weighed in […]
A former employee alleged that an executive at Atlanta-based mortgage lender Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) sexually assaulted her, and executives fostered a culture of widespread sexual harassment at the firm. Former mortgage loan processor Tiar McCart claims, in a suit filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia in October, that […]
The delinquency landscape continues to improve on a monthly basis, with the total delinquency rate in the nation falling to 3.59% in November, according to Black Knight’s November mortgage monitor published this week. In October, the analytics vendor clocked the national delinquency rate at 3.74%. The 15-basis point improvement continues to point to the effectiveness […]
The average 30-year-fixed rate mortgage dropped to 3.05% during the week ending Dec. 23, after achieving 3.12% the week prior, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.66%. The 15-year-fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.30% last week, declining from 2.34% the week prior. A year ago at […]
Utilities, telecommunications and rent payment data ought to be used in mortgage underwriting, especially since federal regulators say they are focused on improving racial equity and may update their credit scoring models. So argued a report released Tuesday by Michael Stegman, a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute and former senior policy advisor on housing […]
Mortgage applications fell 0.6% for the week ending Dec. 17, with fewer borrowers looking for purchases in the lower end of the market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey published on Wednesday. The decrease was driven by the purchases index falling 3.3% from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis. Concurrently, the refi index […]
As 2021 draws to a close, it’s clear that the private-label residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) market has notched a year for the record books. For the full year, the RMBS 2.0 market — defined as all post-financial-crisis prime, non-prime and credit-risk transfer (CRT) transactions — is projected to exceed $115 billion in issuance. That’s more […]
Higher inflation, post-pandemic economic recovery and a reduction in Federal Reserve stimulus incentives are key economic factors expected to put upward pressure on interest rates as we move into 2022 — increasing the already stiff competition among mortgage lenders. Furthermore, a more competitive mortgage lending environment will only magnify the importance for lenders to have […]
If you take the temperature of how loan officers are feeling ahead of the holiday season, the scale would likely read “uneasy.” They have good reason to feel anxious. Numerous shops, including Better.com, Interfirst Mortgage, and Freedom Mortgage have announced layoffs in the past few weeks, and some LOs worry their jobs may also be […]
The share of mortgage loans in forbearance decreased by 39 basis points to 1.67% as of Nov. 30, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the latest sign that the sun is setting on loan forbearance agreements hammered out under the CARES Act. Under COVID-19 legislation signed by President Donald Trump in April 2020, many homeowners […]
DocMagic announced on Monday the rollout of eDecision, a fully automated platform that it said will significantly expand the level of analysis applied to e-eligibility determination for eClosings. The automated loan document preparation and eMortgage services provider claims the new platform delivers a clear-cut, highly accurate decision telling users exactly how far they can take […]
Two federal regulators said on Monday that they will double down on scrutiny of mortgage servicers, following complaints of housing rights violations made by military families and veterans. In a joint letter, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said they are watching to ensure mortgage servicers fully comply […]
Most of the time, the economy is like a slow-moving ocean liner that changes direction gradually and without much effort. But when a new, powerful variable presents itself, like the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the economy can change on a dime. COVID was a veritable iceberg for our ocean liner economy, but the ship did not […]