If you added up the impact that HousingWire’s Vanguard winners have had on the industry, you’d likely have a comprehensive list of the initiatives that have moved markets forward. These are the leaders who have dreamt, shaped and molded a better way to execute the home-buying journey. From injecting technology into the mortgage process to […]
A shortage of affordable starter homes is thwarting aspiring first-time homebuyers and fueling inflation in home prices. At the same time, many urban and rural communities are struggling for stability and vitality. It’s a fact: the homeownership gap between Black and white households is wider now than when the Fair Housing Act was passed in […]
The MSR sales market is finishing out 2021 at a robust pace that market observers expect will continue into the new year, propelled by a rising-rate environment and anticipated tax-code changes. As evidence, Denver-based Incenter Mortgage Advisors this month unveiled three new MSR bulk-sales packages that have been put out for bid that involve primarily […]
The Department of Veterans Affairs will raise appraisal fees and lengthen allowable turnaround times in select markets across the country in response to high demand for appraisals. The cabinet-level federal agency, which backs mortgage loans for veterans, said the move was in response to “unprecedented demand for appraisal services” in some markets. The fee increases, […]
On Tuesday, Mat Ishbia launched a strategy to attract sophisticated investors to United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) shares and eliminate the “meme stock” label. However, that strategy is dead for now as UWM Holdings Corp. said on Thursday that its principal shareholder, SFS Holding Corp. — a holding firm controlled by Mat Ishbia and his father, […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is launching a voluntary review of its mortgage data collection — a key tool in bringing redlining cases — to assess its effectiveness in detecting discrimination. The evaluation of rules implementing the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act will support the CFPB in its efforts to maintain a “fair, competitive, and […]
Securitizations backed by jumbo loans and mortgages on residential investment properties have propelled a rebounding private-label market in 2021. That gravy train, however, is expected to slow down some as we turn the corner into 2022 — with rising interest rates, spiking home prices and the expanding reach of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) rolled out a new purchase product that will waive mortgage insurance payments if a borrower opts for a 10%-or-more down payment. But borrowers would be wise to note that they’ll get hit with higher interest rates. The product, dubbed “MI Buster,” will be available for conventional purchase loans starting at $200,000, […]
Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage Mat Ishbia and his family will slightly reduce their ownership of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), a step to make the company more attractive to long-term investors – and, hopefully, to leave behind the “meme stock” label, according to analysts who follow the wholesale lender. UWM Holdings […]
Mortgage rates strongly increased above 3% in the week ending November 18, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS mortgage report. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit 3.10%, up 12 basis points from 2.98% the week prior. A year ago at this time, the average 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged just 2.72%. Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said the […]
With the release to Congress of the FHA Actuarial Study it is time to make this call: HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge and President Joe Biden need to lower the FHA Premium. Not doing so is resulting in overcharging first-time homebuyers and especially African American and Hispanic borrowers, the segments of our housing population needing the […]
Refinance mortgage loan applications dipped 31% year-to-year on the week ending Nov. 12, according to a survey published by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday. The refi volume decreased 5% compared to the previous week. Meanwhile, applications to purchase a new home declined 6% in one year. However, they were up 2% in comparison […]
Alessandro P. DiNello, president and CEO of president at Flagstar Bancorp Flagstar Bancorp. has been on a tear in 2021 when it comes to pursuing private-label securitizations, with 13 deals backed by some 22,000 home loans valued at $8 billion now under its belt through mid-November of this year. A pending merger with a New […]
Mortgage applications for new home purchases dipped by 15.2% year-to-year in October, according to a monthly builder survey published by the Mortgage Bankers Association this week. However, on a month-to-month basis, activity was actually 6% higher in October than in the month prior. The strong monthly gain puts MBA’s estimate of new home sales at […]
Rising home prices continue to fuel the growth of the nation’s multi-trillion dollar home-equity market, a fact not lost on behemoth investment-management firm PIMCO. The Newport Beach, California company has so far this year issued three-private-label transactions backed by home equity lines of credit and home-equity loans tied to a mix of performing and reperforming […]
Soon after the Department of Housing and Urban Development released its Mutual Mortgage Insurance fund report, housing finance and policy experts opined on whether the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) should lower the fees it charges borrowers. The fund, which insures mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration, benefited from the same macroeconomic factors that have […]
Michigan-based wholesale lender Homepoint is the latest firm to announce that it is making five, seven and 10-year adjustable-rate mortgages available to its network of mortgage broker partners, a move designed to generate purchase business. Earlier in November, United Wholesale Mortgage also announced a roll out of prime jumbo ARM products for its broker channel. […]
Vishal Garg, founder and CEO, Better.com Better.com is struggling to deal with the waning influence of refis in the mortgage market, with preliminary results published by their SPAC partner revealing that the digital lender expects a net loss between $85 million and $100 million in the third quarter. And the forecast looks even worse for […]
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking a cautionary approach to changes to mortgage insurance premiums after a banner year for its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) fund. The capital ratio of the Federal Housing Administration’s MMI fund reached 8.03% at the end of September, an increase of 1.93 percentage points from the previous […]
Rocket Companies CEO Jay Farner When Rocket Companies announced in August that it would be dipping its toes in the iBuying space, the lender didn’t do so with its usual panache. There were no polished marketing promos or commercials featuring celebrities like Tracy Morgan. In fact, news that Rocket would be pushing into iBuying was […]
Manufactured housing is a topic that has gained some steam on Capital Hill as of late, with the White House announcing earlier in the year that it intends to address the lack of affordable housing in the nation by upping the available supply of MH. In September, Biden’s administration also called on state and local […]
Despite a net loss of $100 million in the third quarter of 2021, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said he was thrilled with how the brokerage had performed. “I just wanted to say, once again, how pleased I am with our performance this quarter and our outlook of what is still to come,” Reffkin said in […]
The federal government’s top regulators announced Wednesday that they are collectively resuming mortgage servicing supervisory and enforcement practices in full, ending certain flexibilities it offered mortgage servicers at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The announcement comes as servicers negotiate with over one million borrowers exiting forbearance plans. Servicers are now expected to fully comply […]
Mortgage rates fell below 3% in the week ending November 10, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS mortgage report. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 2.98% last week, falling 11 basis points from 3.09% the week prior. A year ago at this time, the average 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 2.84%. “Despite the re-acceleration of […]
Mortgage applications revved up for the week ending Nov. 5, rising 5.5%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey published on Wednesday. The increase was mainly driven by the refi index growing by 7% from the previous week, though it was 28% lower than the same week one year ago, the report said. Concurrently, […]
Rocket Companies CEO Jay Farner Industry powerhouse Rocket Mortgage started out dabbling in the private-label secondary market slowly, with a single offering in 2019, followed by another in 2020, but it has come out with its engines roaring in 2021. The nation’s largest mortgage lender has launched a total seven private-label jumbo-loan securitizations between 2019 […]
One of the most unloved American economic success stories has been how spectacular American households with mortgage debt look today. Let’s take a look at the New York Federal Reserve’s Household Debt and Credit Report for the third quarter, released today. The most important factor is that debt structures are vanilla. Post-2010, lending standards in […]
The first signs of a shifting market cycle are already here. Purchase volume has caught up with, and will likely soon eclipse, refinance volume. And the whispers of margin compression are again being heard across the mortgage industry. The refinance explosion of 2020 wasn’t going to last forever. But it’s been a while since mortgage […]
Mortgage delinquency rates hit the lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic in August, according to the most recent CoreLogic Loan Performance Report. However, some borrowers are still facing severe financial challenges. In August, 4% of mortgages were delinquent by at least 30 days, including foreclosure, a drop from the 6.6% rate in August […]
Mat Ishbia, President and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), the nation’s largest wholesale lender, posted $329.9 million in profits during the third quarter, an uptick from the $138.7 million registered in the second quarter. According to the Pontiac, Michigan-based lender’s earning report, loan origination volume reached $63 billion in the third […]
After completing countless Veterans Administration (VA) mortgage loan transactions over the years, Chris Pascoe, a Marine veteran turned RE/MAX agent, has developed something of a system. First, he has his clients lender call the listing agent. “This is an absolute must, especially in the market right now as it gives the lender an opportunity to […]
Home Point Financial President and CEO Willie Newman Mortgage lender Home Point Financial, which does business as Homepoint, is poised to exit the Ginnie Mae mortgage-servicing rights market, according to its CEO and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Homepoint, in an SEC filing in early November, revealed that its third-quarter financials were boosted […]
Forbearance predictably declined across the board last week as exits accelerated, but more borrowers are going into plan modifications because they are still struggling to recover their pre-pandemic income. The total number of loans in forbearance decreased by nine basis points to 2.06% as of Oct. 31, according to the latest report from the Mortgage […]
Instant homebuyer Opendoor has acquired “tech”-focused mortgage brokerage RedDoor, the companies announced Friday. The purchase comes amid questions of whether iBuying is a viable business model following Zillow’s announcement Tuesday that the company is winding down its iBuying arm. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Sacramento, RedDoor calls itself a “digital first mortgage brokerage” that […]
The money Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earned from the adverse market fee paid for nearly the entire cost of the agencies’ Covid relief options, according to a Federal Housing Finance Agency inspector general report. The March 2020 CARES Act was meant to blunt the impact of Covid’s economic toll on homeowners, by letting them […]
J.P. Morgan, through its private label conduit, J.P. Morgan Mortgage Trust, so far this year has sponsored 13 private-label securitization offerings backed by jumbo loans valued at $13.8 billion. Those offerings, current through the end of October, involved more than 14,000 jumbo mortgages, according to bond-rating agency presale reports. The data show that J.P. Morgan […]
HW Media CEO Clayton Collins will sit down with Blend President Timothy Mayopoulos to discuss the digital mortgage landscape and the innovations that will define the next year of originations. Blend is a Silicon Valley technology company backed by Greylock Partners, Emergence Capital, Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and other leading venture […]
The post The digital revolution in mortgage lending is coming. Will you be ready? The industry is plagued with inefficiencies and outmoded regulations, only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a better way, one that unites the industry and creates a safer, more streamlined experience for both the customer and the lender. In the […]
Rocket Companies, the parent of Rocket Mortgage, generated a whopping $1.4 billion in net income in the third quarter, up from $1 billion the previous quarter. According to the company’s earnings released on Thursday, Rocket originated $88 billion in mortgages, with a net-rate lock close to $87 billion in the third quarter. Rocket’s gain on […]
Purchases of single-family rental properties by investors are on the rise in Sunbelt cities like Phoenix; Austin, Texas; Las Vegas; Tampa; and Charlotte, among others, according to research by John Burns Real Estate Consulting. The increased buying activity is raising concerns that large institutional investors are disproportionately represented in these markets and “are driving up […]
Willie Newman, president and CEO of Home Point Capital Home Point Capital, parent entity of Michigan-based wholesale lender Homepoint, bounced back from a brutal second quarter, posting a net income gain of $71 million in Q3. This is a notable improvement from the $73.2 million net loss posted by the company in the second quarter. […]
The average 30-year-fixed rate mortgage dropped to 3.09% during the week ending Nov. 4, down from 3.14% the week prior, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.78%. Most economists believe mortgage rates will climb following as the Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy. The central bank’s Federal Open […]
United Wholesale Mortgage rolled out prime jumbo adjustable-rate mortgage (ARMs) products on Wednesday, signaling that demand for ARMs is growing inside of the broker community. According to the top-ranked wholesale lender, their prime jumbo ARMs will allow brokers to offer “competitive pricing” on five-, seven- and 10-year adjustable-rate mortgages. “Independent mortgage brokers now have a […]
Freddie Mac wants to encourage multifamily landlords to report positive rental payments to the credit bureaus to give renters a better shot at qualifying for a mortgage. The government-sponsored enterprise will provide closing cost credits on multifamily loans for rental landlords who agree to report on-time rental payments through Esusu Financial. Esusu, a credit-building fintech, […]
Global lender Citigroup is capitalizing on a vibrant U.S. market for mortgages that have been dinged up by the pandemic. The bank, through its residential mortgage-backed securities conduit, Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust, has securitized some 45,000 reperforming loans valued in aggregate at $6.8 billion through five private-label offerings year to date as of the end […]