Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) filed a counterclaim against Jesse Iwuji Motorsports (JIM) last week for allegedly breaching a sponsorship contract. The Atlanta-based mortgage lender is accusing the stock car racing team of breaking the agreement by changing the driver of the car starting in May 2022. The counterclaim is a response to a lawsuit filed by […]
The housing market experienced more volatility last week, with housing inventory dropping as mortgage rates moved higher. Here is a quick rundown from last week: Purchase application data had a 3% week-to-week increase. The start of 2023 has been good, considering mortgage rates have stayed above 6% most of the time. Weekly housing inventory continues […]
Jay Farner will retire as CEO of Rocket Companies in June, ending his 27-year stint at the firm. He stepped down as member of the board of directors last week, Rocket disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On February 8, Farner, 49, notified the board of directors of Rocket of his […]
The drop in mortgage rates and seasonal tailwinds boosted mortgage rate lock activity by 32% in January, ending a nine-month streak of declines, according to Black Knight’s originations market monitor report. “Mortgage rates declined in January, continuing a trend that began in early November 2022,” Kevin McMahon, president of Optimal Blue, a division of Black […]
Beret Kechian, branch manager at loanDepot Beret Kechian: I’d say like, you know, probably 90 to 95% would be New Jersey, with New York and Pennsylvania making up the difference. Within New Jersey, [and] specifically Hudson County – which is a place that’s right across from New York City – [it] is very much like […]
Nashville, Tennessee-based mortgage lender Guaranty Home Mortgage Corporation (GHMC) has rolled out its new borrower online application portal, GAssist. The portal is designed to offer GHMC partners a “unique borrower online application experience” at no additional costs. The GAssist portal will provide its partners, which include community banks, credit unions, and brokers, with tools that […]
The servicing portfolio propelled Mr. Cooper Group‘s overall earnings in the fourth quarter of 2022 when cost-cutting initiatives weren’t enough to bring the origination business to profitability. And investors can expect the company to keep growing its servicing business in the months to come. Mr. Cooper reported on Friday it delivered $1 million in net […]
Nonbank mortgage lender and servicer Mr. Cooper has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the investment management firm Roosevelt Management Company, LLC., the company confirmed on Friday. The deal also includes the operations for affiliated company Rushmore Loan Management Services, LLC. “This acquisition will provide us with an asset management platform to raise third-party capital […]
Black Knight has decided to sell its loan origination software business Empower in a bid to save the $13 billion deal with Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE), Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been scrutinizing the ICE-Black Knight deal for months amid mounting concerns from U.S. lawmakers and […]
A regulator in Illinois has suspended the MLO license of industry veteran Michael Strauss and the license for his mortgage company, Smart Rate Mortgage, essentially blocking the company from operating in the state, according to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS). The Division of Banking at the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in Illinois […]
The 2023 market is unlike those we’ve seen in previous years. We’re coming off of back-to-back years where mortgage rates were in the 2s and 3s, and they’re now in the 6s. In a market like this, every lead, loan and basis point matters more than ever for LOs. Dave Savage, chief innovation officer for […]
Housing affordability hit a record low in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index released Thursday. At the end of the fourth quarter, the index stood at its lowest level since the NAHB began tracking the data on a consistent basis in 2012. Despite this, […]
Optimism spread across the mortgage industry at the start of 2023. Signs that the disinflationary process was working raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may stop the federal funds rate hikes sooner rather than later. Mortgage rates also dropped about 30 basis points in January, hitting the lowest level since September 2022. But February brought a […]
LauraMac, a provider of mortgage loan review SaaS technology, announced on Thursday that it has integrated with LoanLogics IDEA, an intelligent document processing and data extraction technology. The outcome of the integration between IDEA and the LauraMac platform “will improve the quality and transparency of mortgage loan commerce,” LoanLogics CEO Dave Parker said in a […]
Amid the expectation of a wave of mergers and acquisitions in 2023, nonbank mortgage lenders American Portfolio Mortgage Corporation and Town Square Mortgage announced on Wednesday that the companies are merging their operations. The lenders, both privately held, will retain their names and brands after the transaction, but APMC will be the new legal entity as the companies come together. The […]
Homelendia Mortgage LLC, a Florida-based mortgage brokerage franchisor, launched its mortgage brokerage franchises this week, offering individual unit and regional opportunities to qualified individuals, teams, brokerages and loan originators. According to a statement from the company, “Homelendia Mortgage will offer a unique and streamlined approach to mortgage brokerage ownership and the mortgage process, utilizing cutting-edge technology to provide a seamless […]
Mortgage rates are on a declining trend, but don’t be fooled – the industry’s efforts to rightsize from a pandemic boom will continue through 2023. Up to 30% of the 1,000 largest independent mortgage banks will disappear by the end of this year, either through sales, mergers, or failures amid still-high inflation and rising interest […]
During the week that mortgage rates very briefly touched down into the 5% range, mortgage applications increased 7.4%, according to the latest reading from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Still, mortgage demand is down 58% from a year prior. Mortgage rates fell to 5.99% on Thursday, Feb. 2 following comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell about disinflation. A […]
With a turbulent housing market and a volatile rate environment playing out over much of the past year, concern about housing affordability has hit a fever pitch. Three housing policy experts recently joined HW Media COO Diego Sanchez to discuss the potential shifts in housing affordability over the next year. The panel took place during […]
Home Partners of America, a Chicago-based Blackstone portfolio company, has appointed Jennifer Deason as its chief executive officer, the company announced on Wednesday. Deason will step into the new role later this month. “Home Partners’ mission is particularly close to my own personal story, as I was raised by a single mom who did not […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is putting mortgage comparison sites on notice, laying out scenarios regarding how certain platforms could be violating the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) section 8. If the mortgage comparison site “provides enhanced placement or otherwise steers consumers” to certain operators based on compensation, an operator is in violation […]
Amid a battle with the board of directors, loanDepot‘s founder Anthony Hsieh is stepping down as executive chairman. However, he will remain chairman for the company’s board, the company announced on Wednesday. The announcement came the day after Hsieh said he had decided to use his majority voting power to unilaterally nominate Williston Financial Group executive Steven Ozonian to […]
loanDepot founder and chairman Anthony Hsieh has decided to use his majority voting power to unilaterally nominate Steven Ozonian for election to the board of directors, exposing a dispute with other board members, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The decision on the new board member will be made in the company’s 2023 […]
Acquisitive lender Guild Mortgage on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Legacy Mortgage, increasing its footprint in the Southwest. Publicly traded Guild is picking up Legacy’s 13 branches across four Southwest states – Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “This acquisition is part of the company’s continued plan to grow […]
Digital closing platform Snapdocs announced on Tuesday that it has completed its integration with Mortgage Cadence, a cloud-based digital lending platform. This integration will enable lenders to finalize closing documents using Snapdocs within Mortgage Cadence’s loan origination system (LOS). Lenders can also use the system to order closing documents and other data. In addition, lenders […]
California-based Carrington Mortgage Services (CMS) sees a window of opportunity in the mortgage market. The Federal Reserve (Fed) actions that resulted in millions of borrowers receiving mortgage rates below 4% gave way to Fed actions that… triggered mortgage rates to rise above 7% in the fall of 2022. The duality of the Fed has resulted […]
HousingWire’s Rising Stars are back! Nominations for the popular award open today and will run until Friday, February 24, 2023. This year — in an effort to combine mortgage and real estate into one award — we’re excited to announce the HW Rising Stars is also the new home to the successful RealTrends Emerging Leaders […]
The NBA Board of Governors announced on Monday that it had approved the group, led by mortgage industry executive Mat Ishbia, to acquire the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury. The transaction, which values the Suns and Mercury at $4 billion, first became public in December. The NBA said in a news release that the deal […]
The year ahead for the mortgage-servicing rights market is shaping up to be a lucrative play for investors, lenders and others looking to purchase MSR assets. Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) leaning on MSR sales, however, now face a supply-demand imbalance, market observers say. That imbalance favors buyers and is expected to be a drag on […]
Rocket Pro TPO, the wholesale arm of Rocket Mortgage, wants to court brokers from its competitor United Wholesale Mortgage even if it means covering legal costs to bring them over. “Starting today, we stand behind brokers who want to use Rocket or Fairway [Independent Mortgage Corporation], but fear Mat Ishbia’s lawyers,” Mike Fawaz, EVP of […]
Home lender PrimeLending has promoted Kim Dybvad to lead its Mid-America division, months after the workforce quit en masse and joined a competitor. Dybvad, who joined the company in 2013 and is now a vice president, will be responsible for loan origination production in the Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Kentucky markets. “Kim exhibits […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) urged the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to remove the addition of a debt-to-income loan level pricing adjustment (LLPA) in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac‘s pricing framework. In January, the FHFA made a series of changes to LLPA fees with a revamped LLPA matrix that differentiates pricing by loan purpose, […]
Despite mortgage rates briefly falling below the 6% threshold, both housing inventory and mortgage demand fell last week. Let’s dive into the trend lines of the housing market. First, here is a quick housing market rundown from last week: Purchase application data was negative 10% week to week — but still positive for the year […]
America’s $13.3 trillion mortgage servicing sector shouldn’t be “disrupted” by financial technology, it should be reimagined with fintech. Most new-to-mortgage fintech folks who overuse the word “disruptor” will start by asking, “What are your requirements?” but that’s the wrong question. The right questions — asked by the right servicing fintech experts — clarify how to […]
Home prices growth and mortgage rates have come down from the peaks in 2022, but affordability still remains a challenge. In turn, borrowers who are entering the market are leaning heavily toward buying down their first lien interest rates by paying points up front. In the third week of January, 57% of all borrowers who […]
A federal judge in Illinois ruled in favor of Townstone Financial Inc. and its owner, Barry Sturner, on a motion to dismiss with prejudice a redlining lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In July 2020, the CFPB filed a lawsuit accusing the nonbank retail lender of discouraging prospective African American borrowers in […]
The past few years in the housing industry have been nothing short of unprecedented. In 2020 and 2021, many homeowners refinanced, locking in historically low 30-year fixed rate mortgages. And now, with the impact of inflation and looming economic uncertainty, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) are an increasingly popular choice for those who are […]
Mortgage lender and digital financial services company Guaranteed Rate hopes to court builders and borrowers with its newly launched programs — Lock ‘N’ Sell rate lock program and forward commitments – by helping the borrowers secure lower mortgage rates. The rate lock program allows builders to lock in a current rate for up to 120 […]
This article is part of our 2022 – 2023 Housing Market Update series. After the series wraps, join us on February 6 for the HW+ Virtual 2023 Housing Market Update. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the data for this year, along with a roundtable […]
San Antonio, Texas-headquartered USAA eliminated 130 positions in the real estate lending group amid projections that the mortgage industry will shrink in 2023. The layoffs at USAA Federal Savings Bank represent about 1.6% of the total bank workforce, Bradley Russell, USAA’s corporate spokesperson, confirmed. “In order to continue exceptional service to our members, we sometimes […]
The California-based Pennymac Financial Services executives rightsized the company and invested in its servicing portfolio amid a shrinking market in 2022. Despite their efforts, profits still dropped to $475.5 million last year, down from $1 billion in 2021, the company reported on Thursday. In Q4 2022, the net income came in at $37.6 million, declining […]
Maryland-based mortgage lender Apex Home Loans has appointed Leo Anzoleaga as its senior vice president of residential lending. In his new role, Anzoleaga will be tasked with generating more residential mortgage business, fostering business partnerships and improving customer experience. “What I’m most excited about in joining Apex is the opportunity to work with not only […]
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Mortgage Technology reported operating income of $57 million in 2022, down from last year’s $397 million — a reflection of the headwinds the mortgage industry is facing. The silver lining for the business was the strong sales in its Encompass loan origination software system in the fourth quarter, executives said in its […]
Finance of America (FOA) indirect subsidiary Incenter is selling its title insurance businesses, according to an announcement made on Thursday. Incenter has entered into an agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Essent Group Ltd. to sell the issued and outstanding shares of Agents National Title Holding Company (ANTIC) and the issues and outstanding membership […]
Dallas-based mortgage servicing software provider OrangeGrid announced on Thursday that Flagstar Bank has implemented its mortgage servicing software to “manage its loss mitigation processes and enhance internal efficiencies.” “OrangeGrid is good news for Flagstar’s borrowers because it means a faster review for them and a more timely return to a performing status for their loan,” […]