The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Friday announced that it has published a new final rule that eliminates a current requirement for lenders to register the branch offices where they conduct FHA Title I or Title II mortgage loan originations. By removing these requirements, FHA hopes to involve more community-based entities in its Title I […]
With ongoing liquidity challenges and a continuing lag in Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) case numbers, reverse mortgage business in 2024 started off with a bit of a whimper. Both HECM endorsements and HECM-backed securities (HMBS) issuance saw modest declines in January, although four of the top 10 HECM lenders managed to post slight gains […]
Today we got a jobs Friday hat trick! Better headline jobs were reported, with positive revisions and more robust wage growth, which caught bond traders off guard and sent bond yields and mortgage rates higher today. Now, we do have some quirky seasonality issues with this report, but as I have often stressed, don’t look at […]
Most of last year’s top-producing loan officers at Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. (DKMC) are not transitioning to the company’s acquirer, New American Funding (NAF), according to multiple sources and available public data. During their departure, DKMC sales staff who are not joining NAF were informed by leadership that they will have to wait a […]
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp., the nation’s ninth-largest mortgage originator, announced Friday that it would be closing its wholesale channel and pivoting entirely to retail. “The people who have run Fairway’s Wholesale Department are some of the most talented, humble people in the business and will be a huge value add at their next mortgage home,” […]
The U.S. economy added significantly more jobs than expected during the first month of the year. Jobs increased by 353,000 in January, up from a revised rate of 333,000 in December, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. January’s reading far exceeded the monthly average of 255,000 new jobs per […]
Real estate brokerage eXp Realty has entered into an affiliated business agreement with Orlando, Florida-based title firm Citrus Closing Group, according to an announcement on Thursday. “We are thrilled about the prospects of our exciting new partnership with eXp Realty, anticipating a wealth of opportunities and collaborative success ahead,” Jeremy Webb, the president of Citrus […]
Redfin is back to offering refunds to homebuyers but this time under a new name. Launched on Thursday, the brokerage’s Sign & Save program provides buyers who sign up to work with a Redfin agent before their second home tour — and who purchase a property with that agent within 180 days of signing the […]
In a high-rate environment, Pennymac Financial Services delivered profits in 2023, mainly due to the performance of its servicing portfolio. That’s despite a net loss in the last quarter of the year attributable to the resolution of a long-standing arbitration process with Black Knight regarding its servicing technology and losses in mortgage servicing rights (MSR) fair value. “2023 was […]
Sure, your real estate landing pages look great — but do they convert? A good real estate website includes more than just drool-worthy images of homes priced to sell. Your real estate website should serve multiple functions, almost like a digital business card with an MLS listing storefront, a booking platform, a home valuation page, […]
The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a bipartisan tax bill that included an expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, a move lauded by housing advocates including the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and the National Housing Conference (NHC). But political observers say the odds that the bill will make it through […]
United Bank will consolidate its mortgage subsidiaries into one unified mortgage business amid the housing industry struggles with elevated interest rates. United Bank has been delivering mortgage services through three channels, including two mortgage subsidiaries — Crescent Mortgage Co. and George Mason Mortgage — and an in-bank channel. “In an effort to better serve our […]
The report on the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) book of business inside the Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund was another positive overall development for the program, with the estimated economic net worth of the HECM MMI at $15.368 billion, according to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Annual Report to Congress released in November. The […]
Mortgage rates continued their downward plunge this week as inflation keeps decelerating. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.63% as of Feb. 1, a decrease from last week’s figure of 6.69%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released on Thursday. Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed rate averaged 5.94% this week, down from 5.96% during the […]
The Tech100 Mortgage award celebrates the most innovative and impactful organizations in housing. More than just an acknowledgment; the Tech100 award is a testament to the transformative impact these companies have made, propelling the mortgage sector into new realms of efficiency, transparency and accessibility. Now in its 12th year, the Tech100 program provides housing professionals […]
