Housing Starts Jumped in August as Builders Reacted to Lower Rates and Rising Demand
Housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.356 million, an increase of 9.6% compared with July and an increase...
Home Builder Sentiment Buoyed by Dip in Rates
Home builder sentiment increased for the first time in four months in September, buoyed by a dip mortgage rates, as per the National Association...
MBA: Applications for New Home Purchases Increased 4.4 Percent Annually in August
Despite a slight decrease in rates that came during the month, applications for mortgages for new home purchases were flat in August compared with...
Optimal Blue Adding New AI-Driven Capabilities Across its Platform
Optimal Blue is adding new features to its platform including side-by-side loan scenario comparison functionality, simplified capabilities for configuration and margin management, and a...
Ashley Knight: Alternative Data Sources Will Open More Opportunities for Mortgage Lenders
PERSON OF THE WEEK: Alternative data sources stand to open up more opportunities for lenders to identify consumers who qualify for a mortgage but...
Title Clearing & Escrow Announces Two New Hires
Zach Hines has joined Title Clearing & Escrow, a provider of title insurance and escrow settlement services for the real estate industry, as senior...
U.S. Homeowners Continued to See Strong Equity Gains in Q2 But Not in Every...
U.S. homeowners with mortgages - which account for roughly 62% of all properties - saw home equity increase by 8% year over year in...
NotaryCam Hires Sam McPherson as Head of Customer Success
Sam McPherson has joined NotaryCam, a Stewart-owned company and provider of remote online notarization technology, as the new head of customer success.
McPherson brings over...
LenderLogix Taps Ben Head as Account Executive
Ben Head has joined LenderLogix, a provider of mortgage point-of-sale and automation software for banks, credit unions, independent mortgage banks, and brokers, as an...
Chris Mock: Leveraging Data-Driven Strategies to Navigate the New Lending Landscape
PERSON OF THE WEEK: Since the pandemic, the mortgage industry has transitioned from a refinancing boom to a market characterized by elevated interest rates....
Freddie Mac: Mortgage Rates Dip to Lowest Level Since February 2023
Mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level since February 2023 this week, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.2%,...
MMI Adds New Tool to Help LOs Identify Past Borrowers Who Are Ripe for...
Mobility Market Intelligence (MMI), which offers data intelligence and market insight tools for the mortgage and real estate industries, has introduced a new feature,...
Optimal Blue: Rate-and-Term Refinances Surged in August
Rate-and-term refinances jumped 109% in August compared with July as mortgage rates decreased, according to Optimal Blue’s Market Advantage mortgage data report.
Refi locks reached...
Mortgage Applications Continue to Gradually Increase as Rates Fall
Mortgage application volume increased 1.4% during the week ended September 6, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan...
Freddie Mac Taps Diana Reid as its Next CEO
Real estate and financial services industry veteran Diana Reid is the new CEO of Freddie Mac, effective immediately.
Reid also will serve as a member...
August Jobs Report Shows a Cooling Labor Market, Supporting a Fed Rate Cut
The U.S. economy added 142,000 jobs in August - weaker growth than in previous months - while the unemployment rate remained flat at 4.2%,...
Mortgage Credit Availability Increased in August as Lenders Broadened Their Refinance Offerings
Mortgage credit availability increased 0.9% in August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI).
The increase brought the index score...
New FHFA Tool Helps Mortgage Professionals Better Assess Disaster Risk
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released an online risk analysis tool that provides geographic estimates for physical risks from various types of...
MBA: Purchase Applications Increased Last Week as Refinances Dipped
Mortgage application volume inched up 1.6% during the week ended August 30, as the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dipped to 6.43%,...
Freddie Mac: Mortgage Rates Dropped This Week
Mortgage rates decreased this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropping to 6.35%, down from 6.46% last week, according to...