Saturday, March 1, 2025

Residential Mortgage

Is the ‘Lock-In Effect’ the Only Reason Home Sales Have Stalled?

One of the primary reasons home sales have stalled in 2023 is rising mortgage interest rates.  With the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage...

Rocket Mortgage Continues to Enhance its Pathfinder Tool

Rocket Mortgage is adding new features and capabilities to its Pathfinder tool, an AI and machine learning-powered search engine used by mortgage bankers, brokers...

Biden Administration Seeks to Boost Commercial-to-Residential Building Conversions

In an effort to boost housing supply, the Biden-Harris administration is encouraging communities and developers to explore more commercial-to-residential conversions. To that end, the White...

MBA: Homebuyer Affordability Improved Slightly in September

Homebuyer affordability improved slightly in September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI), which measures how new monthly mortgage...

Agile Adds HilltopSecurities to its Broker-Dealer Network

HilltopSecurities, a full-service investment bank and wealth advisory firm, has joined Agile’s broker-dealer network. Agile clients already approved with HilltopSecurities will automatically see the firm...

Freddie Mac: Mortgage Rates Increase For a Seventh Consecutive Week

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage inched closer to 8% this week, rising to 7.79%, up from 7.63% last week, according to...

NAR: Pending Home Sales Increased Slightly in September 

Pending home sales eked-out an increase of 1.1% in September, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), but total sales volume is so...

New Home Sales Jumped 12.3 Percent in September, Despite Rising Mortgage Rates

After slumping the previous month, new home sales in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 759,000, up 12.3% compared with August...

Mortgage Applications Fall to Slowest Pace Since 1995 as 30-Year Approaches 8 Percent

Mortgage application volume dipped 1.0% during the week ended October 20, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 7.90%, up...

Zillow: More Than a Third of Prospective Buyers Open to Purchasing a Haunted House 

How bad is the housing supply shortage? A recent survey from Zillow survey finds that 35% of prospective buyers would buy a haunted house if...

Community Reinvestment Act Gets Modernized – But Will Lenders Be Challenged to Comply?

Revisions to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) were signed into effect Tuesday by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal...

Essent Further Integrates With Mortgage Cadence

Mortgage insurance provider Essent is now integrated with Mortgage Cadence’s Loan Fulfillment Center (LFC). “We are pleased to expand our integration with Mortgage Cadence to...

Non-QM Wholesale Lender Solve Mortgage Looks Forward to Growth, Using OptifiNow

Solve Mortgage, a non-QM wholesale lender based in Calabasas, Calif., is using OptifiNow TPO, a CRM platform built exclusively for wholesale mortgage lenders. The solution...

DOJ Penalizes Mortgage Lender Ameris Bank $9 Million for Alleged Redlining 

Ameris Bank will pay $9 million in penalties following a Department of Justice ruling that the mortgage lender engaged in redlining in predominately Black...

National MI Expands its Integration with Mortgage Cadence

National Mortgage Insurance Corp. is now integrated with the Loan Fulfillment Center (LFC) loan origination system (LOS) platform by Mortgage Cadence, a subsidiary of...

Mortgage Lender Click n’ Close Hires Kara Lamphere as COO

Kara Lamphere has joined mortgage lender Click n’ Close as chief operating officer (COO). Lamphere has more than 20 years of mortgage industry experience. Prior...

Homeowner Tenure on the Rise as Many Are Rate-Locked Into Their Homes 

Due to rising mortgage rates, which are keeping many homeowners “rate-locked” in their current homes, homeownership tenure is now close to a high point...

Mortgage Rates Continue to Rise as Housing Rigor Mortis Sets In

Mortgage rates continued their upward march this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reaching 7.63%, up from 7.57% last week,...

Profit Margins on Home Sales Increased in the Third Quarter 

Profit margins on median-priced single-family home and condo sales increased to 59% in the third quarter – the second quarter-over-quarter increase following several declines,...

All-Cash Sales Now Represent More Than a Third of Home Sales

Nationwide, all-cash purchases accounted for 36.6% of single-family home and condo sales in the third quarter, up slightly from 36.4% in the second quarter,...