Mortgages

Refinances drove growth of last year's lending activity, with both the volume share and average loan size coming in noticeably higher, according to IEmergent.

Home affordability declined on a monthly basis across loan types and racial demographics, but improved from a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Growth in retained and investment portfolios drove gains as the government-sponsored enterprise reported the highest refinancing share seen in four years.

Higher utilization and aggregate excess payments point to pressure, according to TransUnion. Debt-to-income averages remain below traditional mortgage caps.

Rocket, United Wholesale Mortgage and Pennymac said they will use the new government-sponsored enterprise credit metric as large lenders get on board.

Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor encouraged the real estate industry to reconsider advice received from DEI experts.

A proposed update to Basel III capital rules from federal banking regulators does not specifically include mortgage insurance as a factor in determining the risk weight for a mortgage loan held on a bank's balance sheet. Industry experts say it should.

The Mortgage Bankers Association is recommending the option for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers with strong credit with a tri-merge for others. Here's why.

Portable mortgages are an interesting idea in theory, and might work well, if underwritten properly. But making existing mortgages portable on a retroactive basis would be both unworkable and unfair.

The Chicago-based homeowners received a $41,000 check to pay down a portion of their existing mortgage, freeing them from the lock-in effect, DREAM product provider Takara said.

Some litigants are "knuckleheads" but others are real threats, and well-pleaded cases can easily cost companies millions of dollars, TCPA attorney Eric Troutman said.

Questions about the single-report option and whether VantageScore should be introduced before FICO 10T arose during a hearing on broader legislative proposals.

While last year was the best for origination income since 2022, annual net servicing revenue for mortgage bankers was approximately 70% below 2024's level.

This week's Freddie Mac mortgage rate survey shows rates at the lowest in four weeks, but homebuyers are giving mixed signals even with improved purchase power.

Banks are currently underwriting mortgages based on one-year property insurance contracts. The Federal Housing Finance Authority should use its influence to build longer-term climate risk assessments into loans.

Quarterly filings are far from historic highs but rising more consistently, with concentrations in Florida, California and Texas, Attom's latest numbers show.

Large loan balances are increasingly common in non-QM and HELOC securitizations, bringing faster prepayments and higher delinquency risks, Bank of America Securities research shows.

Half of Gen Z homeowners and 44% of millennial homeowners were at risk of missing at least one mortgage payment over the last two years, ServiceLink found.

Both Chase and Wells Fargo had a 15% reduction quarter-to-quarter in mortgage originations, more than the industry forecast for a 6% drop-off, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods noted.

Company team members, including those in affiliated business arrangements, will be eligible; real estate and joint venture agent partners will not be.