Originations

Economists at the government-sponsored enterprise have been lowering their single-family origination volume estimates for several months.

Industry economists and analysts were predicting single digit quarter-to-quarter gains, but a trio of large banks had an over 30% rise in mortgage volume.

A $160 million deal to merge Hometown Financial Group subsidiaries and Primary Bank will lead to consolidation under a single brand name of TruNorth.

This data release means another milestone for the use of updated credit score models than the current FICO Classic has been met by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The fee hike, which also raises the cost of assumptions, is part of the House pay-as-you-go rules to support a proposed expansion of veterans benefits.

Rithm and UWM Holdings are the favorite names among publicly traded lenders, while BTIG adds coverage of Better Home & Finance at a buy rating.

Originators slightly loosened credit for conventional and jumbo products in May but they've held steady after larger growth to begin the year.

The share of warehouse lenders offering funding lines and sublimits for seconds has risen to new heights according to a Mortgage Bankers Association survey.

Approximately 54% of homeowners looked to a second lien product to access their home's stored value in the first quarter due to the "lock-in effect."

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage average not only remains where it was in September, it is still nearly a half-percentage point above February's trough.

The test of automated risk assessments for government-sponsored enterprise-eligible mortgages are designed to help determine when waivers might be possible.

The streamlining is designed to further expedite a process which allows mortgage companies to get a case number for loans on single units even if the building they're in doesn't have one.

Homebuyers applying for Federal Housing Administration loans in community property states are facing hurdles that current market conditions have heightened.

With the 10-year Treasury yield at levels not seen in 52 weeks, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose 15 basis points over last Thursday, Freddie Mac said.

The Mortgage Bankers Association now predicts a Federal Reserve rate hike to arrive in 2027, as housing price growth also slows over the next two years.

Regulatory proposals are boosting interest for banks to grow in mortgage, but sustainability demands deliberate, rather than reactive, strategy, experts say.

The litigants, with some of the industry's deepest pockets, may be filing the rare cases to flag and potentially punish bad brokers, one expert said.

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.

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.