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More homebuyers seek government-backed loans as an affordability lifeline

Housing Wire

The combined cost of mortgages, taxes and insurance now takes up a larger share of household income than it has since the early 1980s, according to an affordability index from John Burns Research & Consulting. It also ties into architects and builders creating smaller, denser homes to help close the affordable housing supply gap.

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Mortgage quality control report reveals sharp rise in insurance defects

Housing Wire

The overall defect rate for mortgages declined across all loan types between the second and third quarters of 2024. ACES releases a quarterly report that uses post-closing quality control data that’s derived from the company’s benchmarking system.

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Deephaven Mortgage goes all in with expansion of home equity offerings

Housing Wire

According to Davis, rising home prices have led homeowners to tap into their equity for purposes such as debt consolidation , home renovation and student loan repayment. The Deephaven HELOC has a maximum loan size of $400,000 and a max loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 85%. The minimum FICO score to qualify is 680.

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The long anticipated transformation of the L.O.’s role is here

Housing Wire

If you believe you can originate mortgages today in the same way they were done in 2018, youve probably been on a very remote island since then. Thats probably not entirely true, but few mortgage professionals can remember a period of such extended turbulence, and that includes the early years of the Great Recession.

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How will first-time buyers fare if sellers can’t offer buyer agent compensation?

Housing Wire

But for first-time and other cash-strapped buyers—those who are not relying on the proceeds of a home sale, who may be using a 100% financed VA loan, whose agents may be layering forms of assistance to put together enough cash for closing—knowing in advance about the seller’s contribution to their agent costs may be essential.

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A simple guideline change could boost home sales and help homebuyers

Housing Wire

There is a lot of chatter about lower mortgage rates and increased home building, which will improve affordability in the future; however, we need a solution now. If the buyer was a veteran with a VA loan, I could have the buyer ask the seller to pay all their closing costs and up to 4% towards the homebuyer’s debt.

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Today’s Mortgage Rates March 4, 2025: Rates Have Dropped Sharply

Marco Santarelli

Today's mortgage rates on March 4, 2025, show a slight decrease, particularly in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, which sits at an average of 6.26%. However, mortgage rates have dropped nearly 30 basis points from their February average and plunged last week amid market fears of an economic slowdown. mortgage rates.