Housing Wire

MAY 20, 2025

John Toohig stood at a podium as the moderator of a panel about home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and asked an illustrative question of the audience of mortgage professionals. You take out the equity in the home you have and try to get it as close to the home you want. trillion in available equity among U.S.

Equity

Housing Wire

JUNE 23, 2025

Instead of refinancing, they’re tapping into their equity through home equity loans and HELOC s to finance renovations, cover tuition, or consolidate high-interest debt. It’s comprehensive, reliable, and for many loan types it is still indispensable. A home equity loan isn’t a life-altering mortgage refi.

Lending

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 16, 2024

Homeowners have generally done well over the last few years in accumulating home equity wealth. Since the onset of the pandemic, average equity per borrower increased by about $117,000 nationally, totaling almost $312,000 per mortgaged borrower. Aggregated across borrowers with a mortgage, home equity adds up to almost $17.5

Equity

Housing Wire

APRIL 9, 2025

We’ve seen a lot of baby boomers staying in their houses because they’ve gained a lot of equity and don’t want to have to pay capital gains taxes, she said. Despite sustained reverse mortgage industry efforts , H4P loans have not managed to break through to a meaningful degree with reverse mortgage customers.

Equity

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2024

The interest rate on the loan has been lowered from 9.99% to 9.49%. Interest rates on second-lien loans tend to be higher when compared to first liens, reflecting the higher amount of risk to the lender. It will also be available in four new states, bringing the total to 10 with more planned for 2025.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

MARCH 5, 2025

According to the MBA, rates for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans dipped to 6.42%, while refinance activity posted its fastest pace since October 2024. The move in government refinances was driven by a 75% increase in VA loans, which have been prone to large changes in recent months. More renovations?

Loan Officer

Housing Wire

APRIL 28, 2025

billion deal to acquire digital real estate brokerage firm Redfin , industry observers are still trying to understand the future of one key asset: Bay Equity Home Loans. While the companies remain quiet on their plans, some Bay Equity employees arent waiting for answerstheyre already looking for new jobs. billion in 2022, $4.2

Loan Officer

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 20, 2024

House of Representatives proposes to relieve Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers of mortgage insurance premiums (MIPs) once they reach a certain level of home equity , aligning FHA policies with those of conventional loans. Mortgage insurance exists as protection from foreclosure on low equity loans.

FHA loan

Housing Wire

APRIL 18, 2025

First American Data & Analytics has launched a new product designed to help lenders identify title issues earlier in the mortgage and home equity loan process, with the goal of cutting delays and reducing closing times.

Title

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 24, 2024

But only about 17,000 delinquent loans completed the foreclosure process in the second quarter of 2024, almost one-third of the nearly 45,000 that completed the foreclosure process in Q1 2020. Often, the best available option for staying in the home is through a loan modification or some other type of repayment plan with the bank.

Bankruptcy

Housing Wire

JUNE 9, 2025

For Ginnie Mae loans, which often serve lower-income and first-time borrowers, DTIs have surged to 45.1%, the highest since 2008 1. in 2022 – while auto loans delinquencies hit 2.0%, and student loan delinquencies (90+ days past due) soared to 20%, a level unseen since 2012. Post-crisis reforms lowered the average to 35.5%

Marketing

Housing Wire

MAY 13, 2025

Credit data in general doesnt look great when accounting for credit card debt, auto loans, and student loan debt all have had an increase in their percentage on 90-day lates. In contrast, the current state of housing credit appears to be much healthier when compared to credit cards, auto loans and student loan debt.

Bankruptcy

Housing Wire

JANUARY 27, 2025

Integrated with ICEs industry-leading MSP loan servicing system , Servicing Digital provides homeowners with real-time access to detailed and personalized loan and property-related data anytime, anywhere. In fact, ICEs Mortgage Monitor data found that as of November 2024, the average U.S.

Equity

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 10, 2024

Mortgage lenders can also benefit from these projects through a variety of products, including home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). The vast amount of home equity accumulated across the country could be a path to addressing these issues. And there are now 32 million borrowers who have at least $100,000 in tappable equity.

Renovation

Housing Wire

JUNE 26, 2025

It follows nearly three years of borrowers being sidelined by higher rates or “stuck” in loans with historically low rates. “I have clients that bought three years ago, five years ago, and they might be sitting on, you know, $40,000, $60,000, or $75,000 in that short span of a potential equity gain. ” .

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

These borrowers found themselves a great deal on their loan and locked themselves into really terrific cheap payments. The average age of outstanding loans climbed steadily during the cheap-money decade, dropped during the pandemic frenzy and is now skyrocketing as homeowners hunker down. It also means muted equity increases.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 23, 2024

On Wednesday, UWM unveiled a new cash-out refinance product —dubbed Cash-Out 90—that allows borrowers to refinance with a loan-to-value ratio of up to 89.99% without requiring mortgage insurance (MI). Loan amounts, however, cannot exceed conforming limits. UWM is simply taking a lower margin, effectively,” he added.

Equity

Housing Wire

JULY 1, 2025

billion in equity. Rocket Preferred Pricing is available to qualified clients buying a home with conventional, FHA or VA loans. The transaction faced no opposition from antitrust regulators and received approval from Redfin shareholders on June 4. “I’ve used Redfin every day for the last 20 years.

VA loan

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 4, 2024

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced last week that the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage ( HECM ) limit for 2025 will be $1,209,750. It’s the ninth straight year that the limit will increase based on home-price appreciation levels, which feeds into a single, national limit for all HECM loans.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JANUARY 22, 2025

Escrow accounts are required for conventional borrowers with 20% or less equity in their homes. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan borrowers must maintain escrow accounts for the entire loan cycle, regardless of equity. After that, 70% had higher homeowners’ insurance and 57% had higher premiums.

FHA loan

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 25, 2024

A new report from Zillow Home Loans outlines some key trends and factors for renters to consider when evaluating a home purchase. And according to Zillow Home Loans Senior Economist Orphe Divounguy, homeownership may be more within reach than most renters think. In some of the U.S.’s

Pre-approval

Housing Wire

JANUARY 2, 2025

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements saw a healthy increase in October 2024. to 2,392 loans for the month, according to data compiled by Reverse Market Insight (RMI). They are issued by HUD once a HECM loan application has been submitted to the agency. had a 31% jump in loans in October.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

APRIL 10, 2025

In this executive conversation, van der Reis explores his experience in CRE finance, technology, loan servicing , and risk management. HW: Arbor has an in-house loan servicing platform, which every lender doesn’t offer. Sellers and servicers can be in continuous contact with their borrowers throughout the loan’s lifecycle.

Investor

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

The company also reported a funded loan volume of $1.035 billion for Q3 2024, up 42% year over year and up 8% quarter over quarter, with 71% of this volume attributed to purchase loans. million in cash, restricted cash, short-term investments and self-funded loans. The company posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of $38.7

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JULY 23, 2025

Borrowers had an average FICO score of 737 and an average loan-to-value ratio of 51% in Q2 2025. Chief financial officer Kurt Johnson noted the company is closely monitoring the Ginnie Mae segment, particularly Federal Housing Administration ( FHA ) loans, which comprise 15% of the portfolio. in June — down from 8.7%

FHA loan

Housing Wire

MARCH 10, 2025

billion in equity. We want a customer to be able to check her phone to find out what she can afford, see which homes are just right for her, schedule a tour with a local, expert Redfin agent, and get pre-qualified for a loan, all in a matter of minutes.

Purchase and sale agreement

Housing Wire

JANUARY 17, 2025

Seattle-based WaFd Bank , which has offered home loans for more than 100 years, announced Thursday in an earnings report that it will exit the single-family mortgage lending business. ” “We will be reaching out to clients who have active loan applications with additional details and deadlines. million profit in Q4 2023.

Lending

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Despite the Federal Reserve’s half-point interest rate cut in September, rates for 30-year conforming loans have climbed back up to 6.7%, according to HousingWire ’s Mortgage Rates Center.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

The Oregon state senates Committee on Housing Development held a hearing last week on a piece of proposed legislation that seeks to limit the amount of equity a reverse mortgage lender can receive after the sale or transfer of a property. Senate Bill (SB) 534 is positioned primarily as a consumer protection measure.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

In the summer of 2022, just after his wife’s 62nd birthday, qualifying age arrived and the loan closed roughly 24 hours later. A big reason for that is loan officers don’t always ask the right questions to understand the borrower’s real needs.” One of the biggest complaints we often hear about the product is that it’s confusing.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

It also wants to widely deploy refreshed marketing strategies that are designed to both educate and appeal to older homeowners about the use of home equity in retirement. The potential for building on HomeSafe Second’s numbers also comes from broader trends in the home equity lending space, she said.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

MARCH 25, 2025

Global investment bank Cambridge Wilkinson today announced the closing of a forward flow agreement up to $100 million for a private real estate lending platform specializing in short-term bridge , fix-and-flip, construction and land development loans.

Lending

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

billion in consumer loans from Goldman Sachs while also closing a deal to purchase Sculptor Capital Management and its $33 billion in assets under management. In total, its funded loan volume jumped from $8.9 Its refinance recapture rate in 2024 when including closed-end second-lien loans was 52%, up from 41% two years earlier.

Loans

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

The suits accused EasyKnock of using a deceptive and unfair lending scheme to lure homeowners with poor credit, but with significant home equity, into unlawful, usurious loans known as Sell & Stay transactions.

Lending

Housing Wire

MARCH 11, 2025

Interest rate improvement, while marginal, is attracting refinance activity as homeowners who bought at higher rates work the numbers and find they can reduce their monthly payments or tap into home equity, Brennan OConnell , director of data solutions at Optimal Blue, said in a statement. The average purchase credit score was flat at 737.

Loans

Housing Wire

JANUARY 30, 2025

We’re looking at product expansions and introducing products that we have or through our sister company Anchor Home Loans , which specializes in residential transition loans (RTLs). If you’re a loan officer, you should have a construction product that focuses on builders, developers and Realtors.

New Construction

Housing Wire

MAY 21, 2025

The rising cost of homeowners insurance coupled with the rising regularity of weather-related natural disasters is serving to erode the longstanding barrier between mortgage lenders and loan losses, according to a new report published by First Street.

Principal