Housing Wire

APRIL 30, 2025

Kind Lending recently announced the appointment of Jennifer Folk as its chief operating officer. Folk most recently held the role of VP, fulfillment operations at Tri Pointe Connect , the affiliated mortgage company of Tri Pointe Homes. Folk also brings a legacy connection to Kind’s roots.

Lending

Housing Wire

JUNE 19, 2025

Technology is accelerating change across the financial services industry, and United Wholesale Mortgage is at the forefront of mortgage innovation. Can you describe these tools and how they will benefit mortgage brokers ? The first one we rolled out was LEO, which stands for Loan Estimate Optimizer. Jason Bressler: Yes!

Lending

Housing Wire

MAY 5, 2025

Intercontinental Exchange ‘s May 2025 Mortgage Monitor Report, released Monday, found that first-time homebuyers accounted for a record share of agency purchase lending (58%) in the first quarter 2025. ICE reported that purchase mortgages have made up a larger share of overall issuance in recent years. Washington, D.C.,

Lending

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 18, 2024

California-based Provident Funding Associates LLC is getting out of the Florida condo lending business , it told broker partners on Friday. Provident told broker partners that all loans in the pipeline must be locked by 11:59 p.m. Additionally, all loans currently locked must be funded by the lock expiration date. PST on Oct.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 4, 2025

Cornerstone Capital Bank , a national mortgage originator and servicer, is launching a community lending division to serve underserved communities, the company announced this week. ” The Community Lending Division will offer mortgage programs and products tailored to benefit underserved borrowers.

Lending

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

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. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, which made up 10%, according to purchase loan lock data from Optimal Blue.

Debt-to-income ratio

Housing Wire

JUNE 20, 2025

Welcome back to Tech Pulse — a new weekly series rounding up the latest in technology , including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Chief technology offficer Jason Bressler shares how these tools boost speed, accuracy and client engagement — ushering in a smarter, more automated lending era.

Lending

Housing Wire

JANUARY 2, 2025

Rising mortgage rates suppressed applications in the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) final mortgage applications survey index of 2024, released on Thursday. Mortgage demand declined 21.9% Rates for 30-year conforming loans averaged 7.10% on Thursday, up 21 basis points (bps) in the past two weeks.

FHA loan

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 17, 2024

Better Home & Finance, the parent company of digital lender Better.com , launched its voice-based artificial intelligence loan assistant on Thursday. ” The AI loan assistant, dubbed Betsy, was built through Tinman, the company’s proprietary loan origination platform, where information and facts on loan applications are stored.

Loans

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2024

Reverse mortgage industry leader Finance of America (FOA) announced updates on Thursday to the interest rate for HomeSafe Second, its proprietary second-lien reverse mortgage product. The interest rate on the loan has been lowered from 9.99% to 9.49%. The interest rate on the loan has been lowered from 9.99% to 9.49%.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Mortgage tech firm Ocrolus has introduced Inspect, a new solution within its artificial intelligence -driven mortgage document automation technology, which the company said will improve efficiency and scalability in loan origination. Currently, Ocrolus supports more than 95% of mortgage document types.

Inspection

Housing Wire

MAY 29, 2025

The answer lies in a remote corner of the mortgage industry: subservicing. This business which involves handling mortgage payments, borrower communication and escrow administration on behalf of lenders has undergone consolidation. including affiliated Rushmore Loan Management Services ) and Flagstar s servicing assets.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

Our economy faces many challenges persistent high mortgage interest rates , a declining rate of existing home sales, elevated costs for basic goods and services, labor market imbalances, and rising health care costs to name just a few. The availability of funding at the local level is the driving force in building stronger communities.

Lending

Housing Wire

APRIL 22, 2025

In todays mortgage market, traditional mortgage products are no longer the one-size-fits-all solution they once were. These borrowers are driving a demand for alternative mortgage products. For these borrowers, non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) loans offer a premium alternative to conventional options.

Lending

Housing Wire

MAY 19, 2025

Adjustable-rate mortgages ( ARMs ) have grown in popularity in recent months as borrowers search for affordability relief anywhere they can find it. More than 7% of all mortgage applications last week were for ARM products far above the normal baseline of 3% to 5%, Fratantoni said. It was a more affordable mortgage.”

Loans

Housing Wire

JUNE 23, 2025

With mortgage rates still hovering near multi-decade highs, homeowners are opting to hold onto their ultra-low first mortgages. 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. Alternatives are allowed.

Lending

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 28, 2024

Mortgage technology company Gateless is offering its flagship automated underwriting platform to a new lender. The Loan Store — a wholesale lender based in Arizona — will now use the Gateless Smart Underwrite platform, according to a recent announcement.

Loans

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

Describing the modern-day mortgage market as challenging would be an understatement, to say the least. Mortgage interest rates have steadily ramped up throughout 2024. The average rate throughout 2024 for 30-year fixed mortgages was 6.72% higher than it was during the 2008 market crash. Finance a loan, and you may lose money.

Loans

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 15, 2024

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. Department of Justice (DOJ) over the regulators’ allegations of mortgage lending discrimination in majority-Black neighborhoods of the Birmingham, Alabama , metro area. mortgage lenders in the first half of 2024, with $11.8 billion in home loan production.

Lending

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 25, 2024

Mortgage technology startup Novaprime is making its public debut with the launch of an AI-powered loan platform that it claims allows lenders to sell loans to investors in just days, instead of weeks, all with a high degree of accuracy. Loan details needing attention are routed to a professional for a better borrower experience.

Loans

Housing Wire

JULY 22, 2025

Rithm Capital , the parent company of multichannel mortgage lender Newrez , has struck a deal with an institutional investor to potentially acquire up to $1.5 billion in residential transitional loans (RTLs). RTLs are short-term loans designed for real estate investors who aim to fix and flip or construct residential properties.

Residential

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 3, 2025

Reverse mortgage professionals made more inroads into the forward mortgage industry in 2024. This happened through dedicated conversations, partnerships between reverse and forward mortgage companies, and expanded activities in reverse that stemmed from acquisitions and expansions of existing divisions.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 28, 2024

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO)’s dedicated reverse mortgage development work group is targeting January 2025 as the release window for reverse mortgage standards it is helping to develop. Almost as important, he added, is the participation of non-reverse lending companies in the conversation.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

MARCH 27, 2025

Self-branded “financial fitness” platform FinLocker announced Wednesday that it will cover 100% of the verification costs for mortgage borrowers who use lenders’ FinLocker-powered apps. This is about fundamentally transforming how the mortgage ecosystem works together.”

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JUNE 13, 2025

Mortgage veteran Glenn Stearns is taking a different approach with his latest venture. Kind Lending , a national wholesale mortgage lender and his second brainchild, is built on lean operations and a focus on efficiency — a contrast with his first company, Stearns Lending, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

In today’s challenging market, higher interest rates and home values have created a unique opportunity for lenders to grow their home equity lending business. According to ICE’s Mortgage Monitor , tappable home equity has grown by $5.5 What about the property condition? Click Here

Equity

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

In a new episode of “The Loan Officer Podcast,” host Dustin Owen chats with John Cornish of Iowa-based Key Mortgage Group about his path into the industry, tips for scaling a mortgage lending business and how to avoid stagnation as a loan originator. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

MAY 9, 2025

The expense associated with originating mortgage loans has been escalating, with the current average cost approximating $11,600 per loan. In this article, we delve into its application to elucidate how intelligent automation can enhance efficiency and cost-effectiveness within the loan origination process.

Loan Officer

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

APRIL 8, 2025

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. announced the incorporation of hybrid e-closings for reverse mortgages on Tuesday, aiming to incorporate its experience with the technology on the forward side of the mortgage business into its reverse mortgage division for the first time. Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.

Closing

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

MAY 12, 2025

Bidding wars for producing mortgage loan officers are back with a vengeance and it’s largely in the hopes of capitalizing on an upcoming refinance wave, recruiters and executives tell HousingWire. Mortgage companies are competing for a shrinking pool of talent. The task would be difficult in any market. million.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 30, 2024

A California regulator has revoked the residential mortgage lending license of LoanSnap , the latest in a series of difficulties for the fintech lender. The company — which is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California — also lost its mortgage lender license in Connecticut earlier this month.

Lending

Housing Wire

JULY 2, 2025

Just a week ago, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte issued a directive for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin preparing their businesses for the use of cryptocurrency in single-family mortgages. In response, originators are weighing the potential hurdles for offering crypto-backed loans.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

JUNE 25, 2025

In mortgage, that playbook often mirrors sports—one side wins, the other loses. A smaller market still full of opportunity According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s May 2025 forecast, total mortgage originations are expected to reach $1.397 trillion by year’s end, a slight downward revision from earlier projections.

Mortgages

Housing Wire

APRIL 3, 2025

United Wholesale Mortgage remained king of the hill when it came to mortgage originations in 2024. billion in mortgages, according to recently released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Rocket originated nearly as many loans as UWM at 361,000, and claimed a 25.1%

Mortgages