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 377

Debt-to-income ratio Loans VA loan FHA loan 377

Housing Wire

MARCH 11, 2025

Federally registered broker and correspondent lender Milestone Mortgage Solutions has acquired Willow Home Loans and is looking to join the $1 billion origination club this year. ” Russell Petty, the founder of North Carolina -based Willow (formerly Grow Mortgage), said he expects to do $1 billion in origination volume in 2025.

Loans 370

Loans Mortgages Loan Officer Technology 370

Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

Heading into the 2025 housing market, we havent had this many homeowners with mortgage rates over 6% since 2016. of outstanding mortgages, around 8.7 million borrowers, carry a mortgage with an interest rate over 6%. Available inventory of homes for sale fell each year as more and more borrowers had this cheap financing.

Mortgages 475

Mortgages Finance Loans Equity 475

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 17, 2024

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Tuesday released an update about the sales of non-performing loans (NPLs) through the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), saying the data has shown a steady drop in mortgage delinquencies since the start of COVID-19 pandemic. These loans had an average delinquency rate of 2.8

Loans 387

Loans Sales Principal Design 387

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 30, 2024

Despite rising mortgage rates through much of 2024, recent indications show growing boldness among homebuyers heading into the new year. A report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed an increase in pending home sales for the fourth consecutive month. The report found that pending home sales jumped 2.2%

Sales 417

Sales Mortgages MLS Marketing 417

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 318

Loans Mortgages Equity Construction 318

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 403

Mortgages Loan Officer Loans Finance 403

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 418

Mortgages Loans Banks Industrial 418

Housing Wire

MARCH 4, 2025

The pace of home sales remains near a 30-year low point as home prices and mortgage rates keep potential borrowers in wait-and-see mode. But mortgage rates have posted an unusually large decline in the past week. Mortgage pricing should be down a tad today, he said. This would be a clear headwind to any further rate cuts.

Mortgages 467

Mortgages Sales Finance Closing 467

Housing Wire

JUNE 26, 2025

Analysts, economists and mortgage professionals are coining this quarter’s activity as one of the most “calm” periods for mortgage rates in recent memory. It follows nearly three years of borrowers being sidelined by higher rates or “stuck” in loans with historically low rates.

Mortgages 406

Mortgages Equity Loans Loan Officer 406

Housing Wire

MARCH 13, 2025

Mortgage applications for new-home purchases fell 6.9% year over year in February, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Builder Application Survey that was released Thursday. The average loan size decreased, signaling that first-time homebuyers remain active in the market, Kan said.

FHA loan 365

FHA loan VA loan Mortgages Loans 365

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 17, 2024

Mortgage applications for new-home purchases increased 7.2% year over year in November, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association ‘s (MBA) builder application survey that was released Tuesday. Additionally, the 713,000 unit seasonally adjusted annual pace of new home sales was the third strongest month of 2024.

FHA loan 387

FHA loan VA loan Mortgages Loans 387

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

Mortgage applications rose 6.3% 22, driven by a 12% increase in demand for purchase loans, according to data released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). It is the third straight weekly increase for applications — a good sign for mortgage lenders heading into the typically slow Thanksgiving holiday.

Mortgages 370

Mortgages VA loan FHA loan Fixed-rate mortgage 370

Housing Wire

JUNE 26, 2025

Cotality released its National Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index for the first quarter of 2025, revealing that fraud risk is up 7.3% This applies to mortgage applications in which elements of a home purchase transaction were not fully represented to the lender. While mortgage delinquencies are currently low across the U.S.,

Mortgages 366

Mortgages Principal Loans Sales 366

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 403

Mortgages Lending Loan Officer Loans 403

Housing Wire

JANUARY 8, 2025

As mortgage rates continue to climb past the 7% mark, applications continued to take a step back following the New Year’s Day holiday. from the week prior, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported in its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Jan. Demand decreased by 3.7% the previous week.

Mortgages 429

Mortgages Fixed-rate mortgage Loans Sales 429

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

As low inventory levels, elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices keep the housing industry stagnant, short-term real estate investors — aka fix-and-flippers — faced market turmoil during the third quarter of 2024. The average interest rate for a fix-and-flip loan also rose in Q3 2024 to 10%, according to Kiavi.

Investor 415

Investor Mortgages Renovation Loans 415

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Economists pointed to lower mortgage rates as the reason for slower growth. Though significant, this drop in rates has not yet resulted in a significant uptick in demand and home sales activity, which meant home price growth continued to mellow.” On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the national home price index posted a 4.2%

Mortgages 475

Mortgages MLS Equity Loans 475

Housing Wire

JANUARY 14, 2025

At the tail end of 2024, mortgage borrowers shifted their attention away from conforming mortgages and toward refinance opportunities. A report released Tuesday by Optimal Blue found that the conforming loan share sank to historic lows in December. mortgage market trends. mortgage market trends.

VA loan 370

VA loan FHA loan Mortgages Loans 370

Housing Wire

JUNE 4, 2025

You are the product: Being a 100% commission mortgage originator is one of the few businesses one can launch into with very little out of pocket expenses and no real experience. Mortgage sales professionals also need to budget for the costs associated with marketing and networking oneself. Few have an infinite runway.

Loan Officer 378

Loan Officer Loans Sales Mortgages 378

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 3, 2025

There is constant movement in the mortgage industry with the desire for growth and expansion. It is easy to become blinded by the end goal of increasing loan volume and quality origination talent. Thus, it has never been more important to focus on due diligence in analyzing a mortgage industry acquisition target.

Due diligence 403

Due diligence Purchase and sale agreement Industrial Mortgages 403

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

High interest rates and home prices are causing some prospective homebuyers to avoid applying for a mortgage. But despite this trend, some buyers are willing to adjust their loan term expectations to achieve homeownership, according to a recent report by real estate technology company REsimpli.

Mortgages 364

Mortgages Renovation Technology Sales 364

Housing Wire

JULY 8, 2025

Union Home Mortgage (UHM) is extending its reach into the Cincinnati, Ohio , market, the company announced on Tuesday. ” Patel, who has previously worked with Guaranteed Rate and UMortgage, brings a decade of experience in the mortgage industry to UHM. billion in mortgages last year. UHM originated about $7.6

Mortgages 401

Mortgages Loan Officer Lending Loans 401

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 23, 2024

Stubbornly high rates have hindered mortgage demand , but at least it’s better than it was a year ago. Mortgage applications decreased 6.7% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association ’s (MBA) weekly applications survey for the week ending Oct. Refinances comprised 45.7% a week earlier.

Mortgages 460

Mortgages Loans Sales Marketing 460

Housing Wire

MARCH 3, 2025

Introduction As part of our ongoing discussion on the concept of movement in the mortgage industry, it is readily apparent that the failure of mortgage companies to pivot or tweak their business models to satisfy changing market and other conditions has resulted in consolidation based on liquidity, buyback, financial and other concerns.

Purchase and sale agreement 399

Purchase and sale agreement Closing Industrial Mortgages 399

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 388

Mortgages Equity Lending Loans 388

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Movement Mortgage has named Steve Smith, a mortgage veteran who most recently served as Movement’s executive advisor, as its new president and chief financial officer. compared to the same period last year, according to Inside Mortgage Finance (IMF). The announcement was made Wednesday.

Mortgages 370

Mortgages Loan Officer Finance Lending 370

Real Estate News

JUNE 13, 2025

Skip to Content Agents Brokerages MLS/Assn Tech Industry By the Numbers Consumer Shutterstock Industry Startup aims to bring assumable mortgages to the masses Could a new market emerge around homebuyers taking over a seller’s existing low interest rate loan? One proptech veteran thinks so. "It was almost shocking."

Mortgages 329

Mortgages MLS Loans Finance 329

Housing Wire

JANUARY 24, 2025

There were a total of 298 consumer complaints submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in 2024 that were related to the reverse mortgage industry, according to a database maintained by the bureau. About 13% of all complaints were related to applying for a loan or refinancing an existing one.

Mortgages 402

Mortgages Bankruptcy Short sale Loans 402

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 428

Mortgages Lending Industrial Title 428

Housing Wire

FEBRUARY 14, 2025

In 2024, Fannie Mae provided $381 billion of liquidity to the single-family and multifamily mortgage markets. Fannie Mae acquired approximately 778,000 single-family purchase loans totaling $326 billion, of which roughly half were for first-time homebuyers, as well as roughly 204,000 single-family refinances in 2024. trillion in 2024.

Mortgages 339

Mortgages Loans Lending Sales 339

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 31, 2024

In the halls of the Colorado Convention Center on Monday, it was hard not to overhear mortgage bankers gnashing their teeth over the rumored price hikes for Fair Isaac Corp (FICO) scores. per score to all mortgage lenders, independent of their volume. “It’s an abuse of power, a complete monopoly.” What will it cost?

Industrial 451

Industrial Mortgages Closing costs Lending 451

Housing Wire

OCTOBER 29, 2024

Employment data for October is set to be released Friday, and it will go a long way in determining the path for mortgage rates, which have surged upward in the past month. At HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center on Tuesday, the average rate for 30-year conforming loans was 6.72%. The monthly payment on the median-priced U.S.

Mortgages 429

Mortgages Equity Loans Marketing 429

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. The agreement, which was submitted for court approval, requires the Madison, Wisconsin-based mortgage lender to pay a $1.9

Lending 451

Lending Loan Officer Loans Mortgages 451

Housing Wire

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

With mortgage rates back into the 7% range and several consecutive weeks of reduced demand , Rocket Mortgage is making what appears to be a volume play. A company spokesperson confirmed that the credit can be used for both purchases and refinances on conventional, VA and FHA loans. 12 third quarter earnings report.

FHA loan 370

FHA loan Mortgages Marketing Loans 370

Housing Wire

DECEMBER 27, 2024

Reverse mortgage business and mortgage business generally is not where people want it to be. That was a repeated idea shared by a group of reverse mortgage professionals when asked to assess what they see as the biggest industry challenges of the year. But we’ve continued to work through those challenges.

Industrial 388

Industrial Mortgages Principal Lending 388

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. He’s not wrong.

Mortgages 284

Mortgages Lending Purchase and sale agreement Bankruptcy 284