housing wire

Fannie Mae has lowered its mortgage origination forecasts for 2022 and 2023 due to the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) aggressive inflation-fighting monetary policy and corresponding volatility in the mortgage market. Fannie’s Economic and Strategic Research (ESR) Group dropped its projected single-family

A Department of Veterans Affairs lending program for Native American veterans has been severely underutilized, a government watchdog found. According to a report the Government Accountability Office published this week, the VA’s Native American Direct Loan program only resulted in

eVaults are an integral part of any end-to-end digital mortgage transformation. They enable lenders to originate and securely hold eNotes and accelerate capital market transactions. eVaults also support an enhanced customer experience for borrowers and streamline interactions with other participants

In the first article of this series, I discussed the argument for turning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into public utilities, which would result in more Americans having fair access to mortgage services. However, regulating government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) as public

Wholesale lender Homepoint is becoming a broker of sorts…for mortgage brokers. The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company has launched a referral program aimed at connecting mortgage brokers with regional homebuilders as well as homebuyers. Homepoint’s “New Build program” connects homebuilders with

Bonnie Williamson never intended to be a real estate agent. As a French major and Russian and political science minor at the University of Michigan, Williamson had initially entertained the idea of going into politics. Instead, she was recruited out

On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau released their report for March, showing a solid number of housing permits and starts — but these were boosted by multifamily construction. In addition, this data lags behind the current reality of a housing

With rates at the highest level in a decade, mortgage applications for the week ending April 15 fell 5%, according to the latest survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The drop was largely driven by an 8% decline in refinancing

At an investor conference last fall, Redwood Trust Inc. CEO Christopher Abate outlined the company’s strategy to expand its reach in existing markets while also seeking out strategic investments in new markets. Those new investments include venture capital plays, particularly in

Despite advances in technology, the mortgage industry still lacks efficiency Mortgage executives are aware of a problem: despite billions of dollars in technology investments, the mortgage industry still largely looks like it did two decades ago. After all, it still

With interest rates on the rise, refis trending downwards and a significant decrease in purchase volume brought on by low inventory, mortgage lenders are looking for smart solutions to combat margin compressions in 2022 and beyond. HousingWire recently spoke with

Phishing remains the go-to attack for hackers targeting the mortgage and real estate industries. Loan officers and mortgage executives alike continue to click on links in seemingly routine emails, ultimately giving bad actors complete access to lenders’ systems and mortgage

Each year, HousingWire recognizes the outstanding women in housing who are making notable contributions to both their businesses and to the industry at-large. Last year’s list of nominations were so robust that we expanded the number of honorees from 50

Title insurance protects borrowers from financial loss if the lender discovers a defect in the title to the property (for example, a previous mortgage) and demands a borrower to pay back the loan. Title insurance also guards against loss in

In this HW+ Slack Q&A, HousingWire Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami gives the inside scoop on where rates are headed, his insights on the latest economic reports and more. As a member of HW+, you can us join for regular 30-minute Slack Q&As, where

Fast-rising interest rates, up 1.5 percentage points over the past three months, have thrown a wrench into the mortgage origination and private-label securitization markets. Refinancing is plummeting, purchase activity is softening, and rate volatility is making secondary market deals harder to price

Mortgage application volume dropped 1.3% for the week ending on April 8, from the previous week, as mortgage rates eclipsed the 5% mark.  Refinance applications fell 5% from the prior week and 62% from the same week a year ago,

Housing has always been an engine of economic growth. But that engine could stall if action isn’t taken to increase the supply of affordable housing and expand opportunities for lending to underserved families. The nation’s gross domestic product generally averages

Mortgage delinquency rates in January reached a 23-year low, driven by the skyrocketing housing prices and a strong job market. About 3.3% of mortgages were delinquent by at least 30 days or more including foreclosure in January, according to a

Origination volume in the Veterans Affairs (VA) universe amounted to $388 billion in 2021, an analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data by Polygon Research application HMDAVision found. This marks a notable dip in originations from 2020, a record-breaking year in

Despite being outlawed over 50 years ago, redlining still persists in America. Now the country’s signature law to stop redlining is under review. Redlining is a five-alarm word in the lexicon of American racism, but it really has a quite

This week, the Community Home Lenders Association (CHLA) repeated their call for FHA to lower premiums and to eliminate the life of loan premium on FHA loans. While I might have a different view on the life of loan premium,

Given the current housing inventory crisis, it might surprise people to realize this: we built too many homes during the housing bubble years. Wait, what? But we have a housing shortage, right? Yes, but this is where my work is

Origination volume for FHA-insured loans increased by 3% in 2021, growing from $324 billion in 2020 to $332.24 billion, an analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data by Polygon Research application HMDAVision found. Of the origination volume, retail lenders