housing wire

HomeSmart is a growing real estate brokerage that may go public, but the company faces questions about its business model and the compensation of founder and CEO Matt Widdows. Founded in 2000, Scottsdale, Arizona-based HomeSmart is the seventh largest brokerage

Hosted by Accurate Group Collateral valuation is a critical component of mortgage lending and the home sales process. During the course of the pandemic, mortgage professionals have seen origination volumes for refi and purchase skyrocket as they have simultaneously faced challenges

Wells Fargo originated $48.1 billion worth of mortgages in the fourth quarter, down from $51.9 billion in the previous quarter. The bank’s mortgage lending gain on sale margin — the earnings stemming from its originations — tumbled from 204.5 basis

This video is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps in January, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the

Rochester, New York On Saturday, high temperatures in Rochester, New York, will plummet to a frigid eight degrees Fahrenheit and the city has already seen over 18 inches of snow since the start of the year.  That’s standard for Rochester,

While layoffs sweep the mortgage industry, particularly consumer-direct lenders, non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) lenders are going on a hiring spree. Non-QM lenders Angel Oak Mortgage, Acra Lending and Newfi alone currently have at least 130 openings on jobs listings sites. According

The tides of the mortgage industry are changing as we head into 2022, and just like the sand under the waves, we can expect the appraisal landscape to shift along with it. Appraisers, like many other service providers, must adapt

This article is part of our Housing 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide

Another large mortgage-servicing rights bulk offering is on the market this week on the heels of a $10 billion MSR package that went out to bid earlier this month.  The latest deal is being marketed by New York-based Mortgage Industry Advisory

When Missouri federal judge Stephen Bough unsealed a sworn declaration last week from Coldwell Banker CEO Ryan Gorman in a sprawling antitrust lawsuit about real estate commissions, it prompted disquiet among real estate agents, including those who work at Gorman’s

Fannie Mae opened 2022 with its 45th credit-risk transfer (CRT) deal through its Connecticut Avenue Securities (CAS) real estate mortgage investment conduit, or REMIC, bringing the collective value of notes issued through the conduit to nearly $52 billion since the first

RE/MAX Holdings CEO Adam Contos is stepping down effective March 31, 2022. While the company plans to form a CEO search committee, Board Member Stephen Joyce will be appointed Interim CEO. Contos and Joyce will serve as co-CEOs beginning March

Less than a week after acquiring Nashville-based Homeland Title, Stewart Title is at it again. On Tuesday, the smallest of the “Big Four” title insurers announced that it had acquired a majority interest in Houston-based Great American Title Company (GATCO).

Research detailing overt demographic references in appraisal reports has sparked anger from appraisers, even as they express dismay at the findings. “I was sickened when I read it,” said St. Petersburg, Florida-based appraiser Francois “Frank” Gregoire. “I was extremely upset

For the second year, HousingWire is honoring senior executives in housing who are enabling, supporting and navigating growth and innovation within their organizations. Unlike other HousingWire awards, Finance Leaders focuses specifically on corporate finance, secondary marketing, capital markets or strategic

The Hanna Family of Companies, the parent company of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, announced the merger of Erie Title Agency, Inc and Barristers of Ohio to form Erie Title Barristers Group on Wednesday. The Cleveland-based Erie Title has been

Mortgage delinquency rates hit pre-pandemic levels in October due to labor market improvements and home equity increases, according to the most recent CoreLogic Loan Performance Report. The expectation is that rates will continue to decline during 2022. In October, 3.8%

Since its launch in August 2020, FinLedger has kept its pulse on the explosive and expansive sector of financial technology for thousands of readers. And now we’re ready for the next stage of FinLedger’s growth. As part of HW Media’s

PennyMac Financial Services announced today that it’s launching a new technology platform for its broker channel, and it has rebranded its broker division from PennyMac Broker Direct to Pennymac TPO. The California-based wholesale lender claimed the new tech offering, called

HousingWire recently spoke with Tom Kriby, Vice President of Client Development and Partnerships at Westwood Insurance Agency, about how insurance issues can hold up a home closing and how lenders can integrate insurance into their process to help their homebuyers

Mortgage applications decreased 2.7% from two weeks earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association survey for the week ending Dec. 31, 2021. The results include adjustments to account for the holidays. The holiday adjusted Refinance Index decreased 2% from two

Some Federal Housing Administration-approved mortgage servicers have routinely flouted the agency’s loan modification program, according to Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and 20 other state attorneys general. The attorneys general wrote in a Dec. 21 letter that a number

The Federal Housing Finance Agency introduced new upfront fees on Wednesday for some high-balance and second-home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Upfront fees for high balance loans will increase between 0.25% and 0.75%, tiered by loan-to-value ratio.

Reverse Mortgage Funding, LLC (RMF) has acquired a portfolio of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) and other assets from industry-leading lender American Advisors Group (AAG), which consists of more than 75,000 loans totaling $12.1 billion in unpaid principal balance (UPB). This