This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing,
Have you clearly defined your brokerage’s value proposition?
This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing,
Servicers prepare to handle forbearance exits
This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing,
Hope and homebuyers return to Paradise
In November 2018, the deadliest fire in the history of California nearly destroyed Paradise, a 144-year-old town that sits in the Sierra Foothills above the northeastern Sacramento Valley. When the smoke had cleared, Camp Fire left tens of thousands of
HUD ends silence on targeted lending programs
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Tuesday resolved uncertainty around special purpose credit programs, 45 years after Congress allowed lenders to tailor products to groups that have historically been excluded from homeownership. In a legal memo, HUD
Cash-out refis are in high demand as equity levels skyrocket
Record home price appreciation in recent years has pushed tappable home equity to new heights. According to a report published by data vendor Black Knight this week, the third quarter of 2021 saw a nearly $250 billion dollar increase in
Mortgage applications are up, on the strength of FHA refis
Mortgage applications increased 2% for the week ending Dec. 3, driven by a surge in government refinancings according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey published on Wednesday. The increase was mainly driven by the refinance index up 9% from the previous
Master Class: How to become an experience architect
In this fun and informative master class exclusively for HW+ members, Experience.com’s Chief Experience Officer, Brittany Hodak, shares a simple framework every marketing and sales leader can use to design intentional customer journeys, elevating every customer interaction into an experience. No matter
To advance mortgage lending, trust must take backseat to truth
Once upon a time, loans were made on a handshake. That’s not just a platitude; before the Civil War, most Americans were self-employed, there was no federal income tax and banking was decentralized, making it practically impossible to verify a
How did the pandemic change the state of the appraisal market?
The HousingWire award spotlight series highlights the companies that have been recognized through our Editors’ Choice Awards. Nominations for HousingWire’s Tech100 award are now open through next Friday, December 17, 2021. To submit your company, go here. If there’s anything that lenders and
All-cash transactions under scrutiny of Biden administration
The Biden administration announced on Monday that it is looking to expand reporting requirements on all-cash real estate transactions. The announcement came via a U.S. Treasury Department notice seeking public comment on this potential regulation. According to the Biden administration,
The Impact of Brand Awareness
Every company has different goals and objectives when it comes to marketing. In my last post, I started to break down HW Media’s findings from a recent survey conducted with SOAR Performance Group to analyze companies’ marketing priorities, tactics and
Fed pulling back from the MBS market cautiously
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York later this week plans to sell up to $90 million in agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) now held in portfolio, a small sale, but still an interesting move in the current economic climate. The
More renters and homeowners are missing payments
More than five million households failed to make their rent or mortgage payments in October, an increase compared to the same period of 2020, and a concern for mortgage servicers. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association‘s Research Institute for Housing
Guaranteed Rate’s Shant Banosian clears $2B in originations in 2021
Guaranteed Rate’s Shant Banosian has topped his record-setting 2020 in a big way: year-to-date, the loan officer has funded a whopping $2 billion in total origination volume, the lender announced on Tuesday. The figure is believed to be a record
How to help homeowners make the most of home equity
As home equity reached another record high this year, mortgage companies have a big opportunity to help homeowners understand how to better manage or leverage their home’s equity to improve their housing and overall financial outlook. Even as rates are
Homepoint’s Phil Shoemaker: Lessons from a tech-based mortgage leader
If you added up the impact that HousingWire’s Vanguard winners have had on the industry, you’d likely have a comprehensive list of the initiatives that have moved markets forward. These are the leaders who have dreamt, shaped and molded a
Interfirst Mortgage to lay off nearly 50 LOs
Chicago-based Interfirst Mortgage Co. will lay off 77 employees in its Charlotte, North Carolina office come January 2022, a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice filed by the company reveals. Among those getting a pink slip are 49
Gay, disabled ex-employee sues loanDepot for discrimination
Anthony Hsieh, founder and CEO of loandepot A former loanDepot employee has filed a lawsuit against the company and its CEO, Anthony Hsieh, for allegedly discriminating against him due to his physical disabilities and his sexual orientation. This is the
The MSR market is exuberant — for all the right reasons
The MSR sales market is finishing out 2021 at a robust pace that market observers expect will continue into the new year, propelled by a rising-rate environment and anticipated tax-code changes. As evidence, Denver-based Incenter Mortgage Advisors this month unveiled
Opinion: Pass the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act
A shortage of affordable starter homes is thwarting aspiring first-time homebuyers and fueling inflation in home prices. At the same time, many urban and rural communities are struggling for stability and vitality. It’s a fact: the homeownership gap between Black
Second term for Powell, Brainard to be Fed vice chair
President Joe Biden nominated Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve chair, and elevated Lael Brainard to vice chair, the No. 2 position at the central bank. Powell’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the form of aggressive
Low-to-no cost strategies for keeping your pipeline full in 2022
This Lunch and Learn will examine the nation’s lack of housing inventory and the factors that have contributed to a decline in homebuilding. The discussion, which will feature speakers from the National A After last year’s record growth, mortgage leaders
Inside the Realogy-Blackstone iBuying venture
RealSure CEO Katie Finnegan Realogy says it is real serious about its two-year-old iBuying division, RealSure. “Our RealSure investment will step up meaningfully in Q4 as we continue to scale, launch this new product, expand our direct-to-consumer marketing and substantially
