housing wire

Economists came into their own last year as their ability to model likely future scenarios and interpret the numbers were crucial to lenders surviving and thriving in the pandemic. That information is still critical this year, that’s why we’ve invited

New GSE guideline updates to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac forces them to cap the amount of second home and investor properties delivered at 7%. This means a meaningful amount of supply will have to come to non-QM sector. The FHFA’s

The great refi boom in 2020 wasn’t exactly equitable. Wealthier borrowers with stable jobs and high credit scores were fortunate enough to lock in a forever rate, typically lowering their monthly mortgage payments by hundreds of dollars. But the lower-income

After a record year of mortgage originations, the GSEs released their Q1 earnings for the year on Thursday and Friday, revealing that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are still riding the tail end of the market’s highs. With both enterprises

Historically, retirees have always put Scottsdale high on their list of destinations when looking to take advantage of lower home prices, larger lots, agreeable weather and low cost of living. But the Scottsdale housing market, and Arizona as a whole,

In today’s booming housing market, sellers have their pick of home offers. According to a study by Realtor.com, the median home listing price is up 15.6% compared to last year. Now, more than ever, sellers have a chance to get

An ecosystem is a complex network of organisms that live and interact in a mutual environment. For that ecosystem to maintain and survive each organism must work together in a symbiotic manner. The same can be said about the mortgage

More than a quarter of single-family homes for sale during the first quarter were new-construction homes — nearly 26%, and March housing starts jumped nearly 20% month over month to the highest level since 2006, per the latest report from

Community lenders have big opportunities in today’s purchase market. As homebuyers increasingly demand personal, service-driven experiences with their mortgage providers, community lending teams are well-positioned to capture business via the strong relationships they excel at creating. Including credit unions, community

Glenn Kelman, CEO of Redfin, and Luke Babich, chief operating officer of Clever (left to right) This is the final of a three part series on residential real estate sales commissions. Part one explained the history of sales commissions, and

Top retail mortgage lender loanDepot has formed yet another strategic joint-venture with a fast-growing homebuilder. California-based loanDepot has formed a JV partnership with LGI Homes, called LGI Mortgage Solutions, the companies announced on Thursday. “Having been a preferred lender with LGI

The parent company of Veritex Community Bank will acquire a 49% stake in Texas-based mortgage lender Thrive Mortgage, the firms announced late Tuesday afternoon. Veritex Holdings, which has a long history of making acquisitions, will pay $53.9 million for its

Jack Ryan, CEO of residential brokerage REX This is Part Two of Three in HousingWire’s dive into all matters residential real estate commissions. Part one looks at how we got here. Part three looks at what’s next.  Wearing a rolled

Outrageously high lumber prices have for months been keeping builders awake at night, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Per the National Association of Home Builders, lumber prices have tripled over the past 12 months and

The Federal Open Market Committee left future economic policies virtually unchanged at its Wednesday meeting, indicating it has not made any near-term plans to taper its asset purchases of Treasury– and mortgage-backed securities (MBS). The FOMC did alter April’s verbiage of the

Digital mortgage platform SimpleNexus now supports remote online notarization (RON) through its eClose technology, the company announced Tuesday. It will also partner with Notarize in debuting RON to eClose. It’s a big deal for lenders, who can now use the platform

Mid-Atlantic title company Community Title Network LLC has acquired Colony Title Group LTD, an agency in Columbia, Maryland. It’s the third acquisition made by Community Title Network, which acquired Virginia-based The Settlement Group in June 2019 and Baltimore’s Continental Title

Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, PeerStreet CEO Brew Johnson knew his real estate investing platform needed to get involved with forwarding social change. That led to the launch of PeerStreet’s “Evolving Neighborhood Uplift Fund,” a charitable initiative

In 2002, Natalya Delcoure and Norman Miller, two real estate economists, set about to learn what fees consumers pay real estate agents in America. They were especially interested in real estate commissions.  What Decloure and Miller discovered was somewhat shocking.

Following an incredible year for refinances that mostly benefited wealthier borrowers, the Federal House Finance Agency announced it is implementing a new refi product that targets low-income borrowers with single-family mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to

Following an almost 9% jump in mortgage applications last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported a 2.5% decrease in applications in its latest report for the week ending April 23, 2021. Mortgage applications decreased despite mortgage rates falling for the

Hispanic homeownership in the U.S. climbed significantly in 2020 – there are now 8.8 million Hispanic homeowners in the country, according to a report released this week by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. That’s 725,000 more than

Wisconsin-based Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. announced Wednesday a multiyear partnership with Major League Baseball‘s Milwaukee Brewers. Fairway will have signage placed throughout the Brewers’ home stadium, American Family Field, and will participate in multiple off-the-field Brewers initiatives, such as the

As part of the landmark CARES Act passed in 2020, Congress stipulated that mortgages in forbearance as a result of COVID-19 must be reported as “current” on credit reports. The legislation saved millions of homeowners from having their credit scores