housing wire

2020 was a year that forced a number of industries to modernize and adopt technologies that had been otherwise underutilized. For the housing economy in particular, tech helped to solve many of the challenges that COVID presented and allowed the

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on Wednesday that its single-family and multifamily affordable housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will remain unchanged from those set in 2018-2020. However, unlike previous goals set for a three-year period, the FHFA announced the benchmarks

Uday DevallaCTO at Sagent Lending The 2020 economy is full of curious contrasts. Millions of Americans sought COVID mortgage relief like forbearances while millions more capitalized on refis and flocked to suburbs to buy new or bigger homes at record

After three successive months of record highs, the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Housing Market Index measuring builder confidence fell four points to 86 in December. Though the index fell from it’s 35-year series high, it is still the fourth month

In a lawsuit filed last week, a mortgage brokerage claimed that one of its former loan officers stole a database containing client names and information and brought it with him to a new job at NEXA Mortgage. Smart Mortgage, which

Insellerate Customer Experience Platform Manage more loan applications, and close them faster with automated document collection.  Insellerate helps lenders close more loans through better borrower engagement.  The mortgage industry’s most innovative Customer Experience platform.  We deliver dynamic technology, strategy, and

FileInvite Manage more loan applications, and close them faster with automated document collection.  Customer facing teams spend extensive time following up on missing or incorrect documentation. FileInvite helps borrowers provide brokers and banks with all the information they need to

Cloudvirga TPO Cloudvirga TPO automates a lender’s wholesale origination workflow and provides private-label point of sale solutions to the lender’s brokers. Using the new platform, brokers can compare products and pricing, upload loan files, run dual AUS, prepare disclosures, order

New home purchases in November 2020 increased 34.7% from a year ago, but new home applications decreased from October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association builder application survey. New home applications decreased 16% from October, said Joel Kan, MBA associate

Despite the steady decline in forbearance volumes since the peak in April 2020, 2.7 million homeowners remain on forbearance plans – and more than 78% of them are now in an extension, according to the MBA Forbearance and Call Volume

Data and analytics behemoth Verisk has reached an agreement to acquire behavioral data intelligence company Jornaya, the two companies announced on Tuesday. Verisk, headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, will add Jornaya’s proprietary technology – which tracks consumer behavior –

A new, invitation-only home listing platform hit the web last week. Forbes launched a luxury home listing platform which the company says will capitalize on its audience and “connect, inform, and inspire high-net-worth potential homebuyers and sellers” about properties for

LERETA has acquired the Flood Determinations Solution from Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk and Compliance for an undisclosed sum, according to reports. Jim Micali, LERETA chief operating officer, said the acquisition will provide a seamless experience for customers. “LERETA and Wolters

The Lone Star State has long been attractive to businesses of all kinds. The combination of warm weather, lots of space to build and the lack of a state income tax has been drawing companies for years. But this year,

In a letter Monday to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, housing industry associations expressed their opposition to a swift end to conservatorship for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Mortgage Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association, the National Association of

Homebuyer, an Ohio-based software startup offering digital mortgages to first-time home buyers, announced on Monday it had snagged $1.4 million in a seed round from private investors. The company was founded in 2019 by Dan Green, under the mission to

Mortgage lender and servicer Homepoint – formerly known as Home Point Financial – recently launched a mobile app that is growing in popularity amongst its customers and mortgage broker partners. The app, a mobile extension of Homepoint’s online Home Ownership

The total number of loans in forbearance decreased from 5.54% to 5.48% as of Dec. 6, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in forbearance decreased to 3.26% – an 8-point improvement. Ginnie Mae loans

Opendoor announced last week that it has expanded its iBuying services in Provo and Ogden, Utah; Rochester, Minnesota; Lakeland, Winter Haven, Sarasota, Deltona, and Ormond Beach, Florida; and Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura, California. The iBuyer also said that homebuyers

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have increased in popularity exponentially since the 1950s and are considered by some industry experts to be one solution to the affordable housing crisis. Now, as remote working and virtual classrooms have become the “new normal”

Nexsys Technologies, a subsidiary of Rocket Companies, launched its Clear HOI platform for all mortgage lenders on Wednesday – a new product it says will cut homeowners’ insurance verification time to mere minutes. The platform will allow lenders to automate

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its annual report on single-family guarantee fees (g-fee) charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for 2019 to package home loans into securities that are sold to bond investor.. The two GSEs

What a crazy year we have all been through. Last year, I visited Japan, London, Puerto Rico, Oregon and Las Vegas twice. This year I had fewer visits than that to my local barber and I was ecstatic to be

With the onset of COVID-19, the already-siloed communication channels between mortgage lenders, real estate agents, title agents and underwriters became even more strained as standard methods of in-person communication were no longer an option for many. In addition to the