housing wire

The Mortgage Bankers Association on Tuesday released revised estimates for the third and fourth quarter of 2020 as well as predicting record purchase volume for 2021. Although The MBA expects decreased numbers of refinancings will lower overall origination next year

eOriginal announced the release of its new ClosingCenter 2.3, which includes a hub to connect lenders to the right remote online notarization partner. This move comes after a year of change for the title industry. RON has become the go-to

The Texas border town of El Paso, the state’s westernmost city with a population of less than 1 million, has experienced an enormous uptick in home purchases since March – the month that COVID-19 began shutting down businesses, forcing people

When you get a mortgage, there are several options you can choose from, including FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional mortgages. And the one you pick? That will determine how big a down payment you’ll need, what credit score you should

COVID-19 is a historically unique event for the mortgage industry. Typically, during a crisis or catastrophic event that impacts the housing industry, you’d see a significant downtick in mortgage originations and an uptick in delinquencies, ultimately leading to foreclosures. However, the COVID-19 pandemic

The U.S. forbearance rate measuring the share of mortgages with suspended payments experienced a 20 basis points improvement last week after it fell to 5.47% from 5.67% the week prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The U.S forbearance rate has now fallen

The National Association of Realtors voted on Friday in favor of a motion that makes it a violation for Realtors to use harassing or hate speech toward any of the protected classes under Article 10 of NAR’s Code of Ethics.

With COVID infection rates exploding and hospitalization rates rising as we go into the cold winter months, the risk this poses to our recovering housing market is a question that should be addressed. In a previous article, I identified infection

Though housing didn’t take center stage during the 2020 election season, those who work in affordable housing were keeping a close eye on the race, and are now looking expectantly at President-elect Joe Biden’s $640 billion housing plan originally proposed

In today’s red-hot market, you need a real estate agent who can get creative, play hardball in negotiations, and help you stand out from the pack in a bidding war. And not everyone — even an agent recommended to you

Think back on all the major financial decisions you’ve made since entering adulthood. Perhaps your list starts with renting your first apartment or buying your first car. Later, you may have taken out a personal or small business loan. Eventually,

Real-estate closing platform Qualia announced the launch of its Physical Document Service on Thursday that will allow mortgage lenders to automate the management of paper trailing documents from title partners through the Qualia platform. The company announced the news during

Seth Thompson, premier land professional Year to year, the evolution of computer technology can be staggering. In most cases, the advancements cause disruption— and opportunity—in every industry. In real estate, one such disruption is caused by drones, which have become

Low mortgage rates and record-low housing inventory has driven home price increases throughout the year. The National Association of Realtors is saying that the median single-family home price grew year over year in all 181 metro areas it tracks. In

Starting off this week’s people mover announcements, Opendoor announced another executive-level hire, naming Andrew Low Ah Kee as its new president. Low Ah Kee joins the Opendoor executive team to help drive operations across the company, especially as it expands

The Federal Housing Administration’s flagship Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund is in the best condition since before the financial crisis with a combined capital ratio for FY 2020 at 6.1% – only .3% away from levels seen in 2007. Under the National Housing

In this low interest rate environment, many borrowers are jumping at the chance to refinance, and lenders are working around the clock to capture these opportunities and close as many loans as possible, as quickly as possible. However, as lenders

Just weeks before President-elect Joe Biden’s administration is sworn into office, Freddie Mac CEO David Brickman will step down as head of the government sponsored enterprise, the company disclosed in a filing on Friday. Brickman, who took over as CEO

In its most recent earnings report, Zillow revealed a significant number of its Zillow Offers users are turning to remote online notarization. In fact, the company reports that more than 60% of its Zillow Offers customers closed on their home

What is holding back potential homeowners from buying? According to the National Association of Realtors 2020 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 47% of potential homebuyers said student loan debt was the biggest obstacle in saving for a downpayment. In

Add another lender to the IPO clown car: venture-backed Better.com. The digital lender, run by CEO Vishal Garg, selected Bank of America and Morgan Stanley to prepare an initial public offering slated for 2021, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

Vacation areas and luxury housing markets aren’t the only ones benefitting from a wave of pandemic buyers: southeastern locales are also filling up. Metro areas with the biggest increases in net inflow in the third quarter included Little Rock, Arkansas;

You can understand Jay Farner’s frustration: Rocket Companies just had the most productive quarter in the history of residential mortgage lending. It thumped competitors with a record $89 billion in originations in the third quarter, and made $3 billion in