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This year’s housing market has been plagued with low inventory, rising home prices, and endless bidding wars, making it hard for some would-be homeowners to get their foot in the door. Will 2021 be any different? Or, will it be

The real estate market is hot right now, and bidding wars are the norm in many parts of the country. For buyers, that means more competition — as well as less leverage in negotiations. It’s just one of the many

Lots of young homebuyers seek financial help when securing their dream homes.  In fact, according to a recent study, more than half of prospective homeowners under age 35 expect to get help from family or friends. And of those who

Credit plays a huge role in the home-buying process. It also affects the interest rate you receive on your loan, as well as the long-term costs of borrowing the money. So if you have a low credit score or no credit

As one of the largest correspondent investors in the country, AmeriHome is focused on being a consistent, reliable partner to its clients. In the COVID-19 era, that means AmeriHome has spent even more time listening to what clients need and

Technology plays a crucial role in servicers’ ability of servicers to support their borrowers in this challenging time. Whether borrowers are experiencing COVID-related financial hardships and need forbearance or are looking for refinance opportunities amid record low rates, Sagent’s technology

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First American Financial Corp. announced Monday an agreement to acquire subservicer ServiceMac, which it anticipates closing at the end of 2021. First American Financial, which provides title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions, has acquired a

HousingWire recently spoke with MCS CEO Caroline Reeves about self-service technology, the shift to virtual events and how servicers can prepare for post-COVID success by improving processes today.    HousingWire: What role has technology played in servicers’ ability to react

The U.S. forbearance rate measuring the share of mortgages with suspended payments fell slightly to 5.9% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Though the rate fell 2 basis points, the decline has begun to slow after two weeks of what MBA’s

The one economic sector that has blown away my estimates this year has been the new home sales market. I predicted peak year-to-date growth of 4.7% but this was before COVID-19, which temporarily crushed bond yields and mortgage rates. This

When it comes to common pain points lenders are seeing in the second half of 2020, handling high loan volumes continues to loom large. Of course, it’s a good problem to have, but difficult to navigate in terms of scalable

On Monday, Townstone Financial Inc., a Chicago-based nonbank retail mortgage lender, filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed against the company in July. The July 15 complaint alleged that Townstone violated the Equal Credit

Many Americans continue to experience economic hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an October 5, 2020, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) estimate, 3.4 million homeowners are on a forbearance plan and more than 70% of those loans

In the third quarter, luxury home sales jumped 41.5%, the biggest year-over-year shift since 2013, according to Redfin. And while real estate agents repping luxury homes aren’t seeing as many bidding wars as they did this summer, their respective housing

Stone Point Capital has purchased Vista Equity Partners’ stake in real estate software company Lone Wolf Technologies. Stone Point will become Lone Wolf’s lead institutional investor, powering the next phase of its growth and expanding its product offering, the company

The Federal Housing Administration announced on Wednesday the launch of its first automated underwriting system that will allow lenders to submit loan application data electronically for single family forward mortgages from their loan origination systems to FHA for mortgage insurance

HousingWire recently spoke with Verse founder and CEO David Tal about the lead conversion gap and how Verse is helping lenders engage and nurture leads. HousingWire: What’s causing the gap between sales and marketing? David Tal: The massive gap between

Kicking off people movers for the week, Opendoor announced it hired a new chief investment officer, naming Daniel Morillo to lead the iBuyer’s pricing and data science efforts. As chief investment officer, Morillo will oversee the strategy and development of

Just before its stock debuted at a disappointing $15 a share, Guild Mortgage settled a federal lawsuit that claimed the lender knowingly breached legal requirements when it originated and underwrote FHA loans. Guild agreed to settle the federal lawsuit, brought

The NAR existing home sales report released today blew out all estimates with 6,540,000 in existing home sales. This epic headline punctured any 2020 bubbles the housing bubble boys had left in their arsenal. But before we get too excited,

Earlier this year, First American made its latest move toward a fully digital mortgage with its purchase of mortgage tech firm Docutech. Now, that purchase is driving up the company’s revenues. The company rebranded to First American Docutech in September

Stewart Appraisal Management, a subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp., announced on Thursday it acquired valuation services company Pro Teck Valuation Intelligence. Stewart is looking to strengthen and expand its scale in the appraisal and valuation solutions space. With more

Sales of existing homes took off in September, jumping 9.4% from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million, the National Association of Realtors said in a report on Thursday. Compared to a year ago, sales are up 20.9%. “Home