News

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

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

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

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

This week’s people mover announcements features another addition for Offerpad‘s executive team, with Steve Johnson stepping into the role of chief operating officer. The recent string of executive-level hires is part of a company focus to prepare for growth through

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae extended its relaxed lending and appraisal standards put in place due to COVID-19 into the new year. The flexibilities surrounding verbal verification of employment and appraisals were originally set to expire on Dec. 31, 2020, however

Through every financial transaction in a person’s life — whether a mortgage, auto, student or personal loan — there is one constant: the borrower. Yet borrowers have had limited agency in the lending process to date. Lenders have always controlled

2020 was a truly unprecedented year. With it behind us, let’s look ahead at several housing market trends that are likely in 2021 and beyond. First, exceptionally low mortgage rates are likely to be around for an extended period. The

A few short months after Shant Banosian became Guaranteed Rate’s first loan officer to originate $1 billion in a year, another Guaranteed Rate loan officer has joined that exclusive club. Ben Cohen, managing director and senior vice president of mortgage

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday issued its final rulings on qualifying mortgages, claiming the new rules will support a “smooth and orderly transition” away from the “QM Patch,“ and also expand access to credit. One of the two

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing people to work remotely, downsize, or employ alternative money-saving techniques, the flexibility of a tiny home has never been more attractive to consumers. A survey of 2,000 consumers by finance company IPX 1031, released in

OJO Select Network The OJO Select Network, OJO Labs’ newly-launched exclusive referral network for top-producing agents, helps grow your business by providing introductions to homebuyers and sellers who are ready to speak with an agent. All referrals are screened to

This week, President-elect Joe Biden chose Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, to be the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Now, the housing industry is welcoming HUD’s next potential leader. “On behalf of MBA, I congratulate

Airbnb shares more than doubled in its public debut on Thursday, per the Wall Street Journal, after opening trading at $146 on the Nasdaq Stock Market – higher than its initial-public-offering price of $68 a share. The opening trade valued

Digital title company JetClosing is opening its fifth office in Austin. With the announced move to Austin, JetClosing now has offices in Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Seattle and is active in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. The

Since the pandemic caused many employers to shift employees to working from home – some indefinitely – homeowners have left cramped spaces in large cities and retreated to more urban and rural areas with bigger homes at a lower cost.