News

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

The number of seriously delinquent mortgages fell by 43,000 in September – the first drop in mortgages 90-days past due since the beginning of the pandemic, Black Knight said in a report on Thursday. According to the report, more than

The average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell to 2.8% this week, another record low, Freddie Mac said in a report on Thursday. The rate fell one basis points from the week prior and is now six basis points

The MBA’s economic research team of Dr. Michael Fratantoni and his staff made national news at the MBA’s annual virtual convention, releasing a projection for 2020 of $3.18 trillion, the second-largest origination year in U.S. history next to 2003.  It’s

As the mortgage industry moves toward increasing adoption of remote online notarization, a panel of experts at the Mortgage Bankers Association Annual conference said uniformity will be key. Speaking at the session titled “Strategy & Technology Track: COVID Hit. Social

Lone Star Funds‘ residential mortgage lender Caliber Home Loans hopes to raise up to $538 million at its highly anticipated public debut next week, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchanges Commission on Wednesday. Caliber, based in Coppell,

Major forbearance policy changes have been set into motion. The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced on Tuesday an extension allowing single-family homeowners with Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages to request an initial forbearance through Dec 31, 2020. Homeowners with

The housing market faced a lot of uncertainty when COVID-19 caused the real estate industry to pause under shut-downs, but low interest rates and the desire for more space has turned this year into a boom time for real estate

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau appears to have lost an opportunity to correct a nagging issue in its definition of a qualified mortgage. The current rule provides safe harbor protection to lenders from potential litigation brought by borrowers for loans

Tucked right into the end of the home-buying process is the unique opportunity for title companies to connect with borrowers on how they can give back to the community together.  Title companies and agents are often the last people to

At its Annual event Wednesday, Mortgage Bankers Association Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni forecast that mortgage rates could rise in the year to come, but that they will remain near all-time lows. Fratantoni pointed out that the job losses seen in

Lender and servicer AmeriHome on Wednesday laid out the terms of its upcoming initial public offering. The company plans to raise roughly $250 million by offering over 14.7 million Class A shares priced between $16 and $18, according to the

CoreLogic’s Total Home ValueX, or THVX, is a revolutionary AVM that leverages AI and machine learning. CoreLogic built THVX on cloud technology, and it uses a single-model methodology that’s configured to meet different business needs. While traditional AVM models assume

Over the years, the inventory of affordable homes has been in sharp decline, while home prices have risen dramatically. With housing becoming increasingly unaffordable, the shortage of safe and affordable homes is affecting more and more prospective homebuyers every day.

At a session during the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Annual event, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger announced the extension of the Qualified Mortgage Patch until a new QM Patch is decided on. “To make it clear to the market

On Nov. 12, 2015, traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange witnessed the Dow suffer its worst one-day loss in six weeks, plunging 254 points. That afternoon, in Washington, D.C., members of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open

From the beginning, co-founder and CEO John Paasonen has been clear about digital mortgage platform Maxwell’s mission: to make mortgages simpler and more accessible. Since channeling his frustrations with the mortgage borrowing process into co-founding Maxwell in 2015, Paasonen has

The leaders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sat down with Mortgage Bankers Association Chair-elect Kristy Fercho on Tuesday at the MBA Annual conference to discuss how the GSEs have managed the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis.  Freddie Mac’s David Brickman and

For the second week in a row, mortgage applications faltered slightly, falling 0.6% from the week prior, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Purchase applications also took a hit last week, falling 2% from the week prior, however,