News

Home prices jumped more than 2% between May and July, the largest two-month gain on record, as Americans emerging from COVID-19 lockdowns bought real estate, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said in a Wednesday report. Gains in prices were driven

The iBuyers are quickly becoming all-in-one-buyers. On Wednesday, Zillow announced that its Zillow Offers customers will be offered “a more simple, integrated transaction experience through added services, managed in house,” starting in January 2021 with Zillow Homes. Customers in Atlanta,

Call it what you want – a disruption, a revolution, a transformation or perhaps a thorn in your side, there is no denying the pandemic has stirred the housing industry in all its sectors. How companies adapt and pivot while

Let me be contrarian: Get ready, because mortgage rates are going to rise in 2021. Now before you respond, just read the rest as to why. The Mortgage Bankers Association in its most recent forecast sees two things that stand

Loan servicers operate between a rock and a hard place today. Customers demand high-quality service. Regulators demand that products and services are provided fairly and equitably. OK, but then the current economic climate adds levels of complexity, with loan modifications,

United Wholesale Mortgage, the largest wholesale lending firm in the country, is joining the blank-check company craze and will make its public debut via an acquisition. The Detroit-headquartered UWM will merge with businessman Alec Gores’ special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)

It’s really easy to get caught up in the moment in the mortgage industry. During this particular moment, the prevailing thought is “throughput!” It’s no secret that much of our space is busy trying to push mortgage loans through the

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is requesting industry input on its strategic plan for fiscal 2021 to 2024, six weeks before an election that could change the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The watchdog for the companies that

In recent months, the mortgage industry has been hit with a surge in borrower demand as record-low rates coincide with the unknowns around a global pandemic. “Homeowners and renters have a lot of questions about navigating the financial fallout of

HousingWire recently spoke with Keith Murray, president and CEO of VRM Mortgage Services, about the importance of diversity in an organization and how VRM has continued to serve its clients in an unusual year. HousingWire: The term we keep hearing

Ginnie Mae, the government-owned corporation that securitizes loans backed by the Veterans Administration and the Federal Housing Administration, said it won’t accept adjustable-rate mortgages benchmarked to the London Interbank Offer Rate, or LIBOR, starting in January. For home equity conversion

Despite mortgage rates rising slightly from a previously all-time low, mortgage applications gained 6.8% last week, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The refinance index continued its upward climb, gaining 9% last week and jumping 86% higher than

Sales of existing homes rose to a 14-year high of 6 million in August, the National Association of Realtors said in a report on Tuesday. Combined sales of single-family houses, townhomes, condominiums and cooperatively owned apartments rose 2.4% from July,

Just two months after its public debut, Rocket Companies is looking to bulk up its wholesale operation by sweetening the pot for mortgage brokers. The Detroit-based firm, which began 35 years ago as a mortgage broker shop in southeast Michigan,

Painter Kenneth Noland said,  “Context is key – from that comes the understanding of everything.”  Whether that is true in the world of art I could not tell you, but it is most certainly true in the world of economics.

After hiring 120 underwriters in the past 90 days, Evolve Mortgage Services announced on Monday the company plans to fill another 100 permanent underwriter positions for agency and non-QM loans by the end of the year. Evolve’s announcement is timely

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said on Monday it had settled with three former Wells Fargo executives for their roles in the bank’s fake-account scandal. The settlements include a $925,000 penalty to former Community Bank Group Finance

The Federal Reserve approved a revamp of the anti-redlining rules known as the Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA, in a live-streamed meeting on Monday morning and gave 120 days for community and industry feedback. The move comes four months after

U.S. homeowners with mortgages witnessed a 6.6% year-over-year increase in their equity in the second quarter of 2020 – representing a cumulative gain of $620 billion for the nation and an average $9,800 hike in equity per homeowner, according to

The housing and mortgage markets have been the rare bright spots in an otherwise fragile economy brought forth by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Mortgage origination volume this year is on track to be the highest in more than 15 years,

March 2020 is a month the real estate industry will never forget. In a moment’s notice the “nice to have” tasks on our to-do lists became the new crises du jour. Over the course of a few days, much of