Elina Tarkazikis

Mortgage and real estate professionals are navigating new technology to support a better consumer experience and grow their customer base, but those who lose sight of the end goal are in danger, according to Remax CEO Adam Contos.

Current housing market conditions are sending the real estate and mortgage industries back to the drawing board to craft strategies ultimately in support of customer acquisition and retention at a time when competition is tight.

Property values have continued rising across the country, but six cities bucking the national trend are leading a shift in the housing market, which could lessen affordability hurdles for homebuyers, according to First American Financial Corp.

The real estate industry is expecting homebuilders to add more inventory this year, but new-home sales tanked in the closing months of 2018, according to Redfin.

While the London interbank offered rate won't go dark until 2021, the commercial real estate finance industry should start preparing for the transition now, says the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The real estate industry is expecting homebuilders, with the aid of local governments, to add more financially attainable starter homes to the market and ease burdens for buyers, according to Redfin.

Flagstar Bancorp's acquisition of 52 Midwest branches of Wells Fargo helped increase its core customer base, but its mortgage results were lower than anticipated in the fourth quarter, according to the Troy, Mich.-based bank.

Better Mortgage has launched a mortgage refinance program to help federal government employees affected by the shutdown utilize their home equity for living expenses.

Despite tough housing conditions, slower home price growth and increased inventory could mean a more balanced market is ahead, according to Remax.

More than one-third of millennials said saving for a down payment is the biggest hurdle to buying a house, but few seem to realize they don't need to put 20% down to get a mortgage, a recent survey found.

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase had reduced mortgage-related earnings in the fourth quarter as home loan activity continues to fall short of expectations.

With a number of affected borrowers, Freedom Mortgage has assembled a team dedicated to providing assistance for homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments.

Rising mortgage rates don't have as severe an impact on the first-time homebuyer market as they do for property values, according to a Zillow survey.

Residential lender and Warburg Pincus portfolio company Newfi Lending is helping tackle upfront costs for homebuyers with the launch of its 2-1 Buydown Program.

First-time homebuyers earn $30,000 more than their peers who didn't buy a house, and nearly $12,000 more than the country's overall median household income, highlighting affordability issues in current housing conditions, according to Zillow.

Lagging construction, rising interest rates and the broader economy don't really bode well for buyers of commercial real estate, but most CRE lenders still expect originations to increase in 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Millennials comprise the largest cohort of homebuyers as most have entered their prime purchasing years, and they just might shake up migration patterns in 2019, according to First American Financial Corp.

Here's a look at key findings from the 2019 Best Mortgage Companies to Work For survey, highlighting the qualities that distinguish companies on the list from those that are not, and how the offerings from small, medium, and large companies on the list compare.

By eliminating a sense of hierarchy, promoting innovation and offering attractive work perks, New York-based lender Better Mortgage succeeds as a top employer by investing in its employees as it does its customers.

National Mortgage News is pleased to present the inaugural Best Mortgage Companies to Work For, a survey and awards program dedicated to identifying and recognizing the industry's best employers and providing organizations with valuable employee feedback.