Origination

Sales of previously owned homes declined to a one-year low in August as affordability continued to hamper demand and Hurricane Harvey caused a slump in Houston-area purchases.

Mortgage application activity decreased from one week earlier due to normal seasonal trends, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Default rates for first-lien mortgages rose slightly higher in August and remain lower year-over-year, but recent hurricanes could intensify loan performance concerns.

Digital mortgages transform the customer experience with slick user interfaces and data integrations that streamline the process of getting a borrower hooked up with a lender. Now it's time to disrupt the rest of the process.

For the digital mortgage to reach its full potential, lenders and technology developers still have to solve for the disconnect between the front-end application process and the underwriting work required before a loan closes.

Automated data validations are integral to a seamless digital mortgage experience. But the extent of data exposed in the Equifax breach raises questions about the risk of fraudsters exploiting those technologies to further compromise consumer data.

While many mortgage lenders focus on updating the front end of the borrower experience, other lenders are making strides on the back end of the process with new electronic closing capabilities.

Technology isn't a magic bullet for success, and just doing mortgages digitally doesn't change how the business fundamentally works.

Many lenders are focusing too much time on user experience and overlooking the frustratingly inefficient mortgage process happening behind their pretty loan applications.

As lenders embrace the automated processes and data integrations of digital mortgages, they must also rethink their approach to quality control.