Origination

US mortgage rates fell to the lowest level since October, spurred by a rally in government bonds in the wake of an escalating trade war and driving home purchase applications to a more than one-year high.

Wholesale firm Ardri's acquisition of The Lending Spot comes after the company installed a mortgage industry veteran as its new president earlier this year.

Refinancings, particularly the cash-out version, helped to drive mortgage product availability and rate lock activity during March, separate reports found.

Insurers had already doled out more than $12 billion to pay for wildfire damages as of early March, according to California state officials.

The top five banks have a combined HELOC volume of more than $90 billion at the end of Q4 2024.

From reduced demand for auto loans to a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions, here's some of the new trade war's potential fallout for lenders.

If mortgage rates drop into the low 6% range, there will be a retention opportunity on 5.4 million loans that have interest rates starting at 6.5%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 2,200 on Friday, the second day of a sell-off due to tariffs, but that could be good for mortgage rates.

Even with 4,000 public sector cuts, total employment numbers were surprisingly high, which raises questions about whether financing costs will keep falling.

As the risk of a recession rises, commercial real estate loans remain a major concern for banks and industry participants. One observer asked: "Is '25 the year where sellers start to capitulate, call a loser a loser, and move on?"