Black Knight

Mortgage industry technology providers are adjusting their processes to allow for originations to keep flowing through the system as the nation combats the coronavirus.

Mortgage-related companies finalized four partnerships, a servicing-retention firm went up for sale, and a long-delayed insurance-related transaction moved forward this week in a wave of industry merger and acquisition activity.

Servicers' struggle to retain borrowers mounted in the fourth quarter when a type of loan that is tough to recapture rose to a more than 10-year high, according to Black Knight.

Fears stemming from the coronavirus have resulted in lower mortgage rates and more business for now, but if the situation deteriorates further, consumers could decide to put off buying a home.

From increased consumer engagement to new forms of payment, mortgage servicers are finding themselves faced with new trends in the market that they need to address.

Black Knight introduced a model to gauge prepayment speeds and credit risk for investors that purchase commercial mortgage-backed securities.

For the first time in 15 years, fewer than 2 million mortgaged properties lie in default or foreclosure status as of the end of January, according to Black Knight.

With steady home price appreciation and falling interest rates, by some measures the shares of distressed mortgages existing in the market shrunk to record lows, according to Black Knight.

After being range-bound for several weeks, mortgage rates are fluctuating enough to spur significant changes in refi incentive, according to Black Knight.

November's foreclosure starts hit their lowest level since Black Knight started tracking this data in 2000, while the foreclosure rate reached a 14-year low.