Origination

An index of contract signings from the National Association of Realtors climbed 3.4% to 78.2 last month, the highest since February 2023.

While home lenders are seeing a decrease in issues coming through mobile channels, phone fraud spiked last year, accounting for 28% of losses, a new report found.

U.S. economic growth slid to an almost two-year low last quarter while inflation jumped to uncomfortable levels, interrupting a run of strong demand and muted price pressures.

The massive mortgage business saw a first quarter profit mitigated by nearly $300 million in hedging losses.

A majority of consumers earning more than $100,000 annually said they were concerned about their own ability to purchase a home, demonstrating how affordability issues are impacting those at many socioeconomic levels, the University of Michigan study found.

"Lax regulation and monitoring of property insurers makes Florida mortgage markets far more exposed to climate risk than people might think," said Parinitha Sastry, an author of a working paper by researchers at Harvard University, Columbia University and the Federal Reserve.

The latest rate increases contributed to a 1% drop in purchases from the previous week and 15% annually, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The top five producers had an average dollar volume of VA and USDA loans of more than $35 million in 2023.

While income decreased from the fourth quarter, it accelerated on an annual basis across NVR's building and lending units.

Prevention through new building standards and mapping technology aim to keep home insurance rates down but mortgage bankers see challenges.