Origination

Home values dropped for the first time in 31 months between June and July but this is obscured by 14.5% year-over-year appreciation.

Manhattan home sales under $1 million sagged well below their pre-pandemic levels this summer, as rising interest rates cut into buyers' purchasing power and sidelined some potential consumers. 

Declines in both purchases and refinances contributed to fractionally lower activity, as rising interest rates provided no relief.

Housing's unusually high appreciation rates have now slowed for three months straight, and the number of metropolitan areas that are considered overvalued keeps growing, according to CoreLogic.

Consumer demands for lower density and more affordable prices fueled a larger share of construction outside urban cores, but recent trends have led to slowdowns across the board.

The company is acting nearly a month earlier than its competitors did in 2021, the first shot in this year's "loan limits wars."

Higher mortgage rates have led to a sharp slowdown in cash-out refinances. Second mortgages were up nearly 50% in the first five months of the year as homeowners looked for new ways to borrow against their equity.

This product, available throughout all of the company's channels, is characterized by interest-only payments over the first 10 years of the term.

The move comes amid a price war in the industry sparked by United Wholesale Mortgage.

The industry has cut tens of thousands of positions since January, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates.