Origination

The new product is an extension of its FraudGuard offering for the first lien mortgage market.

This latest campaign comes as application volume is down by 53% from a year ago, while mortgage rates are 2.59 percentage points higher since the start of 2022.

Plummeting returns add to indications that investors may become more selective in home purchases.

Lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee voiced some scattered support for changes to improve the finances of the National Flood Insurance Program, but comprehensive reform appears out of reach. 

Recent remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Powell suggest more upward movement is ahead.

In some of the regions with the biggest slowdowns, the company is offering incentives to boost demand.

New home equity conversion mortgage endorsements slowed in April, but remained almost 50% higher than the level from one year ago.

Some economists see a recession as inevitable but other markers, like the unemployment rate and consumption indicators, point to a resilient economy.

But total volume is still 53% below last year’s level, while Fannie Mae found the dollar value of refinances down by over 70%.

JPMorgan Chase is laying off hundreds of home-lending employees and reassigning hundreds more this week as rapidly rising mortgage rates drive down demand in what had been a red-hot housing market.