Originations

Despite a 3% increase in new mortgages, overall applications dropped 2% on a consecutive-week basis due to a 5% decline in refis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Volumes were at a record high in the final quarter of 2020 but lenders didn’t make quite as much since gains on loan sales to the secondary market fell.

The $10 million program appears to be the first of its kind in the nation.

The San Diego-based company produced $10.6 billion in the fourth quarter, and has done $6.1 billion in the first two months of 2021.

From offering operations folks big bonuses to grooming recent grads, lenders are getting creative in their efforts to manage staffing throughout the boom-bust cycle.

A slower rate of appreciation looks more likely than depreciation in most markets, according to the company’s latest report.

There are more than 60 banks and other firms financing flippers today, according to AlphaFlow, an investment firm that buys real estate loans from lenders. That’s an increase of almost 50% in a little more than two months.

The government-sponsored enterprise greenlit the use of CoreLogic and LoanCraft’s tools that validate self-employed borrowers’ incomes, and it certified Finicity, a firm that facilitates the equivalent for W-2 employees’ payroll data.

While the economic recovery and stimulus checks drove upward movement in purchases, it wasn’t enough to offset tumbling refinance activity.

The credit could cover the minimum down payment for the average Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgage in most large metropolitan areas.