Mortgages

The company cited efforts to improve profitability behind its decision, with Popular joining a line of other banks in ending mortgage operations in 2025.

The mortgage unit of Hilltop Holdings lost $7.2 million pretax in the third quarter with lower volume, following making a small profit three months prior.

FHA loans accounted for about half of the annual rise in foreclosure starts and 80% of the rise in active foreclosures in September, according to ICE.

Companies reported positive numbers but see challenges in a sluggish housing environment, as federal pressure ramps up to address affordability.

On a year-over-year basis, Waterstone's mortgage business was able to grow pretax profits to $1.3 million in the third quarter, compared with $144,000 in 2024.

Several claims in a recent Loan Think column misrepresented how credit scores and resellers work in mortgage lending, according to the president of the National Consumer Reporting Association.

The number of prospective buyers touring properties in the city last week fell 8.5% from a year earlier, according to data from Bright MLS, a regional multiple listing service. It's the eighth straight weekly decline.

This is the second acquisition deal Old Republic has been involved in this year, after selling its title production business in January.

While expectations that another federal rate cut is on the way next week, other economic trends may be having a larger influence on mortgage lending.

Contract closings increased 1.5% to an annual rate of 4.06 million in September, the highest in seven months, according to National Association of Realtors figures released Thursday.