Mortgages

KBRA recently assigned low-end investment grade designations to Freedom Mortgage and Pennymac transactions that involve interests in Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights.

Higher costs than expected, not just for the mortgage but for repairs and more, have recent buyers' regretting their purchase, Clever RE and Redfin found in separate reports.

Affordability challenges also have some aspiring homeowners taking second jobs or looking to draw from retirement savings, according to Redfin.

The lender recorded a $59 million net loss in the fourth quarter, an 83% improvement from its third quarter performance.

Initial analyses of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data show UWM ahead in 2023 loan numbers and dollar volume, but Rocket's market share still looks competitive.

The pending end of the program comes as over half of U.S. states have already ceased accepting new applicants for federal aid aimed to help struggling households with mortgage payments.

But the 30-year fixed rate mortgage is still near 7%, and that remains the overhang on the housing market, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage payments rose 10% year-over-year to an all-time high for March, Redfin said.

The Midwest was the main driver of the increase in pending sales, with a 10.6% jump, while contract signings in the South edged up 1.1%.

In an interview, Candor Technology's Sara Knochel recounts how she applies her childhood interest in languages and numbers to crucial home lending issues.

State and local governments borrowed nearly $9 billion for affordable housing so far this year — the most for the period in at least a decade.

Deferrals are up but still haven't outpaced loan modifications in conservatorship-era foreclosure prevention, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Potential home buyers may be holding back in anticipation of lower rates to come in the second half of the year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

UWM kicked off the new year as the number one lender in the U.S. in overall and wholesale production as well as purchase mortgage originations, but it has not been all smooth sailing.

Despite pressure from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the embattled Appraisal Foundation tapped its longtime second-in-command to be its next president.

A series of changes to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act go into effect on March 26 that closes the so-called "lead generation loophole" for telemarketing calls and texts.

But home prices declined from December, both the Federal Housing Finance Agency and S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller found, a possible precursor to a cooling market.

As part of the settlement, Loandepot will beef up its appraisal policies and practices, it announced.

What recent patterns in FHA delinquencies, distressed loan outcomes, foreclosures and the rates at which loans are prepaying or underwater can reveal about where the market is headed.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage, the movements of which have been volatile in recent weeks, is expected to stay in the range of 6.5% for the first half of the year before trending down, Freddie Mac said.