Mortgages

Fathom Holdings acquired START Real Estate to expand its first-time homebuyer program, the company announced Thursday.

Observers believe the government shutdown and lack of data is keeping mortgage rates in the same narrow range, as investors have issues reading the tea leaves.

The Detroit-based mortgage bank's announcement trailed competitors' by over two weeks, but is taking a more aggressive risk-reward stance on the limit.

Components of the index all rose, including the highest reading for sales expectations in the next six months since the start of the year.

Despite the decrease, average profit margins approached 50%, as the lock-in effect continues to stymie inventory growth and keep home values elevated.

The new platform already counts two businesses as embedded partners, with the rollout coming as mortgage leaders see rising demand coming for DSCR loans.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephan Miran said the economic standoff with China could increase market volatility, further necessitating the central bank to move its policy stance to neutral.

Retroactive interpretations have bedeviled mortgage servicers and the market for older loans. The industry will be watching other cases in New York closely now.

If Experian eventually charges for VantageScore 4.0, it will be offered for at least a 50% discount compared to what Fair Isaac Corp. charges for its FICO score.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's credit risk-transfers and some older private-label mortgage-backed securities have exposures to the Washington DC area.

Rate-and-term transactions leaped by 154% from August to September, while cash-outs and purchase loans also increased, according to Optimal Blue.

Bilt Rewards, best known for offering renters rewards points for paying on time, plans to do the same for mortgages through a partnership with United Wholesale Mortgage LLC, its first tie-up with a home lender.

The largely direct-to-consumer lender will also offer reverse mortgage loans in the latest dealing between publicly traded industry players.

The import taxes — initially set at 25% for cabinets, vanities and upholstered wooden furniture — officially took effect on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. New York time.

While technology has become an important channel for information among homebuyers, many still see real estate agents as smarter than any other resource.

Total mortgage origination volume is forecasted to barely eclipse $2 trillion by the end of the year for the first time since 2022, iEmergent said.

Growth in multifamily and investment property mortgage originations, the highest risk segments, drove the 6% rise in the National Fraud Index, Cotality said.

A lapse in the National Flood Insurance Program because of the US government shutdown threatens to snarl home sales in the nation's riskiest floodplains and leave some homeowners without coverage in the middle of hurricane season.

The shutdown halted the release of employment data, typically a driver of mortgage rate activity, likely resulting in trackers moving in varying directions.

A series of social media posts, from the US president over the weekend and then from the FHFA director and real estate scion Pulte on Wednesday, are helping put an S&P gauge of builders on track for a four-day losing streak.