Mortgages

The industry is only about a third of the way to where it needs to be, an analyst from the Mortgage Bankers Association said at the trade group's conference Sunday.

The top five had more than $15 billion in mortgage servicing in Q2.

In a week where homebuilding stocks were faced with surging U.S. Treasury yields and data showing weakening demand for homes, one analyst is throwing in the towel on the sector.

That's left mortgage servicing rights investors with fewer concerns about runoff, but buyers have less in the way of recapture opportunities.

The firm will turn its focus toward its commercial, home improvement and reverse lending platforms along with portfolio management and other lender services.

The mortgage subsidiary of PlainsCapital Bank also said it had reduced its headcount by 23% in the past year.

The parent company Ocwen is contesting the award from the arbitrator, who ruled the company made a false offer to the borrower.

The transaction allows for portfolio defense as well as supporting Marlin's move into Ginnie Mae servicing.

The delay acknowledges concerns some companies and trade groups have had about compliance with the requirement.

But a cooling housing market opened up buying opportunities for some and helped drive the share of FHA-backed purchases upward for the first time in a year, according to new Attom research.

The companies formed a partnership in 2019, in which the lender would handle mortgage processing, underwriting and closing for the digital-only bank.

However, the benchmark 10-year Treasury has been above 4% on a sustained basis for most of the prior week, gaining 18 bps, an indication of future increases for home loans.

The Community Home Lenders of America's latest report finds that independent mortgage banks picked up the slack as many large banks abandoned mortgage lending or imposed credit overlays, two of its members say.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell for an eighth straight month in September, underscoring how soaring mortgage rates are punishing the housing market. 

The numbers contrast other loan performance statistics that show payments that have been late for less than 90 days have been creeping up a little.

Close to 60,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in September

Approximately two years after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stopped accepting the troubled index, the government agency is looking to approve the Structured Overnight Financing Rate for adjustable rate mortgages.