Homebuyer affordability deteriorated in May as higher mortgage rates and larger loan application amounts pushed monthly mortgage payments higher, according to data released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI), which measures mortgage payment burdens relative to income, rose 2.2% to a reading of 159.4 in May. — […]
As mortgage underwriting absorbs Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) activity, rent payment history and trended credit data, consumers face a new challenge: understanding how everyday financial behavior is being interpreted by increasingly sophisticated scoring systems. Credit modernization is not the problem. In many ways, it is overdue. The lending industry has made a strong case […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has proposed replacing its existing Duty to Serve (DTS) regulation with an outcome-based framework that would change how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac support manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation and rural housing. The proposal, released in a notice of proposed rulemaking on Wednesday, would emphasize chattel loans, broaden how […]
AARP, the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to serving older Americans, on Wednesday announced more than $8 million in grants across the country. The funds aim to make communities more livable, with specific targets toward improving housing, public spaces, transportation and digital connectivity. As part of the 10th anniversary of the nonprofit’s Community Challenge grant […]
Fannie Mae will soon announce initiatives to expand its title waiver pilot program, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte said Tuesday. The program, announced by President Joe Biden during his March 2024 State of the Union address, aimed at reducing closing costs as part of a broader “war on junk fees.” It allows […]
In March of this year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac unveiled a major change to condominium lending, financial and insurance standards aimed at improving the way condos are bought, sold and managed. These updated rules change the criteria for prospective condo buyers to obtain conventional financing through Fannie and Freddie, which has ripple effects across […]
Finance of America (FOA) announced on Tuesday that it has appointed three senior executives to lead its brand, communications and product functions as the reverse mortgage lender looks to expand its retirement-focused home equity offerings. Colm Murphy has joined as chief brand officer, Jordan Baucum as senior vice president of communications and Mike Urban as […]
Two Harbors Investment Corp.‘s latest adjournment of its special meeting underscores just how tight the shareholder math appears to be on its proposed sale to a CrossCountry Mortgage (CCM) affiliate — and how much pressure is coming from rival bidder United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). Two Harbors said Tuesday it has pushed its special meeting of […]
Lender and GSE responses to the “lender choice” credit score selection policy announced last year are likely to have significant impacts on the allocation of mortgage credit among credit investors. As analyzed in several studies, including my own, absent a response by the GSEs, there is the potential for adverse selection to raise credit risk […]
Executives at United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) and Two Harbors Investment Corp. (TWO) raised the heat in an email exchange during their latest round of deal negotiations. TWO mentioned that UWM could be trying to frustrate competitor CrossCountry Mortgage (CCM) in its efforts to acquire Two Harbors, while UWM alleged that TWO executives are prioritizing their […]
For more than a decade, housing industry policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders have worked to address a persistent housing shortage in the U.S. Still, new demographic and market trends suggest the housing landscape may look markedly different in the years ahead, according to a new Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) white paper released Monday. The paper, […]
At last month’s Reverse Mastermind Summit in Knoxville, Tennessee, I had the opportunity to speak about one of the most important challenges facing our profession: the public perception of reverse mortgages and the industry that serves older homeowners. My message was intentionally optimistic. Yes, we have a perception problem, but perception is not permanent. It […]
Economist Alan Greenspan, the former long-time Federal Reserve chairman who guided the U.S. through a historic decade of economic growth before his policies were later tied to the 2008 housing crisis, died at his home on Monday due to complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 100. Greenspan, the 13th Chairman of the Board of Governors […]
Allegiant Reverse Services is celebrating its 10th anniversary in the reverse mortgage industry. Founded during a period of market uncertainty, the company has expanded its title and settlement operations to serve clients in 48 states, completed 130,000-plus reverse mortgage transactions and built a tenured, high-retention workforce. As the reverse mortgage industry continues to evolve through […]
At the start of June, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced it had joined Anthropic’s cybersecurity initiative, Project Glasswing. ICE will deploy Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Preview across its operations, including the New York Stock Exchange, to identify and remediate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. By participating in Project Glasswing, ICE joins a select group of organizations […]
For decades, the American dream of aging gracefully at home has collided with a harsh reality — housing stock simply wasn’t built for it. Cameron Carter, founder and CEO of Rosarium Health, is out to change that. His health tech startup is reimagining the home as a core site of health care delivery, connecting health […]
Retirement plan participation among eligible U.S. workers reached a record 86% last year, according to Vanguard‘s 2026 How America Saves report, which analyzed retirement savings behavior across nearly 5 million defined contribution plan participants. The annual report found that automatic enrollment, higher default contribution rates and broader use of professionally managed investments have reshaped retirement […]
Mortgage applications for new home purchases rose 3.8% year over year in May but fell 3% from April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Builder Application Survey, released Thursday. The figures are not seasonally adjusted. New home purchase activity softened during the month, with the MBA estimating new home sales at a seasonally adjusted […]
A broad coalition of banking and housing finance trade groups is urging federal regulators to scale back parts of the proposed Basel III capital rules, arguing that overlapping requirements and elevated risk weights could unnecessarily restrict lending and economic growth. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) and several other […]
Ralo, an AI-native mortgage broker founded by two former Google employees, has raised a $2.9 million seed round to expand its automated home loan platform, which the company says delivers interest rates below the national average and closes loans in roughly half the industry’s typical timeline. Co-founders Arjun Lalwani and Helly Shah, who met while […]
Today, Kevin Warsh finished presiding over his first meeting as Federal Reserve chair, and boy, it was interesting to say the least. Now, keep in mind that I’m the only person on Earth who had #AnyOneButWarsh, so my feelings are well known, but as always, I’m going to call it down the line on what […]
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%, marking its fourth consecutive pause as it enters the Kevin Warsh era. Monetary policy watchers, however, have changed their forecasts on the Fed’s next moves as they react to an economic landscape that has shifted dramatically […]
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced on Wednesday the expansion of its product lineup with the addition of Doctor Loans, a mortgage program designed for medical professionals who may face barriers to homeownership despite having strong income potential. Although medical professionals typically have strong long-term earning potential and stable career paths, many carry substantial student loan […]
Mortgage applications decreased 3.8% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending June 12, 2026. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 5% compared with the previous week. The refinance index decreased 5% from the previous week and was 17% higher than […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Director Bill Pulte are asking Congress for the power to bring civil lawsuits against individuals suspected of mortgage fraud. In its newest Annual Report to Congress, released Monday, the FHFA recommended new authority to directly sue for mortgage market fraud. This would allow the agency to file the […]
Social Security’s long-term financial outlook deteriorated significantly in the latest annual report from the program’s trustees, with officials projecting a larger funding shortfall and an earlier depletion date for the retirement trust fund. The 2026 Trustees Report estimates Social Security‘s 75-year funding gap at 4.42% of taxable payroll, up from 3.82% a year earlier. That […]
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) is asking the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to delay new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac condominium project and property insurance standards, set to begin taking effect in August, by at least 12 months. In a June 15 letter to FHFA Director Bill Pulte, the trade group warned […]
Home equity investment (HEI) company Hometap has introduced a new pricing structure that it says will lower the cost of accessing home equity and make its products more competitive with traditional borrowing options such as home equity lines of credit and home equity loans. The Boston-based financial technology company announced Tuesday that it is implementing […]
I launched a condo conversion community recently. Units priced between $90,000 and $140,000. Sold six in the first week. Five of the six were seller-financed. Not because the buyers preferred it. Because conventional lenders couldn’t touch them. FHA couldn’t touch them. These were people with real income, real savings and no path to a mortgage. […]
Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) have long been the gold standard product set for reverse mortgage originators, but they became a minority share of the market earlier this year as proprietary loan volume exceeded HECM volume in the first quarter of 2026. While private-label reverse mortgages offer advantages like lower upfront costs and larger loan […]
As lenders weigh how to adopt artificial intelligence under evolving fair lending and compliance expectations, Copperlane is pitching a full-fledged AI “employee” rather than another point solution. The startup, founded by 21-year-olds Athan Zhang and Brianna Lin, recently raised a $4.1 million seed round to build Penny, which the company describes as an autonomous AI […]
Two Harbors Investment Corp. said in a letter on Monday that UWM Holdings Corp. failed to submit a revised offer to buy the company or request to extend a waiver period to negotiate, leading the seller to urge shareholders to approve its sale to CrossCountry Mortgage (CCM). The waiver period, obtained after investor feedback and a recommendation from proxy advisory […]
New American Funding (NAF) is ramping up its push into reverse mortgages. It has grown its dedicated reverse division from three loan officers to 85 in the past three years as more senior homeowners look to tap into record levels of housing wealth. Shannon Robinson, senior vice president of NAF’s reverse division, is building a […]
Most people working in the mortgage industry today couldn’t pass a basic exam on the industry they work in. I was guilty of that myself, for my first several years originating loans. For me, it wasn’t because I didn’t have the aptitude or didn’t care. I cared, but about the things I knew would benefit […]
Copperlane, an AI-native mortgage origination platform, has raised $4.1 million in seed funding to scale an autonomous AI mortgage loan officer that aims to compress hours of document reviews into minutes, the company announced. The round was led by TQ Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, US News Digital Ventures, Mercor, Valon Mortgage and others. […]
Guild Mortgage is advocating for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to adopt residual income analysis at scale through ongoing conversations and data sharing. The California-based lender has used this model since 2022 in its “Complete Rate Program” that’s available for government loans. Because Guild retains servicing and issues the loans in Ginnie Mae pools, the company is able to set its own […]
As reverse mortgage lenders and servicers find innovative ways to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations, compliance issues are likely to pop up. Jim Brodsky, a founding member of Washington, D.C.-based law firm Weiner Brodsky Kider PC, says that AI should be categorized as an assistant but not a replacement for humans. Licensed mortgage […]
MISMO, the mortgage industry’s standards organization, launched a new artificial intelligence governance toolkit on Thursday, which is designed to help lenders, servicers and other housing finance companies manage AI-related risks while supporting innovation. The Framework for Responsible AI in the Mortgage Ecosystem, known as FRAME, is now available to MISMO member companies through MISMO Connect. […]
For many lenders, UAD 3.6 (Uniform Appraisal Dataset) may still feel like something the appraisal world needs to own and lenders only need to monitor, but that sentiment may leave some organizations underprepared. UAD 3.6 is not a back-office update. It is a meaningful shift in how appraisal data is structured, delivered and interpreted, and […]
Unlock Technologies completed a $358.5 million securitization backed by home equity agreements (HEAs), marking the company’s first transaction of 2026 and the largest HEA securitization completed in the market this year. The financial technology company announced on Tuesday that its Unlock HEA Trust 2026-1 transaction closed on May 21 and securitized approximately $358.5 million of […]
On Wednesday morning, Figure Technology Solutions announced it would acquire fix-and-flip lender Kiavi, a move executives say will add about 40% to Figure’s first-lien volume and extend its lead in real-world asset tokenization. The move marks Figure’s first acquisition and is expected to close in August, according to a company spokesperson. Under the agreement, Figure […]
Every mortgage AI demo this year ends the same way: the loan closes itself. The most valuable AI deployments in mortgage end differently, with the underwriter finishing in a fraction of the time what once took most of the day and still signing their name to the result. That gap, between what the industry is […]
Rocket Companies has priced the issuance of $1.5 billion in senior notes in an oversubscribed transaction, with proceeds to refinance an existing term loan, the company announced Tuesday. The Detroit-based parent of Rocket Mortgage priced $900 million in 6.125% senior notes due in 2031 and $600 million in 6.5% senior notes due in 2034. The […]
Figure Technology Solutions will acquire Kiavi in a $717 million deal that increases its exposure to real estate investor loans and the first-lien mortgage market, the companies announced Wednesday. Under the deal, Figure will acquire Kiavi’s technology and operating platform, while a joint venture between Figure and global investment firm Sixth Street will purchase Kiavi’s […]
PennyMac Financial Services Inc. announced on Tuesday that Tiffany To, the CEO and co-founder of AI and operational intelligence software company Ontollo, has joined its board of directors. David Spector, chairman and chief executive officer of PennyMac, said To’s experience in AI, business transformation and enterprise technology will help support the company’s continued investment in […]