President Donald Trump on Friday announced two executive orders that aim to increase the U.S. housing supply and consumer access to mortgage credit. One of the orders directs various federal agencies — including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) — to work together on reviewing […]
iBuyer Opendoor’s recently launched mortgage product — which promises below-market interest rates after the company removed its markup — has sparked debate across the industry about who absorbs the cost and whether the model is sustainable. Some industry professionals view the offering as similar to the strategy many homebuilders use — providing below-market mortgage rates […]
U.S. homeowners lost some equity over the past year as home price growth slowed, though overall equity levels remain historically high. A new report from Cotality found that borrower equity declined by $78.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with a year earlier — a drop of about 0.5%. On average homeowners lost […]
Fidelis Investors has closed its third rated residential transition loan (RTL) securitization, a $143.925 million deal backed by 330 loans originated by 29 lenders, the company announced Friday. The transaction, FIDL 2026-RTL1, is a two-year revolving securitization rated by Morningstar DBRS. The origination of the underlying RTL collateral was completed by Unitas Funding LLC, a […]
There’s no question that banks have played a steadily diminishing role in mortgage lending and servicing over the past decade. In 2016, the three largest mortgage lenders were Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America, and depository institutions made up six of the top 10 mortgage lenders. Fast forward to 2026, and only […]
Reverse mortgage lender Longbridge Financial this week introduced RetentionIQ, a program designed to protect the loan pipelines of broker partners by addressing the persistent tension between retail and wholesale businesses at multichannel lenders. Previously, partners had to contact Longbridge directly if one of their borrowers was approached by the lender’s retail team. In these cases, […]
For years, the housing industry anticipated that the aging demographic would steadily release inventory into the resale market. Instead, many older homeowners are remaining in place longer than expected — and the reasons go far beyond sentiment. As someone who began my career building a mortgage lending company — followed by real estate, escrow and […]
New Jersey homeowners could see smaller property tax relief benefits under a budget proposal unveiled Tuesday by Gov. Mikie Sherrill, as the state confronts fiscal pressures and persistently high costs of living. In her first budget address since taking office, Sherrill proposed tightening eligibility and lowering the maximum payout for the state’s Stay NJ program […]
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) urged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to revise elements of its proposed partial claim and loss-mitigation policies for VA-backed mortgages, arguing that the draft rules could leave veteran borrowers at a disadvantage compared to others. In a comment letter submitted Wednesday and addressed to Patrick Zondervan, executive director […]
The Senate overwhelmingly passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act in an 89–10 vote on Thursday, advancing a sweeping bipartisan bill aimed at boosting housing supply and addressing affordability challenges nationwide. But consumer advocates and trade groups are still pushing for changes to several provisions. Congress has not passed such a comprehensive housing package […]
Housing and real estate trade groups are urging lawmakers to revise several provisions in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which is scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor. Industry concerns focus on the bill’s build-to-rent (BTR) provision that require institutional investors to sell newly constructed BTR homes within a set time frame, […]
CrossCountry Mortgage (CCM) has launched a dedicated homebuilder division and made a “significant investment” in the new unit as it targets more business from builders and consumer buyers, the company announced Wednesday. The Cleveland-based lender said the expansion is meant to deepen relationships with builders nationwide and deliver loan products tailored to both builders and […]
Onity Group Inc. announced this week that it plans to rebrand its PHH Mortgage Corp. subsidiary as Onity Mortgage Corp., effective March 23, extending the company’s multiyear shift from the legacy Ocwen and PHH brands. The company disclosed the planned name change in a statement, saying that PHH Mortgage will become Onity Mortgage and align […]
Blend Labs Inc. ended 2025 with a profitable quarter as improved mortgage market conditions supported its business, while executives said the company is largely insulated from the recent “SaaSpocalypse” affecting the software industry. The company reported non-GAAP operating income of $5.4 million in the fourth quarter, up from $4.3 million in the third quarter and […]
Two of the nation’s largest reverse mortgage lenders, Longbridge Financial and Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit over alleged improper advertising practices, ending a dispute that began in September 2024. According to a joint filing on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, […]
Finance of America Companies Inc. (FOA) reported $110 million in net income from continuing operations in 2025, a 175% increase from the prior year, as the reverse mortgage and home equity lender benefited from higher funded loan volume and improved operating leverage. The company posted basic earnings per share of $5.04 for the year, while […]
Mortgage applications increased 3.2% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending March 6, 2026. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 4.1% compared with the previous week. The refinance index 0.5% from the previous week and was 81% higher than the […]
The mortgage industry does not have a speed problem. It has a confidence problem. For decades, the credit score has served as the central organizing mechanism of mortgage risk. It estimates the probability of repayment using historical behavioral data. It is statistically validated, embedded in capital markets, and operationally indispensable. But the credit score answers […]
Radian is shutting down its mortgage conduit business after a divestiture process, while continuing to explore strategic options for its title and real estate services units, the company confirmed to HousingWire. The conduit, which operated primarily through Radian Mortgage Capital, focused on buying mortgages in the secondary market from lenders and selling them to investors […]
loanDepot reported a smaller net loss for 2025 as revenue and margins improved, but results weakened in the fourth quarter as margins declined. The Irvine, California-based mortgage lender’s earnings showed signs of recovery as the company aims to improve volume and market share. loanDepot posted a net loss of $108 million for the full year, […]
Retirement plan participants remained focused on long-term goals throughout 2025, with automatic enrollment features and professionally managed allocations improving savings outcomes, according to Vanguard‘s annual How America Saves report. The 25th edition of the annual analysis — scheduled for full release in June — shows that average participant account balances increased by 13% from the […]
United Holding Corp., the parent of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), raised the bar on 2026 revenue expectations, issuing guidance just days ahead of a shareholder vote from Two Harbors Investment Corp. on UWM’s proposed $1.3 billion all-stock acquisition. “Even without the Two Harbors transaction, we now expect our total revenue for the first quarter of […]
Floify announced on Tuesday the launch of Dynamic Apps 2.0, an enhancement to its mortgage point-of-sale platform that lets lenders build and manage fully customizable digital loan applications without engineering support or third-party tools. With Dynamic Apps 2.0, lenders can configure loan application experiences by product type and borrower scenario, extending the Floify POS beyond […]
Mortgage credit availability rose by 1.1% to 107.1 in February, according to the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) that analyzes data from ICE Mortgage Technology. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of loosening credit. The […]
PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. said on Tuesday that it has launched a suite of non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) products within its third-party origination division, aimed to help lending partners serve borrowers with complex financial profiles. “Pennymac TPO’s newest offerings give our partners tools to help self-employed, entrepreneurs and business owners participate in homeownership,” said Kim Nichols, […]
Better Home & Finance Holding Co. announced Tuesday that it’s powering the launch of Credit Karma Home Loans, an AI-driven refinance platform aimed at helping homeowners lower their mortgage payments. The platform allows eligible Credit Karma members to get preapproved in as few as five clicks and complete a refinance in as little as 10 […]
Financial technology company Plaid announced Tuesday that it has integrated its Home Lending Report into the Encompass loan origination system from ICE Mortgage Technology — a move Plaid says will streamline digital asset verification for mortgage lenders. The integration embeds Plaid’s verification tool directly into Encompass, allowing loan officers and underwriters to access borrower asset […]
Mortgage rate locks rose in February as lower borrowing costs helped bring more homebuyers back into the market, according to Optimal Blue‘s February 2026 Market Advantage report. The report, released Tuesday, found that total rate-lock volume increased 9% compared to January and was nearly 40% higher than in February 2025. Purchase lock volume climbed more […]
West Capital Lending (WCL) has sued loanDepot, accusing the California-based mortgage lender of engaging in a long-running compensation scheme that violates the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, marks the latest escalation in a bitter legal feud between the two companies. […]
Multichannel mortgage lender Newrez has launched Newrez TitlePass for use in its wholesale channel, giving mortgage brokers a way to waive the lender title insurance requirement on certain refinance loans. This could potentially save borrowers hundreds or thousands of dollars in closing costs, the company said Monday. The program is offered exclusively through Newrez’s affiliated […]
Logan Finance Corp. announced Monday that it has launched a new premium tier within its Open Road product series aimed at borrowers seeking higher loan amounts than those typically offered through conventional or standard non-QM programs. The new offering, called Open Road Elevated, provides loan amounts of up to $5 million across four programs designed […]
Mortgage origination activity rose sharply in the fourth quarter as a jump in refinancing activity pushed lending to its highest level in more than three years, according to ICE Mortgage Technology‘s March 2026 Mortgage Monitor Report. The company’s report found that mortgage originations reached an estimated 1.44 million in Q4 2025, the largest quarterly total […]
loanDepot is reentering the wholesale channel four years after formally exiting the segment, the company announced Monday. The move was first anticipated in August by HousingWire. Dan Peña, president of partnership lending at the California-based lender, will lead the new wholesale division. Matt Mancasola is also returning to the company as vice president of wholesale […]
Editor’s note: Welcome to the third installment of the Monday Morning Q&A from HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD). Each Monday morning, the RMD newsletter will feature an in-depth interview with a reverse mortgage industry figure on a wide range of topics including loan origination and servicing, product development and technology. When Celink began subservicing reverse mortgages two […]
UMortgage has rolled out a broker model designed to give loan originators more autonomy, higher earning potential, and access to a proprietary technology platform. Anthony Casa, President & CEO, shares how the new broker model empowers LOs with entrepreneurial control, unique revenue opportunities, and a technology-driven platform that streamlines operations. In this conversation, he discusses […]
Redwood Trust closed a $391 million securitization backed by nonqualified mortgages (non-QMs), marking the inaugural deal from its Aspire platform that was expanded in early 2025, the company announced Friday. The transaction (SPIRE 2026-1) establishes Redwood’s third securitization shelf, alongside Sequoia for nonagency mortgages and CoreVest for business-purpose lending. Aspire’s first securitization includes 752 loans […]
When mortgage rates stayed higher for longer over the past few years, originators increasingly turned their attention to nonqualified mortgages (non-QMs). But that resurgence may not lose momentum even if rates decline in 2026. “We traditionally have seen nonagency volumes represent about 10% of the mortgage business. If you figure it’s $2 trillion a year […]
In a sign of a still-softening labor market, U.S. employers eliminated 92,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in February, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Economists say the report is unlikely to change the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates. Meanwhile, the jobs numbers for December 2025 were downwardly revised […]
The mortgage industry is starting to work through major changes after a federal law restricting abusive trigger leads took effect this week, limiting when credit bureaus can sell a borrower’s information to competing lenders. The policy stems from the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (S.B. 3502), which amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to curb the […]
The mortgage industry doesn’t stand still—and neither can the professionals who wish to succeed within it. The ability to adapt and respond to changing conditions and circumstances has long separated thriving loan officers from those who struggle to meet their goals. The industry will test our adaptability once more when the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act […]
Better.com has launched a conversational credit decision engine that lets mortgage and home equity lenders run underwriting through ChatGPT using the company’s Tinman AI platform, the company announced Thursday. The integration, built with OpenAI using a Model Context Protocol (MCP) connector, allows loan officers and bank teams to access Better’s Tinman engine directly in ChatGPT […]
A new report from consulting firm Milliman concludes that the average 65-year-old should set aside $135,000 to cover high-intensity long-term care in the future. But averages can mask wide variation depending on gender, location and health. Women face significantly higher costs than men — an average of $171,000 versus $98,000 — largely because women […]
Housing advocates warn that recent changes to a federal rural lending program could sharply limit homeownership opportunities for low-income families in California communities. The California Coalition for Rural Housing said revisions made Feb. 10 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Section 502 Direct Loan program reduce the maximum loan amount allowed under the program […]
Morgan Stanley’s reported layoff of about 3% of its workforce — roughly 2,500 employees — is affecting some staff working on mortgage origination services for wealth management clients. The bank is cutting positions across its estimated 83,000-employee global workforce due to shifts in business priorities, geographic strategy changes and individual job performance considerations, people familiar […]
A decade of MBA Quarterly Performance Reports tells a story the mortgage industry has yet to fully absorb. A 200 basis point gap between TopTier® and Bottom Tier lenders persists. As of the quarter ended September 30, 2025, the top 20% of lenders earned 139 basis points of pre-tax production income. The average lender hovers […]