American homeowners are sitting on $17 trillion in equity. The average mortgaged borrower holds $295,000. By any historical standard, these are people with options. And yet, when a $14,000 roof replacement or HVAC failure hits, a growing share of them won’t tap a single dollar of that equity. Borrowers who locked in rates below 4% […]
Legislation under consideration in Congress would create a bipartisan commission of experts tasked with developing long-term reform options for Social Security and Medicare. Rather than advancing immediate policy changes, the panel would study the financial outlook for the programs and submit recommendations for lawmakers to consider. The proposed Commission on Sustaining Medicare and Social Security […]
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order calling for creation of a voluntary review framework for the nation’s most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models before public release. It also directs federal agencies to expand AI-powered cybersecurity programs and establish a new government-industry clearinghouse for software vulnerabilities. “Advanced AI capabilities make our Nation stronger, […]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday announced that it secured a court order to shut down an alleged mortgage relief scheme. The regulator says the scheme referenced federal homeowner assistance programs to collect upfront fees from financially distressed borrowers while failing to deliver promised loan modifications. A judge for the U.S. District Court for […]
Splitero announced Tuesday that it has completed a $296 million home equity investment (HEI) securitization, marking the company’s second public transaction in the growing asset class. The securitization, which closed May 27, issued four classes of securities through Splitero Trust 2026-1. The deal included $202.6 million in Class A-1 notes rated A (low) (sf), $56.8 […]
All American Home Mortgage (AAHM), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tri-Star Management Inc., has acquired the Las Vegas branch of Liberty Home Mortgage and hired the branch’s team, expanding its presence in a key Western housing market, the company announced Tuesday. The deal adds a group of experienced originators and operations staff to the Nevada-based […]
Mortgage applications decreased 2.5% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications Survey for the week ending May 29, 2026. This week’s results include an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday, the association noted. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 13% compared with the previous week. The […]
Onity Group Inc. won regulatory approval for a revised sale of most of its reverse mortgage servicing rights to Finance of America (FOA), the company said Tuesday. Under the new agreement, Onity will sell MSRs on about 20,000 Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) with an unpaid principal balance of $5.1 billion as of March 31. […]
Rocket Pro is continuing its promise to deliver a monthly “Power Play” announcement on the first Tuesday of every month by introducing three new broker-focused incentives, one of which will lead to a $100,000 prize. Part of Rocket Pro’s June Power Play, the third month of the initiative, includes the launch of “The Big Pitch,” described […]
President Donald Trump has appointed Bill Pulte as the Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Pulte will also remain in his current roles as Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness […]
There is an ongoing debate in mortgage lending about whether the industry is fundamentally broken or simply experiencing another cycle of technological evolution. Over the past decade, lenders have invested heavily in automation, OCR, verification services, title integrations and income validation tools. Artificial intelligence is now emerging as the next expected leap in efficiency. Yet […]
Mutual of Omaha Mortgage remained the nation’s largest reverse mortgage lender in May, even as overall Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements continued to decline, according to a report released Monday by HECMWorld.com that utilizes data from Reverse Market Insight (RMI). Mutual of Omaha recorded 423 HECM endorsements during the month, upping its total to […]
A new analysis from Investopedia found that a single American who retires at 65 needs roughly $898,000 in savings to fund a comfortable retirement. But the required nest egg varies sharply — from about $644,000 in North Dakota to more than $1 million in New Jersey, Hawaii, California and Washington, D.C. An individual age 65 […]
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s acquisition of Taylor Morrison Home Corp. is more than just a homebuilder buyout — it brings two mortgage operations under one umbrella. Together, these units originated nearly $8.2 billion in 2025, serving homebuyers across the income spectrum. On Sunday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a definitive agreement to acquire Taylor Morrison in an all-cash […]
For the past 16 months, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) acting director Russell Vought has moved aggressively to scale back the agency’s enforcement and regulatory activities, even as questions have mounted over how long he can legally remain in charge. Vought, who is the current head of the White House Office of Management and Budget […]
Mortgage application fraud risk declined in the first quarter of 2026, returning to historic norms as refinancing activity increased, according to a new report from Cotality. The company’s Q1 2026 National Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index fell 9.3% from a year earlier and 9% from the fourth quarter of 2025. Cotality estimated that about one […]
Plaza Home Mortgage, a wholesale and correspondent mortgage lender, has disclosed a data breach due to a security incident that may have exposed customers’ and employees’ personal information. The exact number of people affected and the specific states involved have not yet been publicly disclosed. The company said that on or around Feb. 17, 2026, […]
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) on Monday announced the launch of ICE Fraud Monitor, a mortgage fraud and property research solution integrated with the Encompass loan origination system to help lenders reduce risk and speed underwriting. Fraud Monitor pulls fraud risk scoring and property risk data into a single dashboard within Encompass, cutting down on the need […]
Christina Harmes has the reverse mortgage bug in her blood. She previously worked with her father, Scott, at C2 Financial Corp., one of the nation’s largest mortgage brokerages, and has been originating loans since 2011. Harmes, who’s based in Southern California, has since moved on to Barrett Financial Group, where she works as a reverse […]
Few phrases surface more often in mortgage boardrooms than “loan officer productivity.” Leaders understandably want more loans per originator, more dollar volume per head and greater efficiency across the sales force. The metric feels clean and controllable, offering a simple way to measure performance and signal accountability. Gradually, that focus can harden into the assumption […]
Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Pro provided additional details this week on their rollout of VantageScore 4.0 in mortgage lending after officially announcing last week that they have started using VantageScore 4.0 alongside Classic FICO scores. Heather Lovier, chief operating officer of Rocket Companies, told HousingWire that VantageScore 4.0 can currently be used for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and […]
Scotiabank has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Maple Financial Holdings Inc., a deal that will support its U.S. mortgage capital markets business, the bank announced Friday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Maple Financial is the parent company of MapleMark Bank, a U.S. commercial bank with operations primarily in Dallas. “Our acquisition of MapleMark Bank […]
Serious delinquencies (90 days or more past due) for credit cards and auto loans are at peak levels not seen since the Great Financial Crisis, with the savings rate dropping to a low point for 2026. Will this result in a return to 2008 conditions for the housing industry? Many lifelong doomers have showcased the […]
Housing is generally considered affordable when it consumes no more than 30% of a household’s gross income, but for many buyers, especially first-timers, saving enough cash for a down payment remains the biggest barrier. That’s according to a new analysis by Down Payment Resource (DPR) in partnership with the Urban Institute. They dug into Home […]
I’d like to tell you about someone who did everything right. She built a wedding photography business from the ground up. What started as a side hustle became a full-time operation, then a team, then something that could support not just her, but her entire family. Her income wasn’t inconsistent, but it was complex, with […]
Retirement savers continued to build momentum in early 2026, even as markets fluctuated, according to the latest quarterly analysis from Fidelity Investments. The firm reported that total savings rates reached record levels in the first quarter. Combined employer and employee contributions for 401(k) savers hit 14.4%, approaching Fidelity’s suggested 15% target. For 403(b) participants, the […]
A new study from the Urban Institute concludes that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) could offer zero-down payment mortgages to first-time homebuyers without significantly increasing default risk or endangering its insurance fund. “Allowing zero-down payment mortgages would level the playing field for potential homeowners without family wealth,” the researchers wrote in the report. “Moreover, FHA zero-down payment loans would […]
Reverse mortgage lender Longbridge Financial is partnering with mortgage technology firm Friday Harbor to implement an artificial intelligence-powered pre-underwriting platform aimed at identifying issues earlier in the origination process. In an interview with HousingWire‘s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD), executives from both companies described the arrangement as a strategic partnership focused on modernizing reverse mortgage workflows […]
Bank of America said Thursday that it will continue its Community Homeownership Commitment program after surpassing its original goal of delivering $15 billion in affordable home loans and grants. The program, launched in 2019, has provided more than $15 billion in affordable home loans. This total includes more than $600 million in down payment and […]
A coalition of fair housing and economic advocacy groups sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and acting director Russell Vought on Wednesday, seeking to block a Trump administration-backed rule they say would weaken longstanding protections against lending discrimination. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenges changes made last month by the […]
Wells Fargo has reached an agreement with construction technology company ICON to serve as the preferred lender for its new 3D-printed residential properties. As part of the partnership, the bank will offer a 50 basis-point interest rate incentive to borrowers. “The housing market is looking for new ways to increase supply and improve affordability, and this technology is […]
LadderUp Housing announced on Thursday that it received an investment from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to expand its rent-to-homeownership model into Allegheny and Westmoreland counties in Pennsylvania. The company said the funding will support the acquisition and renovation of homes aimed at helping low- to moderate-income families transition from renting to owning through financial […]
The conversation around artificial intelligence has reached a tipping point. For many professionals, the barrier is no longer skepticism. It’s saturation. AI is everywhere. Headlines, product demos, internal meetings and daily workflows. And yet, despite constant exposure, a large number of people remain stuck in the same place: aware of its potential, but unsure how […]
High rates and low inventories have beleaguered homebuyers for far too long. At a time when they should be exhilarated at the prospect of making their homeownership dreams come true, many instead feel stressed out, frustrated and uncertain as they face sticker shock, rate volatility, bidding wars, negotiations and, of course, the mortgage process itself. […]
Pennsylvania lawmakers are moving to bring home equity investment (HEI) companies under state banking oversight, with a floor vote scheduled June 1. The legislation, House Bill 2120, would subject shared appreciation agreements to similar regulations as those governing traditional lenders. The proposed action comes as a state representative accuses one company of attempting to “mislead” […]
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. is suing mortgage lender Nationwide Mortgage Bankers (NMB) for allegedly profiting on the “goodwill and sterling reputation” associated with its name and trademarks. The lawsuit, filed May 20 in an Ohio federal court, brings accusations of federal trademark infringement, unfair competition, dilution, cybersquatting and violations of Ohio state law. Nationwide Insurance claims the actions […]
Xactus has closed the acquisition of Mortgage Credit Link (MCL) from MeridianLink, the company announced Wednesday. Terms of the deal, which is likely to catch many market participants off guard, were not disclosed. MCL operates a web-based order‑fulfillment hub for credit and verification data used by roughly 25 consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) — companies that […]
Mortgage applications decreased 8.5% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending May 22. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 9% compared with the previous week. The refinance index slipped again, decreasing 18% from the previous week. It was 19% higher […]
A new federal Medicaid rule will place a nationwide cap of $1 million cap on home equity for older adults who seek long-term care coverage, a change advocates say could increasingly affect middle-class homeowners in expensive housing markets. The provision, included in the Budget Reconciliation Act of 2025 — otherwise known as President Donald Trump’s […]
The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) on Tuesday announced the publication of a new white paper, “Fee Standardization in the Mortgage Industry,” outlining how its consumer-facing charge and fee guide can improve consistency and reduce costs tied to mortgage fee disclosures. Released in September 2025, the guide replaces inconsistent free-text fee descriptions with a […]
Lower has hired Paul Zinn as executive vice president of retail lending and divisional manager, adding a veteran mortgage executive to steer the company’s national retail expansion. Zinn will report to Craig Montgomery, Lower’s chief strategy officer and head of retail lending, the company said in an announcement last week. In the new role, Zinn […]
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced last week that it will continue requiring tri-merge credit reports to maintain “prudent risk management” as it transitions to new credit scoring models. This move follows a signal in late April from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner. Aligning with a similar shift by […]
The housing market has spent three years talking about one number: the mortgage rate. That makes sense. The mortgage rate matters. It decides the monthly payment. It decides who can buy, who can refinance, who can move and who has to wait. But the lock-in has lasted long enough that the rate is no longer […]
Like other segments of the broader housing industry, the appraisal space is rapidly evolving through consolidation, technology adoption and federal policy shifts. Reverse mortgage professionals should be mindful of these factors as they work with appraisers to close deals. Erik Morin, CEO of Miami-based Atlas VMS, a Miami-based appraisal management company (AMC) and technology platform, […]
For years, the mortgage industry wore integrations like a badge of honor. Legacy loan origination systems have hundreds of them, connecting to every vendor, service provider and data source imaginable. The more, the merrier. Sounds impressive? Look closer. Think about the incentives. For a service provider, being integrated into an LOS means easier access to […]