Millions of older Americans will see a 2.8% increase in their monthly Social Security checks starting in January due to a recent Social Security Administration (SSA) cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), but experts say the boost still falls short of keeping up with real costs for retirees. Prices for groceries, housing and medical care are rising closer […]
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D -California) has filed a lawsuit against Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), accusing him of violating federal privacy laws by improperly accessing Swalwell’s mortgage records. Pulte referred Swalwell to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Nov. 13, alleging mortgage and tax fraud. He claims Swalwell […]
Despite elevated mortgage rates, mortgage applications increased 0.2% from the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Nov. 21. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 2% compared with the previous week. “Mortgage rates crept higher last week, with the 30-year fixed rate […]
FirstClose, a fintech provider of data and workflow technology for mortgage and home equity lenders, announced on Tuesday that it has appointed Adam Nicholson as director of professional services. Nicholson, who has spent more than a decade leading implementation and professional service teams in the fintech space, will lead the company’s implementation operations along with […]
Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, is the leading candidate to be the next Federal Reserve chair, advisers and allies of President Donald Trump told Bloomberg, as the deadline for a new Fed governor approaches. Trump has voiced his opposition to the current Fed leader, Jerome Powell. Trump has threatened to […]
California-based Lender Price has added its first reverse mortgage partner to its pricing and product eligibility (PPE) platform through an agreement with Finance of America (FOA). Lender Price Marketplace will provide brokers and lenders with live pricing for FOA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) and HomeSafe proprietary reverse mortgage products. FOA — the second-largest HECM […]
Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday and a typically slow period for home sales, mortgage rates remain stable. According to Mortgage News Daily, 30-year fixed rates averaged 6.32% on Monday, down 6 basis points (bps) in the past week. On Tuesday, HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center — which analyzes locked loans across all credit profiles — showed […]
Every few years, someone in mortgage lending announces that we’re witnessing the dawn of the super-lender era. This time, they say, it’s different. The big players have the technology, the capital and the market conditions to finally achieve total vertical integration. Soon, we’ll all either work for a handful of massive institutions or find ourselves […]
The idea of the 50-year mortgages flooded the news recently. It is the newest attempt by the Trump Administration to bring down housing costs, but I don’t think it was thought through entirely. On paper, it seems like a crazy but good idea. 50 years is a long time, but at least it would allow […]
A federal judge has dismissed the criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed and therefore lacked legal authority to present the case to a grand jury. Senior U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, sitting by designation in the Eastern District of Virginia, […]
Residential-mortgage backed securities (RMBS) issuance of nonqualified mortgage (non-QM) pools reached record levels in the third quarter of 2025, according to a recent report from Morningstar DBRS that used data from CreditFlow. The surge in issuance came even as credit performance showed signs of strain and the broader economic and housing environment cooled. The report […]
eLEND, legally known as American Financial Resources (AFR), announced on Monday the appointment of Bobbi MacPherson as the company’s new chief risk officer. In her new role, MacPherson will lead risk, underwriting, post-closing, process improvement and product development, with a focus on developing and refining risk frameworks and enabling process improvements. “Bobbi’s immense impact on […]
HousingWire recently featured an op-ed advocating for Bill Pulte of the FHFA to make Fannie and Freddie (the GSEs) mortgages assumable, retroactively. The intent is noble – most mortgage borrowers are indeed locked in by low interest rates from the pandemic, draining liquidity from the housing market and not allowing these borrowers to relocate when […]
Several candidates have been publicly identified to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, with current Chair Jerome Powell‘s term coming to an end in May. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC’s Sara Eisen in October that he would give President Donald Trump “three or four candidates for him to interview” shortly after Thanksgiving. Trump, however, told reporters […]
Older Americans hold more than $14 trillion in home equity — nearly half the size of the U.S. economy. And while seniors can benefit from tapping their equity through a reverse mortgage product, they can also use the loan proceeds to help family members who might be struggling to afford homeownership. Earlier this week, The […]
In the third quarter of 2025, 1.77 million mortgages were issued on residential properties with one to four units, representing a decrease of 1.6% from the previous quarter but a 1.9% increase from the same period last year. That’s according to ATTOM‘s Q3 2025 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, released on Thursday. The company’s […]
Mortgage technology startup Tidalwave has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round to expand the market share of its agentic artificial intelligence (AI)-powered point-of-sale platform, the company announced Friday. The round was led by Permanent Capital, with participation from homebuilder D.R. Horton and Engineering Capital., bringing Tidalwave’s total funding to $24 million. Tidalwave […]
As someone who’s spent decades in the mortgage trenches—and as one of the owners of a $1 billion independent mortgage banking company—I’ve seen a few sunrises and sunsets in this industry. The 2008 crisis. Conservatorship. Waves of QE. Worsening LLPA’s. Adverse market fees. The pandemic housing chaos. Two percent refinances. The fastest rate spike in […]
Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Partners has entered into a strategic partnership with Southeast Mortgage of Georgia — linking the state’s largest real estate franchise with its largest non-bank mortgage lender. Leaders say the agreement is intended to streamline the home buying and selling process by coordinating lending and real estate services through shared technology and […]
As artificial intelligence (AI) stocks like Nvidia, Oracle, Palantir and Tesla are swelling, fear of an AI stock bubble has created divisions on concerns that may loom on the horizon. One plausible outcome that investors are reckoning with is what lies in store for their retirement accounts, but TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett says that […]
Guaranteed Rate Affinity, a joint venture between Guaranteed Rate Inc. and Anywhere Integrated Services, on Thursday announced the promotion of Jaime Joyce to chief operations and strategy officer. Joyce, who has been in the mortgage industry for more than two decades, began her career as a processor in 2002. She most recently served as the […]
A system designed for purposeEvery mortgage market is patchwork. Rules, products, and features exist because of past events, a crisis, a policy choice, or a market failure. The result is a structure that reflects history more than design. That doesn’t make it bad, but it does mean we carry baggage that limits what the system […]
The plaintiffs in the Taylor Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) suit filed against Zillow in mid-September filed an amended complaint on Wednesday. The amended complaint contains testimony from a dozen anonymous current and former Zillow-affiliated loan officers and agents that corroborate the claims made by the 10 homeowner plaintiffs. The latest complaint maintains the […]
Wealthfront, a fintech known for low-cost investing and savings products, is entering the mortgage business. The California-headquartered company announced Wednesday that was offering early access to Wealthfront Home Lending, which offers mortgages through the company’s automated, software-driven platform. The product is currently available for a limited number of Wealthfront clients who plan to buy or […]
The top leadership positions at Ginnie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have been empty for most of the past year, but the long wait to fill the seats may soon come to an end. On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs advanced the nominations of Joseph Gormley as president […]
CrossCountry Mortgage (CCM) issued $600 million in debt, primarily to repay an outstanding mortgage servicing rights (MSR) line of credit, among other general corporate purposes, the company announced Tuesday. The transaction, handled through its parent company CrossCountry Intermediate HoldCo., priced the notes at 6.75%. The senior notes are due in 2032 and will be guaranteed […]
President Donald Trump has submitted to the Senate the nomination of Stuart Levenbach, an associate director at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to serve as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). While some observers said the nomination comes at a “critical time” for consumers, others see the move as […]
Mortgage applications slumped 5.2% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Nov. 14. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 7% compared with the previous week. The refinance index decreased 7% from the previous week but was 125% higher than the […]
Amid legal chaos and a revamp of its leadership team, NEXA Lending announced on Wednesday the completion of its C-Suite with the addition of Von Maharaj as its chief financial officer. Maharaj brings nearly two decades of financial services experience, starting as a recruiter for accounting and finance professionals before transitioning into mortgage operations at Bear Stearns. […]
Facing what they describe as a broad request for information (RFI) on potential changes to federal reverse mortgage programs, industry experts are focusing on two pressing issues: mortgage insurance and liquidity constraints. In October, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), along with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae, issued an […]
Why innovation matters now In today’s market conditions, lenders who identify strategic opportunities and innovate their operations now stand to gain a competitive advantage. Historically successful lenders have accomplished this by focusing on customer experience, operational efficiencies and the agility to pivot when markets shift. But innovation doesn’t have to mean reinventing the wheel; it […]
Figure Technology Solutions Inc. filed a registration statement on Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed public offering of its Series A Blockchain Common Stock, marking the launch of the first blockchain-native public equity security. Figure‘s offering introduces several industry firsts, which could make it a model for future issuances. The […]
ATTOM released its October 2025 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, showing 36,766 properties with foreclosure filings — including default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — a 3% increase from September and more than a 19% increase from a year ago. October marked the eighth straight month of year-over-year foreclosure activity increases, with completed foreclosures up […]
A group of Senate Democrats has asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte and other employees over criminal referrals against several public figures as they seek to determine whether federal authority and resources were misused. In a letter sent Monday to Gene Dodaro, the Comptroller General […]
Tidalwave, an agentic AI mortgage technology startup integrated with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, recently announced the hiring of Jason Cao as chief operating officer. Cao, an early investor in Tidalwave two years ago, was most recently COO at CertiK, where he helped build it into a unicorn as the world’s largest blockchain security company. […]
Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported stronger profits in the third quarter of 2025, as higher production revenue outpaced rising expenses. That’s according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report, released Tuesday. IMBs recorded an average pretax net production profit of $1,201 on each loan they […]
With only six weeks left in 2025, mortgage rates continue to stabilize in the mid-6% range. And while rates remain higher than many housing professionals and consumers would like, weekly pending home sales are 15% higher than they were a year ago. Mortgage News Daily reported 30-year fixed rates averaged 6.38% on Monday, up 4 bps […]
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s defense repeatedly emphasized that she had no intent to defraud as an argument central to refuting allegations that she misrepresented the occupancy of three properties to obtain more favorable mortgage terms, according to a letter sent by her attorney to the Department of Justice (DOJ). In early September, the DOJ […]
Top-five U.S. reverse mortgage lender Longbridge Financial announced Tuesday that it’s making changes to its Platinum proprietary product suite — including a lower interest rate of 7.99% and a higher principal limit factor that allows borrowers to tap more of their home equity. This week’s changes were precipitated by the company’s desire to help more […]
The share of mortgage with critical defects rose for the second straight quarter as more borrowers tapped home equity through cash-out refinances. That’s according to ACES Quality Management‘s QC Industry Trends Report for the second quarter of 2025. The report, which was released Tuesday and analyzes post-closing quality control data derived from the company’s software, […]
Former Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler is said to have engaged in several financial transactions that violated the central bank’s ethics rules, multiple outlets have reported. That’s according to filings made public by the Office of Government Ethics on Nov. 15. They revealed that Kugler filed the disclosures in September. The forms show that Federal […]
Mortgage applications for new-home purchases decreased 2.6% compared to a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Builder Application Survey data for October 2025. Compared to the month prior, applications decreased by 1%. MBA noted that this change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns. “Lower mortgage rates, ongoing usage of […]
The 2025 U.S. housing market has been marked by high mortgage rates, elevated home prices and economic uncertainty, but a new HomeLight survey of loan officers at 80 top lending companies found that despite the negatives, most lenders are optimistic about their near-term prospects. More than 85% of survey respondents expect mortgage originations to rise […]
Consumer-direct non-QM lender Griffin Funding on Monday announced that John Jones has been named as senior vice president of growth and EOS integrator. Jones, who has served as the company’s fractional integrator and chief operating officer since April 2025, will take on the new role effective Dec. 1. “John has brought tremendous structure and clarity […]
Welcome back to Tech Pulse — HousingWire‘s weekly series rounding up the latest in technology news, including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Here’s what happened this week: Redfin puts forth AI chat tool for home searches Redfin has launched a new AI-powered “conversational home search” on its website, allowing users to find homes through natural […]