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Mortgage

Kind Lending restructures leadership team with new president and COO

HWmember, Lenders, Mortgage, People Movers, Team Leaders /

Kind Lending announced multiple leadership changes this week as company co-founder Yvonne Ketchum moves from the president role’s to a part-time role as president emeritus and executive adviser as she begins semi-retirement. As a result, chief operating officer Jennifer Folk will assume the role of president and Stephanie Gibbons has been promoted to COO. Before […]

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Potential cuts to FHA premiums weigh on mortgage insurers

FHA, FHA loan, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Mortgage, Mortgage insurance /

Shares in publicly traded mortgage insurance companies dropped between 5% to 8% in a single day and are down by 5% to 12% so far this year, according to an investor note published Tuesday by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW). KBW analysts Bose George and Frankie Labetti explained that the main concern appears to be tied

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Reducing risk: The importance of administrative access responsibilities

Reducing risk: The importance of administrative access responsibilities

Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage, Technology /

In today’s digital-first environment, administrative access is essential to keeping real estate, title insurance, and mortgage operations running smoothly. From managing core production systems to supporting secure transaction workflows, administrators play a critical role behind the scenes. However, administrative access also represents one of the most significant cybersecurity risks facing organizations today. With elevated privileges

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Justin Demola joins Equifax as SVP of mortgage and housing

Altisource, Equifax, HWmember, Lenders One, Mortgage, People Movers, Team Leaders /

Justin Demola announced via social media on Monday that he’s joining consumer credit reporting agency Equifax as its senior vice president of mortgage and housing. Demola, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s resident Certified Mortgage Banker instructor, shared the career move on LinkedIn. He also serves on the board of directors for the Mortgage Bankers Association of

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The $2–4% mortgage trap is freezing housing: Defeasance may be the way out

Contributors, Housing Crisis, Housing Market, Housing Market Data, HWmember, Mortgage, Opinion, Real Estate /

For the past several years, the U.S. housing market has faced an unusual constraint: not a lack of  buyers, but a lack of sellers willing — or able — to move. Millions of homeowners remain “rate-locked,” holding mortgages originated in 2020–2022 at  interest rates between 2% and 4% (Federal Housing Finance Agency; Freddie Mac Primary 

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December jobs data continues to support lower mortgage rates

Housing Market, Housing Starts, HWmember, Jobs Report, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates /

Jobs Friday came and went without much reaction in bond yields because the labor market isn’t breaking, nor is it getting stronger. Mortgage rates dropped into the 5s for a short time on Friday as a result of Trump’s earlier announcement directing the GSEs to buy $200 billion in mortgage backed securities. The 10-year yield

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Sharp decline in mortgage rates revives hopes of a refi surge, LOs say

HWmember, LendingLife, Loan Officer, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates, Origination, Refinancing /

Mortgage rates briefly fell below 6% on Friday for the first time in nearly three years — driven by President Donald Trump’s proposed $200 billion push in the secondary market. If they stay that low, they are expected to spur refinance activity.  Historically, a 22–basis-point decline in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, such as the

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Mortgage rates drop below 6% following Trump’s MBS announcement

agency MBS, Donald Trump, Housing Market, HWmember, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates /

It finally happened today: We got mortgage rates under 6% for a short time. Can we get some traction for that level? Well, one aspect of the mortgage-rate story really improved today; we had a monster day in mortgage spreads, improving overnight to push rates down over 20 basis points without much help from the

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Trump directs GSEs to purchase $200B in mortgage bonds in 2025

Donald Trump, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, GSEs, HWmember, LendingLife, MBS, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates, Regulatory, Secondary market /

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac quietly increased their purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in 2025, helping push mortgage spreads lower toward the year’s end. Most analysts, however, were not expecting further meaningful tightening in the near term — at least until this week. That changed Thursday after President Donald Trump posted on social media that

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Trust is earned, not granted: The foundation of every successful mortgage relationship

Contributors, HWmember, Loan Officer, Mortgage, Opinion, Origination /

Trust is built through relationships. It is not automatic, it is not assumed, and it is never guaranteed — it is earned. Working for a well-respected company with a long history of service does not automatically make someone a Trusted Mortgage Advisor. Trust is personal. It belongs to the relationship between the loan officer and

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