Mortgage activity slowed in May as rising interest rates dampened both purchase and refinance demand, according to Optimal Blue‘s May 2026 Market Advantage report. The report, released Tuesday, found that total mortgage rate lock volume fell 9% from April, although it remained 7% higher than a year earlier. Purchase loans continued to dominate the market, […]
Mortgage lock volume slid 9% in May, Optimal Blue reports Read More »
Like many mortgage professionals, Vipul Hapani can see the wave of industry consolidation forming on the horizon and knows it is only a matter of time before it reaches his shores. As the broker-owner of Waxhaw, North Carolina-based Vema Mortgage—the third-largest brokerage originator in the U.S. in 2025, according to HousingWire Mortgage Rankings—Hapani hasn’t yet
Mortgage and real estate battle for the top of the funnel Read More »
Mortgage lenders are rolling out new credit scoring models, but in the secondary market, investors and credit rating agencies are awaiting additional performance data while developing workarounds to keep loans moving through the system. Susan Hosterman, senior director for North America RMBS and covered bonds at Fitch Ratings, said the company can currently rate securitizations
Achieve has expanded its fixed-rate home equity line of credit (HELOC) program, raising the maximum loan amount to $700,000 and lowering its lowest available annual percentage rate to 5.5% for qualified borrowers, the digital personal finance company said Wednesday. The changes, which took effect June 2, also increase borrowing flexibility by allowing qualified homeowners to
Achieve expands fixed-rate HELOC with $700,000 cap Read More »
Newfi Lending has integrated Prudent AI’s income analysis engine into its broker portal, giving brokers near real-time calculations for non-QM loans and cutting bank-statement turn times from roughly 72 hours to as little as three, the companies announced Wednesday. The new IncomeIQ portal, built on Prudent AI’s technology, delivers institutional-grade income analysis directly to mortgage
Newfi integrates Prudent AI for non-QM income analysis Read More »
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
Rocket expands on VantageScore 4.0 pilot for agency, VA loans Read More »
Homebuyer affordability declined in April as the national median payment applied for by purchase mortgage applicants rose to $2,152, up from $2,131 in March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI) released Thursday. The national PAPI rose 0.3% to a reading of 156.0 in April, up from 155.5 in March,
Homebuyer affordability slips in April as median mortgage payment rises to $2,152 Read More »
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
Why LOS Integrations Can Slow Mortgage Operations Read More »
National mortgage banking company All Western Mortgage (AWM) announced on Thursday that HouseAmerica Financial has joined the company as it continues its national expansion. HouseAmerica Financial, based in La Cañada, California, produces about $500 million annually in mortgage volume, according to the announcement. The company is led by mortgage executive Alan Pezeshkian, who has more
HouseAmerica Financial joins All Western Mortgage Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that increases benefits for veterans and their surviving families, offsetting the cost by raising fees on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) refinance transactions. The legislation — H.R. 6047, also known as the Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2025 — was
House passes bill hiking VA mortgage refi fees to fund expanded veterans’ benefits Read More »