The property insurance portion of the average mortgage payment keeps rising, and is now just shy of 10% of the average monthly expense, ICE Mortgage Technology said in its September Mortgage Monitor Report. Mortgage payments are broken down into two components — principal and interest, and taxes and insurance; the latter normally goes into the […]
Property insurance nears 10% of mortgage costs Read More »
Pres. Trump has signed into law H.R. 2808, the Homebuyer Privacy Protection Act, one month after the bill cleared the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent. The new law, which takes effect 180 days after enactment, has been welcomed by the mortgage industry for putting an end to the sale of trigger leads — consumer data
Pres. Trump signs mortgage trigger leads ban into law Read More »
Housing finance firms have been adding staff as falling mortgage rates look more likely, with stronger overall job growth raising the chances of modest business gains for the industry. “This is likely to support some additional decline in rates, which will offer opportunities at the margin for people to buy,” said Doug Duncan, former chief
Mortgage firms add staff as rate cuts look likely Read More »
While Fannie Mae has “retired” the term appraisal waiver from its seller guide, the change in the latest update, which could have the most impact on consumers involves the reconsideration of value policy. The Fannie Mae announcement is SEL-2025-07. Freddie Mac put out a similar ROV update on Wednesday in its bulletin 2025-12. Some of
Fannie, Freddie update reconsideration of value rules Read More »
Mortgage rates reached another 11-month low this past week, as markets are pricing in an expected short-term rate cut from the Federal Open Market Committee later this month. This follows a week where one long-term Treasury rate showed serious volatility. The 30-year Treasury bond posted a yield just shy of 5% during trading on Sept.
Mortgage rates sink with FOMC cuts on the horizon Read More »
These days, it’s harder than ever to break through to customers. While a company like Rocket can spend more than $800 million on stadium names and Super Bowl ads, smaller lenders have to be more creative to get noticed. From sports sponsorships and social media to blogs and buyer nights, here are some of the
How small mortgage lenders stretch marketing dollars Read More »
For the first time since 2016, the number of American households who are homeowners declined on an annual basis, in another signpost that high home prices and elevated interest rates are taking people out of the market, a Redfin study of U.S. Census data found. The study estimated about 86.2 million Americans own their home,
U.S. homeownership falls for first time since 2016 Read More »
The majority of Rocket holders with senior debt that’s part of the tender offer and exchange related to the Mr. Cooper acquisition approved it, and the expiration was extended Tuesday. This suggests the pending deal, which recently received a key conditional approval from the regulator of large government-related mortgage investors, will move toward closing. Rocket
Rocket debt extended as Mr. Cooper deal moves toward closing Read More »
The lowest interest rates in months couldn’t bring an influx of borrowers to the table in the run-up to Labor Day, as application volume declined for the third straight week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. The MBA’s Market Composite Index, a measure of weekly application volume based on a survey of association members, dropped a
Mortgage application activity decreases despite lower rates Read More »
Residential construction spending saw its first monthly increase in six months this summer, as builders navigated their way through housing market and tariff-related challenges. While construction spending rose month over month in June, it still came in well under levels of a year ago, the National Association of Home Builders said in its analysis of
Home construction spending rises for first time in months Read More »