Originations

Caution signs appear as home price depreciation spreads

In June, home price growth cooled to its slowest pace in two years, with over a quarter of top U.S. markets posting annual price depreciation, according to the latest data from Intercontinental Exchange. The rate of annual growth decelerated to 1.3% across the country in June, falling from 1.6% a month earlier, ICE’s mortgage technology […]

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Fannie, Freddie change rules for contributions, incentives

Recent updates to secondary-market rules for interested party contributions and incentives mean lenders will have to pay more attention to how they use certain strategies that have become popular in the current market. The updates, which generally are in effect now and become mandatory in early September, add additional precision in some cases and more

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Surging rate-and-terms push lock volumes upward

A jump in refinance activity lifted mortgage lock volumes last month, but purchase numbers may hold more promise for lenders. Total lock volume in June came in 2.11% higher month over month, according to the latest data from Mortgage Capital Trading. Rate-and-term refinance activity provided much of the momentum with a leap of 9.89%, as

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HUD dissolves “woke” policies created by appraisal task force

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has “effectively disband[ed]” the Biden-era interagency Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity initiative, the federal housing agency announced late Thursday. The department withdrew three mortgagee letters related to appraisal reviews, including the reconsideration of value process, it noted in its press release. These recessions were previously highlighted in an

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“Unscrupulous” recruiters called out by Synergy One CEO

Synergy One Lending’s CEO Steve Majerus is taking a stand against “toxic” recruiting culture. In a company-wide address, Majerus bemoaned “unscrupulous” recruiters who have recently conjured up “outrageous” claims in an effort to recruit away Synergy’s top talent. “The claims about financial instability or margin calls and challenges… are not only false and completely fabricated,”

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MISMO adds 40 definitions of fee charges to reference guide

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization has added over 40 standardized fee names to a dictionary it created and is seeking public comment on the revisions. The 30-day public comment period on those updates runs through Aug. 7. “MISMO developed this guide to promote the uniform usage of fee names and descriptions for the purpose

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New Panorama TPO targets first-time buyer lending

Panorama Mortgage Group, parent company of several lenders focused on affordable homeownership, announced the launch of a new mission-driven wholesale and corresponding lender aimed at making funding available to first-time buyers.    The Las Vegas-based company unveiled Travisa Financial, which it created in response to what it saw as a demand for partnerships among many third-party

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Fannie Mae expanding title waiver pilot, Pulte says

Fannie Mae, a large government-sponsored enterprise serving the U.S. mortgage market, is expanding its limited title waiver pilot, according to a social media post by its conservator and regulator. “Effective today, in order to further reduce closing costs for homeowners, and foster more competition, we will be adding a second vendor — Westcor — to

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