Originations

UWM brings back 1% down conventional mortgage

United Wholesale Mortgage is bringing back a conventional purchase mortgage in which the borrower only has to come up with a 1% down payment. A previous version of the product was last offered in May 2024. With this iteration, the mortgage is available up to the conforming loan limit for buyers at or below 80% […]

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REIT buys HomeXpress in cash-and-stock deal worth over $120M

Chimera Investment Corp., a New York-based real estate investment trust, announced plans to buy non-QM lender HomeXpress Mortgage in a cash-and-stock deal worth over $120 million Thursday. The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, includes a $120 million cash payment for the Santa Ana, California-based company, plus more than 2 million

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Mortgage scam reports are soaring despite the slowing market

Mortgage scam reports have soared in recent years, opposite of the housing market’s slowdown. The industry as of April was reporting 71 mortgage scams per month, up from just 14 per month in 2022 at the tail-end of the refinance boom, according to BackOffice Pro, a business services organization. While real estate companies disclosed losses

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ALTA shakes up leadership: Tomb out, Morton in as CEO

Diane Tomb is out as CEO of the American Land Title Association, and there are indications that the departure was not voluntary. Chris Morton, previously senior vice president of public affairs and chief advocacy officer, has been named as Tomb’s replacement. Morton had been in that role since 2020 when he first joined ALTA. “We

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Mortgage credit offerings at loosest in over two years

Growth in loan products across the board in anticipation of the annual home purchase season pushed mortgage credit to its loosest in over two-and-a-half years, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. However, rate lock activity fell nearly 6% in May from April, as conforming mortgage rates rose over 16 basis points during the month, a separate

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Trigger leads bill advances on Capitol Hill

A trigger leads bill on Capitol Hill is moving forward as lawmakers backed the effort to protect the privacy of mortgage applicants nationwide. The House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday unanimously adopted the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which would prohibit some lenders from contacting borrowers. Consumers and

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Better taps Leah Price to head Tinman’s growth efforts

Better Home & Finance tapped Leah Price, former fintech lead at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to oversee its artificial intelligence-driven Tinman loan origination platform. One of Price’s main objectives will be to “disrupt” the mortgage technology playing field, by competing with legacy players like Encompass, which powered over 5 million mortgages in 2024. Price

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Title365 buy allows Covius to expand origination loan focus

By acquiring Title365, Covius Services, whose product offerings including title and settlement services primarily on defaults, will be expanding its presence on the origination side, a company executive said. It complements Covius’ existing expertise in providing title services for defaults, Pete Pannes, chief business officer, said. “Second, there were significant technical integrations that we’ve been

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Home purchase sentiment rises after tariff pause

Despite increasing mortgage rates and economic volatility, the outlook among home buyers and sellers improved on both a monthly and annual basis, according to Fannie Mae’s latest housing survey.    The government-sponsored enterprise’s monthly Home Purchase Sentiment Index increased to a reading of 73.6 in May, up from 69.2 one month earlier. May’s level also rose

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