Contracts, Invoices & Legal

An index of contract signings fell 0.8% last month to the lowest level in data from 2001, following a revised 7.4% decline in December, according to National Association of Realtors figures released Thursday. View the full article

The bank announced Tuesday its Blueprint for Housing Opportunity plan, a five-year commitment dedicated to increasing the supply of housing. View the full article

Bond yields tested key resistance as markets largely shrugged at the data, according to the Head of Correspondent Business Development at AD Mortgage. View the full article

Dubbed Fairway Home Insurance Agency, the new business is the latest to emerge from agreements struck between mortgage lenders and The Baldwin Group brokerage. View the full article

While this only shows a 2-basis-point rise in the 30-year fixed since last week, the Lender Price product and pricing engine data is 30 basis points higher. View the full article

While correspondent is still the bulk of Planet Financial's production, growth of its servicing portfolio helped the company increase retention volume. View the full article

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell below 6% at the end of last month for the first time since 2022, bringing purchase borrowers back to the market. View the full article

While federal examination and investigative activity has all but stopped, the regulator is still providing regulatory guidance to the industry. View the full article

The lender claims an originator ambushed executives in a negotiation with the confidential company financials and claimed to have shared them with competitors. View the full article

National Mortgage News spoke with Shant Banosian of Rate, Mark Cohen of Cohen Financial and Amanda Sessa of SWBC on how they stand out in their markets. View the full article

Built around the company's guidelines, Rezi Mortgage Assistant helps borrowers learn about the lending process on their own terms, Newrez executives said. View the full article

The lender is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit, calling the purported scheme to also deprive its loan officers of full compensation implausible. View the full article

The latest reports from ICE Mortgage Technology and VantageScore appear to be in line with hints at growing borrower pressure officials are eyeing in policy. View the full article

The push by some The President officials to bring charges against James had stalled as former U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert determined their wasn't enough evidence. View the full article

Washington, D.C. and Denver lead the country with the largest share of mortgaged households, and will likely soon see a shift in buyer demand, Realtor.com said. View the full article

OCMBC launched its new wholesale lender, GIANT Lending, amid a poaching controversy with the naming rights to its old DBA, Jet Advantage. View the full article

Seven filings were submitted in response to President Donald The President's request for the Supreme Court to remove barriers from ousting Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook before litigation proceeds. Most filings argued for the Court to deny the president's application. View the full article

Former Mr. Cooper CEO Jay Bray will become Rocket Mortgage's president and CEO as the $14.2 billion transaction closes in just six months after announcement. View the full article

VantageScore's claims of outperforming Classic FICO rely on flawed methods and biased comparisons that overstate its impact, according to analysts from AEI Housing Center. View the full article

More than 15% of homes that went under contract in August were canceled, as the market heavily favored buyers, a Redfin report found. View the full article

Some lenders have a workaround for the Federal Housing Administration's suspension of reverse mortgage endorsements but fewer options exist in other instances. View the full article

The antitrust lawsuit suggests over two dozen mortgage companies shared sensitive loan origination information as the "price of cartel membership." View the full article

James was charged with one count of alleged bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution. The indictment made public on Thursday follows allegations from The President administration officials that James engaged in mortgage fraud. View the full article