Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday defended cuts to the Community Development Financial Institution Fund in the president's 2027 budget, telling the Senate Appropriations Committee that the program had pursued a "partisan wish list." View the full article

Toll Brothers' purchase of Buffington Homes of Arkansas will extend its national outreach with a strong presence in northwest Arkansas, the company said. View the full article

Builder mortgage units saw Q1 profit slides (NVR down 17%) despite an 11% rise in new home loan applications. Overall homebuilder net income dropped, and sales incentives remain high. View the full article

The enterprises also still plan to add FICO 10T but the release of the historical data stakeholders in their market can use to assess it has taken longer. View the full article

The addition of HELOCs at SoFi comes alongside the launch of a new advisory group, as the company heightens its focus on real estate lending. View the full article

Credit risk transfers, a means by which banks can move risk off their balance sheets, earned considerable bipartisan support in a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing Wednesday. View the full article

An uptick in problem loans within the heavily scrutinized office sector pushed down share prices at Rhode Island-based Washington Trust and Bank OZK in Little Rock, Arkansas, even though both banks reported solid profits. View the full article

The 30-year fixed is still over 20 basis points higher than its February bottom, but fell 7 basis points this past week on Iran peace hopes, Freddie Mac said. View the full article

More than a third of sellers have mortgage rates below 5%, yet still plan to list their homes this spring, according to a survey from Coldwell Banker. View the full article

Foreclosure auctions available jumped on both a quarterly and yearly basis, but the sales rate did not move in tandem, according to a new report. View the full article

CrossCountry increased its agreed-to offer for the real estate investment trust by 50 cents per share, as UWM Holdings made an unsolicited bid on April 20. View the full article

A dv01 paper finds while no one single cause exists and elements like the lack of transportation infrastructure make a return to historic affordability unlikely. View the full article

True Footage claims a startup founder signed up for its products using false MLS credentials and used large language models to copy its software. View the full article

Top mortgage originators ranked 175-101 share their client retention strategies, from face-to-face meetings to AI and CRM tools, as the industry eyes a 2026 purchase market shift. View the full article

More than half of the major metropolitan markets in the United States posted year-over-year price declines in February, according to a new report. View the full article

Newrez expects significant expense reductions from AI partnerships with HomeVision and Valon, as executives rule out mergers and a Rithm spinoff amid strong Q1 earnings. View the full article

Jonathan Corr, the former CEO of Ellie Mae, is one of six new members of MeridianLink's board, added following its acquisition by Centerbridge Partners. View the full article

The Federal Open Market Committee's April meeting — likely Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's last — is unanimously expected to keep interest rates steady, but questions about energy, inflation and the upcoming transition in leadership still loom. View the full article

The former Wall Street player blamed its decline on rising interest rates, trouble at its lending subsidiary, and debt stemming from the Great Financial Crisis. View the full article

Housing starts increased 10.8% to an annual pace of 1.5 million homes in March, the highest since December 2024, according to figures released Wednesday by the Census Bureau. View the full article

Kevin Warsh's nomination to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve passed through the Senate Banking committee in a party-line vote. View the full article

Using a non-GAAP measurement, the real estate investment trust, preparing to be bought by CrossCountry, reported a $25 million loss for the first quarter. View the full article

The government-sponsored enterprise recorded $98.7 billion in single-family loan acquisitions to begin the year, including over $43 billion in refinances. View the full article

Bank groups said that although the Federal Reserve's eased capital plans are a major improvement over previous versions, the recent proposals still need changes to help avoid risk assessments they say may hinder banks' ability to boost lending. View the full article

Check out the next set of names in the 28th edition of National Mortgage News' Top Producers survey, including on how they approach purchase business. View the full article