Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

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

President The President wants the two government-sponsored loan buyers to help speed lower-cost home creation and their oversight agency's director is following up. View the full article

Total mortgage origination volume is forecasted to barely eclipse $2 trillion by the end of the year for the first time since 2022, iEmergent said. View the full article

Federal Reserve Governor Stephan Miran said the economic standoff with China could increase market volatility, further necessitating the central bank to move its policy stance to neutral. View the full article

The head of the government-sponsored enterprises' oversight agency also asked existing investors to review risk factors as officials eye a new public offering. View the full article

Fathom Holdings acquired START Real Estate to expand its first-time homebuyer program, the company announced Thursday. View the full article

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank reported net income of $1.45 billion for the third quarter and earnings per share of $1.04, which beat analysts' forecast of $0.99 per share. View the full article

The rollout comes as the company looks to build out offerings for originators, launching after PHH returned to the proprietary reverse-mortgage arena this year. View the full article

The state court seemed open to a narrower view of the legal applicability to loans predating the statute than of broad constitutional challenges to it. View the full article

Kin, a direct-to-consumer insurance provider, has started a mortgage broker in Florida which also takes loan applications through a call center or online. View the full article

While purchase volume is up 20% from last year, it was 5% lower than one week ago, although a 4% increase in refinance activity helped pick up the slack. View the full article

Decreased homeowner equity corresponds to recent declining prices reported by leading housing researchers, but tappable amounts still sit near record highs. View the full article

Several claims in a recent Loan Think column misrepresented how credit scores and resellers work in mortgage lending, according to the president of the National Consumer Reporting Association. View the full article

Robert Hartheimer's arrest comes at a time when the bank is trying to recover from a consent order and the Synapse mess. View the full article

The Federal Reserve Friday issued a set of proposed changes to its stress testing program for the largest banks that would disclose the central bank's back-end stress testing models, a move that the Fed had long opposed out of fear of making the tests easier for banks to pass. View the full article

The 30-year rate dropped just 0.2 percentage points, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's recent comments caused Treasury yields to rise. View the full article

Rocket Companies lost $124 million on a GAAP basis, but its management celebrated milestones regarding its Redfin and Mr. Cooper acquisitions. View the full article

Most of the pool of 1,011 residential mortgages, 69.7%, are considered non-prime mortgages, primarily due to the documentation and styles of underwriting. View the full article

Private-sector payrolls increased by 42,000 after a revised 29,000 decline a month earlier, according to ADP Research data released Wednesday. View the full article

Industry professionals shared stories of homeowners looking to get out and investors pausing deals, while others cautioned a wait-and-see approach. View the full article

In markets across the US, homebuilders sitting on unsold inventory are subsidizing mortgage rates so heavily they sometimes match the record lows last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. View the full article

A trade group for participants in the clean energy loan program argues the upcoming regulations will be too burdensome and costly for participants. View the full article

The FHFA director hinted at a partnership in the works and doubled down on criticism of homebuilders and the Fed chair in a housing conference interview. View the full article

The impacts of the federal government shutdown are hitting both originators and servicers, and as things drag out, the disruptions will increase. View the full article

Recent merger activity also includes the purchase of an Alabama title company by technology firm Propy, as experts see ongoing consolidation through 2026. View the full article