Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

Mortgage rates declined by one basis point this week, not enough to change the equation to bring consumers back into the housing market, Freddie Mac said. View the full article

Looking to build on last year's live sing-along, Lady Gaga will be performing the theme to Mister Rogers Neighborhood in a campaign from Rocket and Redfin. View the full article

A series of social media posts, from the US president over the weekend and then from the FHFA director and real estate scion Pulte on Wednesday, are helping put an S&P gauge of builders on track for a four-day losing streak. View the full article

Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bancorp and Citigroup will streamline borrower requests for an additional 90-day forbearance, allowing verbal applications. View the full article

Refinances drove growth of last year's lending activity, with both the volume share and average loan size coming in noticeably higher, according to IEmergent. View the full article

The 90-day-plus delinquency rate on student loans hit 10.3% in the first quarter, and New York Fed researchers warn that a second wave of defaults could be coming. Evidence is mixed regarding the likely impact on other consumer-lending segments. View the full article

Lenders shouldn't expect the latest jobs numbers to yield major monetary policy moves after the unemployment rate came in mostly flat last month, experts say. View the full article

Three US senators opened an inquiry into insurance ratings firm Demotech and whether its assessments may be exposing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to growing risks tied to climate-driven insurer failures. View the full article

Three Democratic Senators say Demotech's assessments "raise profound governance and reliability concerns" in letters to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. View the full article

Questions about the single-report option and whether VantageScore should be introduced before FICO 10T arose during a hearing on broader legislative proposals. View the full article

Current and retired federal employees say Treasury officials granted Elon Musk improper access to federal financial records, violating privacy laws. View the full article

Marketing services firm LeadPoint said it thought it had gained compliance after Connecticut officials issued a prior consent order and penalty in 2020. View the full article

The lawsuit accuses Veterans United of deceptively suggesting it's part of the Department of Veterans Affairs and steering clients to more costly loans. View the full article

More mortgage professionals told National Mortgage News they expect their companies to hire, or stand pat, rather than fire workers this year. View the full article

More mortgage firms are suing their counterparties over buyback demands. View the full article

The Mortgage Bankers Association latest forecast reflects the industry's current views on where their business is going, said Mike Fratantoni. View the full article

A Community Home Lenders of America adds arguments against use of single bureau while another paper takes the position that the idea merits further study. View the full article

Executives from Guild and NewRez discussed the steps they are taking as participants in the pilot phase of the roll out of VantageScore 4.0 and FICO 10T. View the full article

Home loan players are diverting technology budgets to cover back-office operations, after big spending in a downcycle, counter to historical patterns. View the full article

Rate discounts are available for both refinance and purchase mortgage applications from several lenders including UWM, Carrington, Chase and Silver Hill. View the full article

Overall, three-quarters of those in a National Mortgage News survey believe loan production will increase during 2026, but just 15% felt strongly about it. View the full article

New limits on trigger leads push originators toward first-party data, past customers and referral networks as they rethink how to reach borrowers. View the full article

The companies anticipate they will submit a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice within 45 days, according to a document filed Friday. View the full article

Rocket, United Wholesale Mortgage and Pennymac said they will use the new government-sponsored enterprise credit metric as large lenders get on board. View the full article