Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

Rising labor and material costs could weigh on final expenses, despite a slower summer for hurricane and tornado claims, according to Verisk. View the full article

Federal Reserve Gov. Stephen Miran said higher goods prices could be the tradeoff for bolstering national security and addressing geoeconomic risks. View the full article

The home purchase market, which competes for consumers with rentals, should remain subdued in 2026 because of high mortgage rates and low affordability. View the full article

The Federal Reserve is slated to undertake a number of important rules and regulations in 2026, but decisions around agency leadership and the The President administration's avowed effort to exert greater control over the central bank are likely to leave a lasting legacy at the agency. View the full article

National home prices grew monthly and annually in October, but considerably less than last year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. View the full article

The professionals can't originate loans in their local cities for various stretches, following a federal judge's ruling granting most of the lender's wishes. View the full article

The new regulation, which passed overwhelmingly in the state legislature, would allow insurers to remove wildfire protections from standard homeowners policies. View the full article

Three U.S. senators opened an inquiry into insurance ratings firm Demotech and whether its assessments may be exposing taxpayers to growing risks tied to climate-driven insurer failures. View the full article

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the administration must request funds from the Federal Reserve, rejecting a The President DOJ legal theory. View the full article

As CFPB oversight recedes, servicers are turning to FHA, VA and state rules for guidance, with distressed loan compliance, redefaults and local registration risks rising in 2026. View the full article

New Jersey-based OceanFirst Financial slid in its planned $579 million acquisition of Flushing Financial just before the end of the year. The private equity firm Warburg Pincus is also participating in the transaction. View the full article

The additional research Secretary Scott Turner acknowledged would be required should include a cost-benefit analysis, mortgage professionals suggested. View the full article

The latest announcement comes two months after an initial round of staff reductions following approval of Rocket's acquisition of the company. View the full article

Here are the most-read stories from National Mortgage News over the past year. View the full article

This year it took a homebuyer seven years to save for a typical down payment on a house, compared with 12, according to Realtor.com. View the full article

Under a proposed rule, the agency would let most nationally chartered firms off the hook for heightened regulatory standards. The rule would raise the bar from $50 billion to $700 billion of assets and leave only eight firms subject to heightened regulation. View the full article

Home prices rose 0.2% nationally month-over-month in November, but there were an estimated 37.2% more sellers than buyers in the market, Redfin said. View the full article

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will face an existential crisis in 2026 between the The President administration's efforts to shut down the agency and the employee union and consumer advocates who want to stop them. View the full article

Mortgage lenders test crypto-backed mortgages as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac review digital assets in underwriting, weighing risk, non-QM loans and access for nontraditional homebuyers. View the full article

The bank regulator is proposing to strengthen national preemption in the wake of conflicting decisions in related court cases. 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

Rialto Capital allegedly engineered a way to keep it in default so that the company could win extra fees over time, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. View the full article

Patrick Terrance Donlon, CEO of Trusted American Mortgage, settled allegations from 21 states another person took industry education courses for him. View the full article

Some action items could make a big difference for both mortgage lenders and consumers, but the The President Administration is not yet focused on these concerns. View the full article

A significant portion of the loans in the pool by balance, 44.5%, are designated at non-QM, according to DBRS, adding that about 50% of the loans in the pool were made to investors for business purposes. View the full article