Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

A White House Council of Economic Advisers report published Tuesday found that the CFPB cost consumers between $237 and $369 billion since its creation, an analysis that consumer advocates and some financial academics say is flawed. View the full article

Falling rates spurred a refi surge that pushed defect rates to 1.79% in Q3, driven by income and compliance documentation gaps as lenders ran lean, per Aces Quality Management. View the full article

The typical homebuyer's down payment in the United States decreased 1.5% year over year to $64,000 in December, Redfin said. View the full article

Banks and credit unions are pairing AI-driven efficiency with stable staffing and cross-training to scale mortgage production as originations rebound and technology expands capacity. View the full article

Toll Brothers Inc. fell short of analysts' estimates for quarterly orders, signaling that fewer people are signing contracts to build homes as high prices and economic uncertainty hold some buyers back. View the full article

The agencies' representatives weighed in on the insurance fund's capital ratio and evolving policies at the Mortgage Bankers Association's servicing conference. View the full article

Some observers say changes to MSR risk-weighting would have limited near-term impact and are unlikely to prompt banks to rush back. View the full article

In a speech Tuesday, Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr said it was possible that artificial intelligence will boost productivity in an undisruptive way. But he said policymakers should also be wary of a financial crash if those gains are not realized or a rapid adoption that could lead to labor displacement. View the full article

The two organizations announced the Certified Home Equity Advisor credential, which will help financial professionals integrate home equity in retirement plans. View the full article

Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh has several paths toward reducing the central bank's $6.6 trillion balance sheet but the process will be costly and lengthy, Wall Street strategists say. View the full article

Large and mega investors accounted for 5.8% of all single family-home purchases in December, up from 4.8% at the same time last year, according to Cotality. View the full article

Company veteran Austin Niemiec is running the wholesale arm after the departures of Fawaz, a prominent broker advocate, and general manager Dan Sogorka. View the full article

An index of market conditions from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo, in which below 50 means more builders see conditions as poor than good, edged down in February to 36, the lowest level since September. View the full article

Treasuries rallied and broke key levels, but stubborn 5-year resistance still caps momentum and rate-cut expectations remain unchanged, the CEO of IF Securities writes. View the full article

An ugly legal dispute between two San Diego credit unions offers a warning about what can go wrong when careful relationship-building doesn't precede a marriage. View the full article

Originators of the clean energy loans will have to follow stricter lending laws, a move that program administrators say will hike costs and reduce funding. View the full article

Some vendors' voice agents have quoted "outrageously low" interest rates to consumers, among other potential violations, according to one expert. View the full article

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said in a speech Monday morning that the central bank will introduce two capital proposals that she said are aimed at boosting banks' role in the mortgage market. View the full article

The Public Interest Law Center filed an amicus curiae brief arguing against a joint motion to end a redlining agreement early against Lakeland Bank. View the full article

The mortgage broker trade group put out a white paper calling for lowering transaction costs, increasing housing supply and reducing regulatory barriers. View the full article

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will add loan-level buydown data to MBS this spring, giving investors clearer insight into prepayment risk tied to temporary rate incentives. View the full article

Mortgage delinquencies increased across loan types, and while 30-day late payments showed overall improvement, later-stage distress worsened. View the full article

The 5-year yield swung sharply after conflicting BLS jobs and CPI data, with softer inflation boosting rate-cut hopes, according to the CEO of IF Securities. View the full article

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its January Consumer Price Index Friday, showing that inflation rose 0.2%, while the annual rate eased to 2.4% after holding at 2.7% for several months. The data reduce the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the near future. View the full article

Hundreds of E Mortgage Capital employees, including loan officers, can opt-in to the complaint accusing the company of failing to pay them for overtime. View the full article