Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage climbed 12 basis points to 6.46% in the week ended Sept. 26, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. View the full article

The Mortgage Bankers Association's chief operating officer has decided to retire after 11 years at the job. Three association leaders were promoted as a result. View the full article

A stock offering or conservatorship exit could raise loan costs in some contemplated scenarios, a Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research study finds. View the full article

VantageScore's claims of outperforming Classic FICO rely on flawed methods and biased comparisons that overstate its impact, according to analysts from AEI Housing Center. View the full article

The loan boarding dataset aims to identify potential problems early during the transaction's setup to avoid slowdowns after origination is completed. View the full article

Bisignano will continue to lead the Social Security Administration while managing day-to-day operations at the IRS. 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

Along with the company's rebranding to Lendware, a new CEO also takes the helm following allegations of financial mismanagement among some former leaders. View the full article

Lebda led the company through its initial public offering in 2000, and its sale about three years later to IAC Inc. In 2008, Lebda joined the newly rebranded LendingTree as it spun out as a separate company. View the full article

If Experian eventually charges for VantageScore 4.0, it will be offered for at least a 50% discount compared to what Fair Isaac Corp. charges for its FICO score. View the full article

Plaid said LendScore should be viewed as complementary to FICO and other traditional players in the space, but there could be room for disruption in the future. View the full article

Components of the index all rose, including the highest reading for sales expectations in the next six months since the start of the year. View the full article

Renters who pay on time deserve credit toward homeownership, and new data tools can make that possible, according to the owner of Burkentine Real Estate Group. View the full article

LendingTree found that during 2024, May's median price for a 1,500 square foot home was $194.20 versus January's $178.60, a difference of $23,400. View the full article

A failure at an Amazon Web Services data center in Virginia caused widespread outages, hitting services at several banks and fintechs. 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

Regulators are nearing a key step in overhauling credit scoring as the MBA touts its influence on GSE policy and close alignment with Washington leaders. 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

The Department of Justice has filed a motion opposing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employee union's appeal of an August DC Circuit ruling allowing the administration to fire up to 90% of the agency's workforce. 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

Forbearance or refinancing may help some, workarounds can keep many mainstream loans moving and one type of uncertainty does have an upside for rates. 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

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest Consumer Price Index reading Friday morning, showing inflation rose by 0.3% in September, slightly below August's pace. The report also found core inflation steady at 3.0%, even as shelter costs eased and gasoline prices spiked. View the full article