Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

The increase in borrower activity came as housing starts ended 2025 on a high note, while mortgage rates were a percentage point lower year-over-year. View the full article

Shore Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm founded by billionaire Justin Ishbia, has raised more than $400 million for its second industrial fund. View the full article

Treasury yields experienced a bullish open with the 5-year yield dropping over 15 basis points in five days, ahead of key jobs and inflation reports, as the dollar demonstrated strong adherence to technical levels, according to the CEO of IF Securities. View the full article

The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its delayed January employment report Wednesday morning, showing the economy added 130,000 jobs in January. But the agency also sharply revised its estimates for total jobs created in 2025 to 181,000 from 584,000. View the full article

A Washington court denied a plaintiff request, pointing to past Supreme Court rulings that showed a compelling interest for the state's SPCP. View the full article

Contract closings decreased 8.4%, the biggest drop since February 2022, to a 3.91 million annualized pace in January, according to National Association of Realtors data released Thursday. View the full article

A House subcommittee hearing discussing the future of the government-sponsored enterprises, noted both are still severely undercapitalized. 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

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

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

An index of contract signings fell 0.8% last month to the lowest level in data from 2001, following a revised 7.4% decline in December, according to National Association of Realtors figures released Thursday. View the full article

Home prices edged up nationwide, but gains were modest and uneven. Major indexes agree on direction, differ on size, as 2025 posted weak growth. View the full article

Aulene Wessel also previously worked in the fintech sector, and will be heading up accounting in her new post at the nonbank mortgage lender and servicer. View the full article

The lender announced a partnership with Framework Ventures that aims to provide $500 million in credit through an integration into the Sky stablecoin ecosystem. View the full article

The company also revealed more about the impacts of its data breach, and said it doesn't consider the development likely to materially affect its results. View the full article

Dubbed Fairway Home Insurance Agency, the new business is the latest to emerge from agreements struck between mortgage lenders and The Baldwin Group brokerage. View the full article

Despite a weak ADP jobs print, Treasury yields went nowhere, reinforcing a growing bearish, defensive case for rates, according to the CEO of IF Securities. View the full article

Borrowers in the lowest-income areas have seen their 90 or more day delinquency rates soar since 2021, jumping from 0.5% to nearly 3%, the New York Fed said. View the full article

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's complaint portal has been flooded in recent years, but corporate debt collectors, industry attorneys and consumer advocates question whether the bureau's efforts to reduce the volume will help consumers as much as it helps the firms they're complaining about. 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

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

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

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