Renting can feel like the easier choice right now. There’s no big down payment. No dealing with surprise repairs. And no long-term commitment. But then your rent goes up again. And again. And suddenly the thing that seemed flexible starts looking… expensive, especially considering you’re not building any equity. And once that happens, it’s easy […]
Renting vs. Buying: The Numbers Might Surprise You Read More »
Plans to expand competitive use of VantageScore in the mortgage market could save the industry hundreds of millions of dollars, potentially offsetting concerns about rising credit score costs. Processing Content VantageScore estimates that full adoption of its 4.0 version under a “competitive use” scenario could cut more than $600 million in the first 12 months,
FHFA VantageScore savings sized up, FICO expands in mortgage Read More »
US mortgage rates slipped last week to the lowest level since 2022, generating more refinancing activity. Processing Content The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped 8 basis points to 6.09% in the week ended Feb. 20, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. The rate on five-year adjustable mortgages fell to 5.23%, also
Mortgage rates reach lowest since 2022, boosting refinancing Read More »
Key insight: President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass legislation restricting institutional investors purchasing single family homes, following up on his executive order that the legislature would need to codify. What’s at stake: Banks generally favor rhetoric that promotes housing availability and funding, since it helps produce more mortgages, but the institutional investor rhetoric is
Trump talks housing, affordability at State of the Union Read More »
The average top-tier mortgage rates made it back to 5.99% yesterday for the first time since January 9th and only the second time in more than 3 years. With rates holding perfectly steady today, this is the 3rd day that matches that multi-year low. In one important way, the past 2 days represent a bigger
Mortgage Rates Match Multi-Year Low For 2nd Straight Day Read More »
Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget and acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.Bloomberg News Processing Content What’s at stake: The appeals court judges questioned whether various actions taken by the CFPB last year constituted a final agency action that is reviewable by a district court. Key insight: The
Can Trump fire nearly all CFPB staff? Appeals court isn’t sure Read More »
Nonprofits and journalists are suing the Federal Housing Finance Agency to gain access to records on its fraud investigations and enforcement activity. Processing Content The agency is facing four Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, for allegedly ignoring public records requests. While the FHFA has moved to defend itself in those cases, it has also hinted
FHFA sued to release fraud investigation records Read More »
A new business agreement has led to the creation of a credit union servicing organization focused specifically on mortgage servicing. Processing Content The parent company of Great Lakes Credit Union is partnering with servicing platform Vertyx for the CUSO launch. Dubbed Vertyx CUSO, the business aims to serve its member institutions with technology tailored for
Credit union servicing gets dedicated CUSO Read More »
Sellers significantly outnumbering buyers in the market and economic uncertainty have caused a record number of home sales to fall through, a new industry report found. Processing Content Nearly 40,000 home-sale agreements were cancelled in January, according to a Redfin analysis of pending sales data. That’s 13.7% of homes that went under contract in the
Buyers back out of home-sale deals at record rate in January Read More »
Key insight: Fed Gov. Cook said artificial intelligence may already be influencing employment trends, pointing to lower demand for computer engineers as one potential sign of change. Expert quote: “It is very difficult to measure labor productivity and total factor productivity. So we should be patient and we should be nimble in thinking about the
Cook: AI’s labor impact may take years to measure Read More »