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Author name: Ricky Vasquez

Mortgage rates remain close to 7%, but there are positives for housing

Altos, Bob Broeksmit, First American, HWmember, Mortgage, Mortgage Bankers Association, Mortgage Rates, Mortgage Rates Center, Origination /

Mortgage rates rose in the past week, but even as they remain close to 7%, there’s little evidence to suggest they’ll move much higher and further constraint housing affordability. On Tuesday, 30-year conforming rates averaged 6.93% while 15-year conforming rates averaged 6.76%, according to HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center. In comparison, these figures stood at 6.88% […]

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What’s the goal of ending the Fannie and Freddie conservatorship?

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, GSE Reform, GSEs, HWmember, Mortgage, Mortgage Bankers Association, Regulatory /

The government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) have been under the conservatorship of the federal government since the 2008 financial crisis, and for some time now many in the mortgage industry have thought this should end. But what is the goal of ending the conservatorships for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? GSE reform was up for debate at

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National home prices reached record high in April: First American

First American, Home Price Appreciation, Home Price Index, Housing Market, HWmember, Mark Fleming, Real Estate /

First American Data & Analytics released its April 2025 Home Price Index (HPI) report on Tuesday, revealing that house prices nationally are now 57.2% higher compared to pre-pandemic levels. Month over month, the HPI changed +0.4% and tear over year the HPI changed by +2.0%. The report noted that home-price growth reported in last month’s

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Rocket has regionalized consumer direct channel

HWmember, LendingLife, Mortgage, Mr. Cooper, Origination, Redfin, Rocket Companies, Rocket Mortgage /

Rocket Companies, traditionally known for its call center model, is diversifying its channel strategy amid its deals to acquire Redfin and Mr. Cooper, according to Chief Operating Officer Heather Lovier. “When we think about how we’re diversifying, obviously, Rocket is very consumer-direct — we have our direct-to-consumer channel. But we’re also diversifying in the field

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MBA’s Bob Broeksmit: ‘The CFPB is listening’ to industry concerns

Bob Broeksmit, CFPB, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Government Lending, GSE Reform, GSEs, HWmember, LendingLife, Mortgage Bankers Association, Origination, Regulatory /

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) highlighted the deregulatory efforts of the Trump administration at its Secondary and Capital Markets Conference in New York this week, including work at the CFPB. But on the topic of releasing the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) from conservatorship, MBA president and CEO Bob Broeksmit said he isn’t expecting action anytime soon.

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Bill Pulte is putting ‘obese’ Fannie and Freddie ‘on the treadmill’

Bill Pulte, Conservatorship, FHFA, HWmember, Mortgage, Politics /

It won’t be Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte or Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent making the decision about removing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship. That’s entirely up to President Trump, Pulte told Mortgage Bankers Association Chair Laura Escobar in a freewheeling conversation at the MBA Secondary Mortgage Marketing conference in New

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How a Christie’s Agent Closed Million+ in 2024 on Instagram

How a Christie’s Agent Closed $44 Million+ in 2024 on Instagram

Real Estate, Real Estate Agent Essentials, Vetted by HousingWire /

Over the last decade, I’ve interviewed dozens of the country’s most successful real estate agents. All of them, from Ryan Serhant to Glennda Baker to Ricky Carruth, had one thing in common: They found their ikigai early in their career and never looked back. Ikigai is a Japanese concept that says you will only find

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What Buyers Need To Know About Homeowners Association Fees

What Buyers Need To Know About Homeowners Association Fees

Buying Tips, First-Time Buyers, For Buyers /

When buying a home, you’re probably thinking about mortgage rates, home prices, your down payment, and maybe even your closing costs. But you may not be thinking about homeowners association (HOA) fees. While you won’t necessarily have these, you should know it’s a possibility, depending on where you decide to live. A homeowners association is

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America’s top reverse mortgage professional practices what he preaches

Contributors, HWmember, Mortgage, Reverse /

When George Vrban recently took out a reverse mortgage himself, some eyebrows were raised. But his decision wasn’t born out of financial desperation — it was part of an overall strategic retirement plan. George Vrban, a name synonymous with expertise and trust in the reverse mortgage industry, reached a personal and professional milestone by obtaining

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Brokerages are sleeping on AI: Here’s the playbook to wake them up

Agent, Artificial Intelligence, Contributors, HWmember, Opinion, Real Estate, Technology /

Let’s call it what it is: most brokerages are way behind on AI. Agents? They’re scrappy. They’re downloading ChatGPT apps, playing with Canva AI, and asking Midjourney to crank out listing flyers in 30 seconds flat. They’re moving fast because they have to. Meanwhile, broker-owners are still asking, “So… how exactly would we even use

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