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Adjustable-Rate Mortgage

Optimal Blue’s Mike Vough on borrowers staying rate anchored into 2026

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage, HWmember, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates, MSRs, Optimal Blue, Origination, Refinancing, Servicing /

Borrowers are still anchored to ultra-low, pandemic-era mortgage rates, a mindset that is influencing both purchase and refinance trends as the market heads into 2026. That’s according to Mike Vough, Optimal Blue‘s senior vice president of corporate strategy, who highlighted the company’s latest Market Advantage report in a conversation this week with HousingWire at the […]

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What will bring first-time buyers into the 2026 housing market?

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage, Buydown, First-Time Homebuyers, Housing Market, HWmember, National Association of Realtors, Real Estate, VA Loan /

Will 2026 be a turning point for prospective first-time homebuyers? The National Association of Realtors (NAR) seems to think so.  In a report published on Tuesday, the trade group says that it expects the housing affordability landscape to improve throughout the year. Driving this improvement, according to NAR, will be a steady rise in housing

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October new-home mortgage applications fall 2.6%

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage, HWmember, Mortgage, Mortgage applications, Mortgage Bankers Association, New Home Sales, Origination, U.S. Census Bureau /

Mortgage applications for new-home purchases decreased 2.6% compared to a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Builder Application Survey data for October 2025. Compared to the month prior, applications decreased by 1%. MBA noted that this change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns. “Lower mortgage rates, ongoing usage of

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Mortgage applications soar ahead of Fed meeting

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage, HWmember, Mortgage, Mortgage applications, Mortgage Bankers Association, Mortgage Rates, Refinancing /

Continuing their upward trajectory, mortgage applications increased 29.7% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Sept. 12. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 43% compared with the previous week. Last week’s results included an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.

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Optimal Blue: Rate-and-term refis soar 70% in August

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage, FHA loan, HWmember, LendingLife, Mortgage, Optimal Blue, Origination, Refinancing, VA Loan /

Borrowers rushed to refinance in August as mortgage rates eased, pushing rate-and-term refi lock volume up 70% from July, according to Optimal Blue’s Mortgage Market Advantage report released Wednesday. “Borrowers are responding quickly to rate improvements, driving the strongest month for rate-and-term refinances we’ve seen this year,” Mike Vough, head of corporate strategy at Optimal

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Click n’ Close pairs 5/1 ARM with down payment assistance for new homes

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage, Affordability, Down Payment Assistance, homebuilder, HWmember, Mortgage /

Mortgage lender Click n’ Close has rolled out a new financing product that pairs an adjustable-rate mortgage with down payment assistance in an effort to make new homes more accessible to buyers. The program — called the SmartBuy 5/1 ARM Down Payment Assistance product — offers a first mortgage alongside a repayable second mortgage. The

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ARMs remain a small share of mortgage loans despite viral 41% claim

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage, Fixed-Rate Mortgage, HousingWire Daily, HWmember, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates, Origination /

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) often get more attention when rates climb, but don’t fool yourself: their actual footprint in the U.S. housing market remains modest.  Since a Zero Hedge tweet saying that ARM loans now make up 41% of mortgages held by U.S. banks went viral on Sunday night, the mortgage community has been abuzz with

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