The 2025 U.S. housing market has been marked by high mortgage rates, elevated home prices and economic uncertainty, but a new HomeLight survey of loan officers at 80 top lending companies found that despite the negatives, most lenders are optimistic about their near-term prospects. More than 85% of survey respondents expect mortgage originations to rise […]
HomeLight: Lenders optimistic about 2026 originations growth Read More »
Consumer-direct non-QM lender Griffin Funding on Monday announced that John Jones has been named as senior vice president of growth and EOS integrator. Jones, who has served as the company’s fractional integrator and chief operating officer since April 2025, will take on the new role effective Dec. 1. “John has brought tremendous structure and clarity
Griffin Funding hires John Jones as SVP of growth Read More »
Freddie Mac is rolling out a new quality control platform designed to streamline the review process of single-family loans, which it plans to make available to all lenders by the end of 2025, the government-sponsored enterprise announced Monday. Known as Quality Control Advisor Plus, the platform consolidates previously separate QC systems and uses technology to
Freddie Mac launches Quality Control Advisor Plus platform Read More »
Welcome back to Tech Pulse — HousingWire‘s weekly series rounding up the latest in technology news, including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Here’s what happened this week: Redfin puts forth AI chat tool for home searches Redfin has launched a new AI-powered “conversational home search” on its website, allowing users to find homes through natural
Tech Pulse: Redfin, Real Brokerage show off AI home search Read More »
Figure Technology Solutions reached $2.5 billion in consumer loan marketplace volume in the third quarter of 2025 — a 70% year-over-year increase, the company reported Thursday in its first earnings release since going public. Most of Figure’s volume continues to come from home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). New product categories — including crypto-backed loans,
Figure’s marketplace accelerates with $2.5B in Q3 volume Read More »
Earlier this month, title and real estate services company Stewart Information Services Corp., owned by SISCO Holdings, agreed to acquire the mortgage services of property preservation provider Mortgage Contracting Services (MCS) for $330 million. The transaction, which expands Stewart’s suite of services in the property preservation arena, supports default servicing while providing MCS with additional capital to invest in other
Macquarie’s Jason White on the Stewart-MCS deal Read More »
Rate-lock activity remained resilient in October despite seasonal cooling, according to Optimal Blue’s October 2025 Market Advantage Mortgage Data Report. Total lock volume declined 4.2% from September but remained 18% higher than a year earlier as borrowers responded to improving affordability and narrower rate spreads. Purchase locks slipped 1.5% month-over-month — in line with normal
Mortgage rate locks stay strong, refis drive activity Read More »
Last month, American Pacific Mortgage (APM) announced a leadership transition as the company nears its 30th anniversary. The company’s longtime chairman and former president and CEO, Bill Lowman, said he plans to retire after more than two decades with APM. As part of the leadership transition, Ned Payant, APM’s former CEO, stepped into the role of
APM leaders discuss succession planning and 2026 strategy Read More »
NEXA Lending, formerly known as NEXA Mortgage, is accusing several former NEXA loan officers, managers and former president Mat Grella of executing a coordinated “employee raid” to harm its business. The suit, which was filed on Nov. 5 in Arizona’s Maricopa County Superior Court, claims that Grella, former branch manager Gregory Nichols and Michigan-based Platinum
NEXA Lending sues former president over ’employee raid’ Read More »
A growing share of U.S. homebuyers are using Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans as the housing market leans in favor of buyers. Nationwide, 7.3% of mortgaged homebuyers used a VA loan in August, up from 6.5% a year earlier — the highest level for that month since 2019, according to a report from Redfin.
VA loans rise as housing market shifts toward buyers Read More »