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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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MeridianLink, Optimal Blue partner on mortgage pricing integration

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MeridianLink and Optimal Blue announced Wednesday that they’ve reached an agreement to integrate their technology platforms, with the joint solution expected to be available to customers in early 2026.  Under the partnership, mortgage users of MeridianLink’s loan origination system will gain access to Optimal Blue’s real-time product, pricing and eligibility (PPE) engine. The integration is

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November mortgage lock data driven by strong refinance activity

HWmember, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates, Optimal Blue, Origination, Rate Lock, Refinancing, Secondary market /

Optimal Blue on Wednesday released its November 2025 Market Advantage report, which revealed that mortgage rate-lock activity slowed with typical late-fall seasonality but still posted the strongest November in four years. Total lock volume fell 25% from October but was up 17% from November 2024, driven by strong refinance activity and mortgage rates hovering near

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Optimal Blue announces new CFO and CRO

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Optimal Blue announced on Monday that it has promoted Lanny Rogers III to chief financial officer and Jeremy Moreno to chief revenue officer. Rogers, a certified public accountant, will oversee financial planning, forecasting and capital allocation as the company expands. He joined Optimal Blue in 2017 and most recently served as vice president of accounting.

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Mortgage rate locks stay strong, refis drive activity

HWmember, Lenders, Mortgage, Mortgage Rates, Non-QM, Optimal Blue, Rate Lock, Refinancing /

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

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Optimal Blue comes out swinging on price-fixing lawsuit

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Optimal Blue has responded to a class action lawsuit filed against it and 26 mortgage lenders, calling the claims “baseless” and “frivolous” and vowing to fight the lawsuit “all the way through.” “Optimal Blue is aware of the complaint filed against it, Black Knight, Inc., and many of the largest mortgage lenders, alleging a purported

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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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Tech Pulse: UWM challenges industry AI fear; Optimal Blue automates refi opportunities

Artificial Intelligence, assumable mortgage, ICE Mortgage Technology, MLS, Mortgage, Optimal Blue, Real Estate, Technology, The Gathering, The Gathering 2025, United Wholesale Mortgage, Zillow /

Welcome back to Tech Pulse — a new weekly series rounding up the latest in technology, including tools, integrations and trends impacting mortgage and real estate. Here’s what happened this week: UWM’s Jason Bressler challenges the fear-driven narrative around AI in mortgage lending At HousingWire’s The Gathering, United Wholesale Mortgage Chief Technology Offficer Jason Bressler challenged fears about

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With rate locks up, Optimal Blue launches automated refinance tool

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Amid expectations that interest rate declines may reignite refinance activity, Optimal Blue on Monday launched a new tool that automatically analyzes loan officer portfolios each month to identify recapture opportunities. The tool is designed to ensure loan officers are ready when refinance volume picks up. While refinances declined in May from the prior month, Optimal

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Erin Wester on simplifying capital markets technology and what lenders should expect from their tech partners

Mortgage, Optimal Blue, Secondary market, Sponsored, Technology /

HousingWire recently sat down with Erin Wester, Optimal Blue’s chief product officer and a 2024 HousingWire Women of Influence honoree, to discuss how lenders can simplify capital markets operations and improve profitability with the right technology partner. Sarah Wheeler: Capital markets is often viewed as the most complex part of mortgage lending. Do you believe

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