Originations

Cost cutting helps drive IMBs to best numbers since 2021

Increasing loan balances, reduced head count and higher seasonal volume led nonbanks to report the highest loan production profits in years last quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.  The pre-tax net production profit of $950 per originated reversed a two-quarter slide into the red, with improvement surging from a loss of $28 per transaction […]

Cost cutting helps drive IMBs to best numbers since 2021 Read More »

Half of largest housing markets record home price downturns

Among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, half, primarily in the north and east, had annual home price increases in July, while the others are reporting downturns, Zillow found. Nationwide, year-over-year home price appreciation was a meager 0.2%. While this helped to marginally improve affordability, with average monthly mortgage costs down $19 over the past

Half of largest housing markets record home price downturns Read More »

VA Wholesale to operate under Bank of Glen Burnie

The Bank of Glen Burnie, a Maryland-based depository, has acquired VA Wholesale Mortgage, a Virginia Beach, Virginia-based originator, with an office in Jacksonville, Florida. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. A check of the NMLS Consumer Access page has Virginia Wholesale Mortgage, how the Bank of Glen Burnie’s second quarter Securities and Exchange Commission

VA Wholesale to operate under Bank of Glen Burnie Read More »

New-home loan applications surge to three-month high

Mortgage applications for new-home purchases accelerated in July, as borrowers took advantage of homebuilder concessions and a drop in interest rates, according to new industry data. New single-family residential mortgage applications rose 6.8% year over year last month, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The increase coincided with greater overall mortgage activity in the back

New-home loan applications surge to three-month high Read More »

ICE Mortgage Technology pushes SDK sunset to end of 2026

ICE Mortgage Technology is putting off the planned sunset of the Encompass SDK system, according to a memo provided by the company to National Mortgage News. SDK is shorthand for software development kit. It, along with certain other legacy systems, were supposed to go away on Oct. 31. ICE first announced the transition in September

ICE Mortgage Technology pushes SDK sunset to end of 2026 Read More »

With trigger leads going away, lenders who prepare will win

Federal legislation banning traditional mortgage trigger leads has cleared the Senate and is likely to be signed into law in the coming weeks. When that happens, lenders will lose a familiar — and often crowded — way to identify borrowers after a credit pull. For some, that will feel like losing a trusted tool overnight.

With trigger leads going away, lenders who prepare will win Read More »

Mortgage lenders see signs of 2025 originations growth

Mortgage lenders managed to increase origination volumes earlier in 2025 in a still-sluggish housing market at the same time home equity loans grew at their fastest pace in three years, according to Transunion.  Originations climbed up 5.1% on an annual basis in this year’s first quarter to just approximately 980,000 loans, according to the latest

Mortgage lenders see signs of 2025 originations growth Read More »

Mortgage rates move lower on inflation, employment news

Mortgage rates this week fell to their lowest level since October, supported by one better than expected inflation report as well as ongoing concerns regarding employment data. But an unexpected finding in the Bureau of Labor Statistics July Producer Price Index report could put a hold on a potential September Federal Open Market Committee short-term

Mortgage rates move lower on inflation, employment news Read More »

Favorable tailwinds drive growth in non-QM securities

Tailwinds behind the non-qualified mortgage segment are leading to growing secondary market volumes, while loan pools are on par with recent performance levels, according to a new Morningstar DBRS report.  Second-quarter non-QM volumes exceeded last year’s number, totaling over $9.8 billion of typical securitizations, the ratings agency said in a new report. On a year-over-year

Favorable tailwinds drive growth in non-QM securities Read More »

FHA poised to outpace private mortgage insurers

The Federal Housing Association is likely to continue to take market share away from the private mortgage insurers for the foreseeable future, a Keefe, Bruyette & Woods report said. Insurance-in-force for all forms of mortgage insurance grew by 1.3% between the first and second quarters and by 5.5% year-over-year, the report from Bose George and

FHA poised to outpace private mortgage insurers Read More »