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HELOC, Manufactured, Technology, Marketing, and Digital Tools; Central Banks and Inflation

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HELOC, Manufactured, Technology, Marketing, and Digital Tools; Central Banks and Inflation

By:
Rob Chrisman

7 Hours, 56 Min ago

If you want something sobering, almost mesmerizing, here’s a short drone video of the flood damage in Libya (at the 15 second mark you can see how it tore through the city). Fortunately not so sobering are some stats out of the United States. The U.S. homeownership rate in 2022 was even higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic at 65.8 percent compared to 64.6 percent in 2019. That rebound was driven largely by those aged 44 and younger. And who says Millennials aren’t buying homes? Homeownership continued to climb from the foreclosure crisis (2004) and Great Recession (2008), when rates dipped as low as 63.4 percent in 2016. Homeownership rates recovered approximately half of the 5.6 percent decrease from 2004 to 2016. In Hawai’i the homeownership rate is 59 percent, I bring up the Aloha State because American Savings Bank, First Hawaiian Bank, and Central Pacific Bank joined Hawaiʻi Community Lending, a Hawaiʻi-based nonprofit community development financial institution, in pledging to provide mortgage forbearances to Maui families impacted by the recent wildfires. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by the Trade-In Mortgage powered by Calque. Homeowners can buy before they sell, make non-contingent offers, and tap their home equity to fund the down payment on their next home. Lenders can help their clients negotiate a lower purchase price, reduce their interest payments, and eliminate PMI. Today’s podcast features Greg Korn and Ben Petit in an interview from the New England Mortgage Bankers Conference.)

Lender and Broker Software, Products, and Services

In an era defined by technological advancements, Dark Matter Technologies LLC emerges as a transformative force in the mortgage origination landscape, marking its evolution from Black Knight Origination Technologies. Under the Perseus Operating Group of Constellation Software Inc., Dark Matter Technologies remains steadfast in its commitment to pioneering innovation. CEO Rich Gagliano aptly sums up the company’s vision: “Dark Matter Technologies is on a mission to revolutionize the mortgage origination business by supporting, growing, and aggressively innovating new and existing products.” With over 1,300 dedicated mortgage technology experts and a portfolio that includes Empower, AIVA, Exchange, and more, Dark Matter Technologies is poised to lead the industry into a new era of unparalleled transformation. Learn more about Dark Matter Technologies and their mission, here.

There is approximately $9T in agency or government MSR outstanding. Billions of dollars are being transacted daily and this volume requires disciplined loan accounting processes to record loans accurately, produce investor reporting, and power business decisions. SBO from SitusAMC is a comprehensive loan accounting and master servicing platform that reconciles daily and monthly servicer cash collections down to the penny, aiding in the discovery of potentially misplaced funds and enhancing the financial integrity of the entire process. Servicers using SBO produce accurate and timely details providing confidence that their investor reporting obligations are being met. Schedule a demo of SBO with SitusAMC’s client-focused experts.

“Did you hear Capacity’s big announcement at TMC Fall? We’ve acquired Denim Social! Together, we’re building a support automation platform that helps you automate support, connect more authentically with your borrowers, and close more loans, faster. Read the press release to learn more! We also gave away a personalized AI Assessment worth $10,000 to help mortgage lenders identify opportunities for improving their business with AI. Plus, our new GSE Search feature pulls accurate, up to date GSE regulations within seconds using generative AI. Want to join the AI in mortgage revolution? Meet the Capacity team today.”

A new era in loan origination has arrived. Mortgage Machine Services, an industry leader in digital origination technology to residential mortgage lenders, announced the launch of its namesake platform Mortgage Machine™, an out-of-the-box, all-in-one LOS designed to accelerate lenders’ operational velocity and support an end-to-end digital origination process. Developed by digital mortgage pioneer and industry veteran Jeff Bode, Mortgage Machine utilizes intelligent automation, configurable business workflows and a cloud-based infrastructure to optimize the entire loan lifecycle and create a seamless lending experience. Key platform features include AI-powered task automation, a scalable cloud-based infrastructure, flexible APIs, pre-configured workflows for retail and TPO channels, integrated document management and POS functionality. Mortgage Machine also offers all-in-one eClosing capabilities, including an eClose room, eNotes, eVault and RON, and utilizes MISMO SMART Doc® data and security standards. Visit here to get started on your digital transformation journey.

Blend Labs continues to be the mortgage industry’s leading technology platform. Core to the platform is Blend’s unique integration with Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) and LPA. These integrations help streamline your approval process for borrowers, with all the conditions lined up for your fulfillment team. Add in intelligent and automated follow-ups and you’ll get to the closing table faster and more efficiently. Putting this information at the loan officer’s fingertips creates a streamlined process and eliminates manual work which equals lower costs, higher pull-through, and increased revenue. See more ways that Blend is committing to innovation and continues to lead the way.

Looking for timely advice on how to capture more loan volume and improve your bottom line in a down market? Now is the time to explore ways to tap into new markets. Expanding your mortgage footprint through new products and channels or by reaching new geographies insulates your business against economic and interest rate volatility by diversifying your sources of volume and revenue. By setting the groundwork to connect with new borrower markets now, you’ll open new revenue possibilities for when the market inevitably recovers, positioning your business to hit the ground running and beat out the competition. Download this informative eBook from mortgage solutions provider Maxwell for actionable advice, including how to create your expansion plan and choose the offerings best suited to the markets you want to pursue. Click here to download Growing Your Mortgage Footprint: How to Launch New Loan Products, Channels & Geographic Expansions.

Broker and Correspondent Products

Build your book with AFR Wholesale® (AFR)! Now, get the chance to listen from and ask questions directly to AFR and Freddie Mac to turn those prospects to active pipeline at the next Why Wait webinar series covering Manufactured Home Financing on Wednesday, September 20th at 1 PM EST. Register here today! Have you and your borrowers looked into Manufactured Housing as an option? With unbeatable affordability, customization options that are very tailored, quick installation and trusted quality, manufactured homes are worth exploring. Especially with a top lending partner in AFR who has been an industry leader for over 25 years. This is a live webinar, and a recording will not be provided so make sure to join and get great insight and have the opportunity to ask questions and listen to scenarios! Visit AFR Wholesale, email [email protected], or dial 1-800-375-6071. AFR Wholesale® – Don’t wait. Register today!

“With Cash-Outs on the decline during this high interest rate environment, it is important to present your borrowers with different cash-out options. That is why Vista Point is announcing a brand new HELOC product coming soon, in addition to our existing Closed-End Second. Our HELOC product is being designed as a complement to our Closed-End Second to provide a full suite of Equity Solutions. Our HELOC will provide a specific solution for borrowers that want the optionality of an interest-only payment, or the ability to draw up and buy down their line during the 5-year draw period with no Appraisals up to $250k. Just like on our Closed-End Second offering, with HELOC loan amounts up to $550K and combined lien amounts up to $2.5M, your borrowers can get the cash they need without sacrificing their advantageous 1st mortgage rate. HELOC will be available for full doc and bank statements on OO and 2nd homes. For more information, reach out to us, or meet us at the Philly MBA to discuss.”

Capital Markets

We learned last week that prices in August rose by the largest monthly percentage in 15 months. However, that month-over-month inflation was widely expected due to a surge in gasoline prices. Underlying oil prices are also pointing towards further increases in September. Meanwhile, core prices were up 0.3 percent and core goods prices declined by 0.1 percent. Over the last three months core prices have increased at an annualized pace of 2.4 percent, the lowest three-month pace since March 2021. Retail sales rose faster than analysts’ expectations in August, also due to higher gas prices. Many analysts expect consumer spending to slow as excess savings built up over the pandemic have materially declined and credit is increasingly costly and difficult to obtain. Additionally, the resumption of student loan payments is expected to cut into discretionary spending. It will take more than expectations of slower spending before the Federal Reserve feels inflation is firmly under control.

What could move mortgage rates this week? The U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, and the central banks of Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland are all announcing rate decisions after a spate of recent inflation data shows that price increases are alive and well. The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the action arm of “the Fed,” is not expected to raise rates. It’s unlikely that the commentary around the commitment to keep fighting inflation and higher rates for longer will change either, but it could tilt a little more to the hawkish side after a stronger-than-anticipated inflation report for August.

The week could also see some extra drama on the political front as the countdown continues toward a potential government shutdown on October 1 in addition to the battle between the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and Detroit automakers. The auto worker strike could complicate Fed Chair Powell’s bid for a soft landing. Union leaders are asking for a 36 percent wage increase over four years, to match the similar recent pay increase for top executives. The union also wants pay to rise automatically with inflation in the future, as it did before the financial crisis.

This week brings the aforementioned FOMC meeting that begins tomorrow and concludes on Wednesday with the Statement, updated SEP (where fed funds projections will be closely scrutinized), and Chair Powell’s press conference. The treasury will also be in the headlines with more coupon auctions scheduled: $13 billion reopened 20-year bonds tomorrow and $15 billion reopened 10-year TIPS on Thursday. The only scheduled, probably non-market moving, news out today is the NAHB Housing Market Index for September. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices roughly unchanged from Friday, the 10-year yielding 4.34 after closing last week at 4.33 percent, and the 2-year is at 5.00 percent.

Employment

Are you more energized, more encouraged, and more motivated to succeed today than yesterday? Zig Ziglar famously stated, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing; that’s why we recommend it daily.” “As an industry leader, Thrive knows that motivation, discipline, and belief in your ability to succeed is critical,” stated Randell Gillespie, National Sales Leader for Thrive Mortgage. “There is no better time than now to find ways to continually motivate your team, which is why we put so much focus on daily opportunities like these at Thrive. Through our weekly High-Performance Coaching Calls, our very own nationally-recognized Marketing Master, James Duncan, leads these motivating and educational experiences for results. The biggest names in the mortgage industry and thought-leadership have been part of our Thrive Nation broadcasts. We want everyone to be better today than yesterday. Start a conversation with us and find out how.

“The fall season is here, and now more than ever is the time to build rapport with your referral partners and clients to maintain a steady stream of business. At Guaranteed Rate Affinity, not only do we have the greatest number of products, but we have the tech platform for our loan officers to do business from anywhere. With PowerVP, you can do anything from creating loan applications to sending pre-approval letters all from your mobile phone. Anything you could do from your desk, you can now do on the go with PowerVP. Gone are the days of being chained to your desk and missing out on important moments. Primarily, it gives you a work-life balance you never thought possible. Luckily, we’re hiring the best of the best loan officers to leverage our tech platform to grow their business. Ready to learn more? Contact Tim McGraw to get started.”

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Source: mortgagenewsdaily.com

Apache is functioning normally

Incenter plans to soon put their new mortgage servicing rights platform to work, adding to the increased attention technology in this space has gotten as higher interest rates have raised the business line’s profile.

Incenter aims for the eMSR Exchange to have its first loans committed for co-issue transactions by Sept. 1.

The venture adds to other examples of investment in MSR technology from the past year, which also include Mortgage Capital Trading’s launch of functionality for co-issue sales and Voxtur’s purchase of the Blue Water Financial Technologies’ loan/servicing platform.

The rights to handle cash-flows from mortgages aren’t completely standardized assets, which added to the challenge of setting up an exchange for them, said Tom Piercy, president of national enterprise development.

“We feel we have come as close as we can to commoditizing this asset, which will never be commoditized entirely,” said Piercy, who also is a managing director at Incenter Mortgage Advisors, the company’s capital markets and trading subsidiary.

The eMSR Exchange, which was announced alongside a new Incenter due diligence and document management affiliate in May, aims to both help match buyers and sellers based on price and relieve operational burdens involved in co-issue servicing transactions.

Incenter’s MSR exchange ecosystem.

Incenter is starting with a focus on co-issue deals, which typically involve splitting off servicing from loans sold to the GSEs so that a separate investor can buy the MSRs.

Its technology is primarily aimed at small- to medium-sized originators. Bigger ones may have their own proprietary technology.

Freedom Mortgage, for example, has its own co-issue platform. 

“We have a large network of correspondent lenders, and we have a platform capable of acquiring large quantities of MSRs,” said David Sheeler, president of residential servicing and correspondent lending at Freedom Mortgage.

“We’ve been able to use that platform to assist other investors interested in owning MSRs,” he added. “We basically take care of all the sales, marketing and the operations for the loans, and then transfer the MSRs to a partner or investor of ours.”

In contrast to Freedom, more moderate-sized companies don’t often have the secondary trading units that bigger players do. As a result, they may find platforms like Incenter’s appealing — with some caveats.

“Tools like that are great in terms of facilitating a more efficient diligence process for buyers,” said Toby Wells, president at Cornerstone Servicing. “I would tell you the counter to that, though, is that while MSR trading sometimes is as simple as the best price, buyers and sellers still need to know one another.

“You need to know what one another’s capable of, making sure you have an efficient process to transition the consumer from one platform to another,” he added.

And consumer data in servicing also has proved sensitive to data breaches. 

Incenter limits which parties handle borrower information and heavily outfitting its system with cybersecurity, said Jessica Pejka, vice president, transaction management, when asked about this risk.

“We don’t take in borrower data at Incenter proper. Our system houses the information needed to price loans to track delivery of them, but the actual borrower information goes to our subservicer directly,” she said. 

Piercy declined to identify the subservicer involved.

“Right now, we’re dedicated to one and they’re absolutely a partner in managing and supporting standardization,” he said.

Incenter’s system can take in MSR data and documents from multiple sellers through the subservicer. That information then gets circulated through the exchange entity, due diligence and Incenter Mortgage Advisors. After that, the MSRs are matched with buyers.

“This would be very difficult to do without the technology on all sides, especially this pricing/ recording piece that is inherent to MSR, which is proprietary for us,” said Pejka.

The platform consists of a mix of time-tested technology and newer automation, and was primarily developed in-house with the exception of the subservicing functions.

“The base technology has been used by us for over 10 years in managing our co-issue transactions,” said Piercy. “It’s all technical development by our in-house programming.”

The pricing component in particular requires finesse, Piercy said.

“When you have underwriting guides for a loan, you go to the screen, you can get the [to-be-announced securities] price. That’s all commoditized. Servicing is never that way because you have a different approach by every buyer with regard to how they service loans and how they perceive certain characteristics of loans,” said Piercy.

The pricing in the system is customized by investors to address differences between buyers, and is live so that it can be changed at any time as the market shifts, he said.

“It is not disclosed to any other party, so that there is no competitive disadvantage. There is no disclosure of how you’re pricing to other buyers,” added Piercy.

And the due diligence done as part of the eMSR exchange also is specialized, said Pamela Hamrick, president of the Incenter affiliate focused on this area. That affiliate, Incenter Diligence Solutions, was built following the company’s acquisition of EdgeMac last year.

“The elements of the review are important for an MSR buyer, which are different from the elements that are important to rating agencies review, for example,” Hamrick said.

The big picture

The Incenter platform acknowledges the broader existence of technology developed in the market to handle mortgage servicing rights and seeks to improve on it, according to Pejka.

“We have selected vendor partners both in our subservicer and Incenter Diligence Solutions who are doing innovative work in their spaces, to help us move those forward,” she said.

The Incenter affiliate has collaborated with other technology providers in the space such as LauraMac and LoanLogics.

Due diligence for MSR deals has been a space ripe for automation that’s been evolving in recent years, said Bob Fulton, CEO of LauraMac.

“There really wasn’t a tool that I could find that allowed the user to create workflow, create tasks, and standardize the work,” Fulton said.

Bob Fulton, CEO of LauraMac

Artificial intelligence and other technology have reached a point where providers feel they can produce offerings that fulfill both goals.

“We’ve implemented document AI so that documents can be read automatically,” Fulton said.

Buyers also have increasingly been using technology to identify where document shortfalls exist, noted Craig Sylvestre, senior vice president, sales, at LoanLogics.

“What we’re automating is the review of that loan file to make sure that everything is present and that loan is ready to on-board to servicing,” Sylvestre said.

Technology also helps buyers remedy any lapses, said Terrell Cassada, executive vice president, digital operations, architecture and innovation at LoanLogics.

“They can see the results of what documents may be missing on those loans, and facilitate the collection of those missing documents from their seller,” Cassada said.

And the industry has been responding to the need not just to have effective automation for this purpose but to have technology available at the right price point, other players in the market said.

“Clients are trying to understand the risks on a given pool with minimal investment and without materially destroying the economics,” said Mike Margolf, managing director, secondary market technology at SitusAMC, in a video blog.

The MSR valuation component also has been a key part of the value proposition when it comes to technology efforts in this space, said Al Qureshi, managing partner at Blue Water Financial Technologies.

“We have a patent pending around our key core technology, where we can take anybody’s valuation and deliver it in real time,” he said.

“We provide investors with a machine-learning driven approach to understanding how they can be more competitive,” he added. “We never shop other investors’ prices, we would never do that, but we use machine learning to understand preferences vis-a-vis win/loss, and we’re able to help them price better, and drive towards more volume or less volume, depending upon what they’re trying to solve for.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the trade, “we’ve got all the different pieces in place for that seller to slot their loans from a price perspective and a transfer perspective,” Qureshi said. “Because we digitized all this, the lift that’s required is very democratized.”

The GSEs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, also have co-issue platforms.

“The agency exchanges are very good, and what they’ve created is a great efficiency, but it requires each individual buyer and seller to create their relationship, and then they’re utilizing the platform to run that relationship,” said Piercy. “What we have is much different in the sense that any seller has the ability to look into the exchange, look at pricing, get a sense of what it is. And if they’re interested, they go through an application process, same with buyers.”

Incenter also has designed its reporting capabilities on things like portfolio performance to be a competitive edge, he said.

“That, in turn, is generating much more interest to where I feel we will have, based on not formal commitments but preliminary indications, a far greater number of buyers that could create greater opportunities for sellers than other platforms,” said Piercy.

Source: nationalmortgagenews.com

Apache is functioning normally

After hovering below 3% for a month, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate popped back up six basis points to exactly 3% last week, according to Freddie Mac‘s PMMS.

Mortgage rates climbed north of 3% over the first few months of 2021, but crested at 3.2% in March before descending again. Despite such a favorable rate climate, there remains a shortage of homes for sale, pointed out Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

“The lack of housing supply has been compounded by labor disruptions and expensive building materials that are driving up the cost of new housing, making it difficult for homebuyers to find homes to purchase,” Khater said.

Because mortgage rates held for so long in the sub-3% category, Fannie Mae‘s economic and strategic research group revised its expectations for 2021 and 2022 origination volume, noting that originations could have been higher if the market weren’t struggling with supply.

“We downgraded our expectation for 2021 purchase volumes by $43 billion from last month’s forecast to $1.8 trillion,” the ESR group said, “We expect refinance origination volume to be $2.2 trillion in 2021, a $125 billion upward revision from last month’s forecast, as incoming data continue to come in strong and interest rates have pulled back in recent weeks.”

The mortgage ecosystem is fractured – Here’s how to fix it

To improve the mortgage ecosystem, SitusAMC and ReadyPrice created a platform that connects originators with the secondary market.

Presented by: ReadyPrice

At current mortgage rates, the group estimated around 51% of all outstanding mortgage have at least a 50-basis point incentive to refinance, up from 42% in the previous months forecast. While millions of borrowers may have the opportunity, Joel Kan, the Mortgage Bankers Associations associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said the refi wave is still likely under volatility if mortgage rates continue to oscillate around current levels.

When mortgage rates failed to pick up in the last month, savvy homebuyers jumped back on them. But even with rates slipping to previous lows, borrowers are still battling it out in the bidding trenches on overheated home prices. April economic data for home sales showed year over year numbers are still above those in 2020, but beginning to dip sequentially

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

For the third week in a row, mortgage applications decreased.

Mortgage applications fell 3.1% in the week ending June 4, and refis took the biggest dip, according to the latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

“Most of the decline in mortgage rates came late last week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declining to 3.15 percent,” said Joel Kan, the MBA’s vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “This likely impacted refinance applications, which fell 5% for both conventional and government loans. But purchase applications were up slightly last week, and the large annual decline was the result of Memorial Day 2021 being compared to a non-holiday week, as well as the big upswing in applications seen last May once pandemic-induced lockdowns started to lift.”

Compared to last year, fewer people are applying for purchase mortgages, the MBA reported, as home prices continue to rise and prospective buyers avoid astronomical bidding wars. Demand is still strong overall, especially in certain markets in the South and West.

“Housing demand is still far outpacing supply,” Kan said. “The average loan size on a purchase application edged down to $407,000, below the record $418,000 set in February — but still far above 2020’s average of $353,900.”

The mortgage ecosystem is fractured – Here’s how to fix it

To improve the mortgage ecosystem, SitusAMC and ReadyPrice created a platform that connects originators with the secondary market.

Presented by: ReadyPrice

The refinance share of activity decreased to 60.4% of total mortgage applications from 61.3% the previous week. The FHA share of total mortgage applications decreased to 9.5% from 9.6% the week prior, but the VA share of total mortgage applications increased to 11.2% from 10.9%.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of this week’s applications data:

  • The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($548,250 or less) decreased to 3.15% from 3.17%
  • The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $548,250) decreased to 3.29% from 3.34%
  • The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.12% from 3.16%
  • The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 2.52% from 2.56%
  • The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 2.54% from 2.81%, with points increasing to 0.39 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

TPO, Outsourcing, DPA, MSR Transfer, Compliance Products; Company and State Events

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TPO, Outsourcing, DPA, MSR Transfer, Compliance Products; Company and State Events

By:
Rob Chrisman

Fri, Jul 14 2023, 10:48 AM

“If they raise the interest rates one more time, you’re going to hear Janet Yellen.” Much of the talk in the hallways here at the California Association of Mortgage Professionals event near San Francisco revolves around the Federal Reserve likely raising short term rates on July 26th due to the need to raise interest rates further to bring down inflation that is still too high. But the end to its current monetary policy tightening cycle is close. Compliance may be the new focus. “Tawny Johnson gave me the best mortgage I’ve ever had!” We’ve all seen reviews like that and wondered about them. Anyone who repeats reviews should know that the FTC announced its Endorsement Guides, which provide guidance to businesses to ensure that advertising using reviews or endorsements is truthful and complies with the FTC Act, have been revised. In other Federal Trade Commission news, it has opened an investigation into ChatGPT, released by Open AI which is backed by Microsoft, over the technology’s potential harm, possible false information, and security practices. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by SimpleNexus, the homeownership platform that unites the people, systems, and stages of the mortgage process into one seamless, end-to-end solution that spans engagement, origination, closing, incentive compensation, and business intelligence. Interview with Speech-Language Pathologist Ailsa Falck on how Robbie can improve the auditory experience for his podcast listeners.)

Lender and Broker Software, Services, and Products

In 2023, people are watching, on average, an eye-watering 17 hours of video a week, with 75 percent of viewers saying they watch short-form video on their mobile devices. Especially for lenders targeting homebuyers aged 18 – 42, video content should be a marketing cornerstone. An effective video marketing strategy puts you in a great position to catch the attention of young, tech-savvy consumers who prefer to do every transaction on their mobile device and watch A LOT of videos. Through the Surefire CRM and Mortgage Marketing Engine solution, Black Knight offers the Surefire Power Video tool that can help you quickly create videos you can post to your own websites or external sites and embed in emails and text messages. Black Knight has also developed a free guide to crafting engaging video content. Download it now to jump start your video marketing journey.

Did you know most burglars enter homes through unlocked doors and windows? Hackers are no different, except instead of looking for easy entry points into your home, hackers search for the weakest link in your systems. As an increasing number of organizations take advantage of API functionality to connect systems, it’s important to be mindful of potential cyberthreats. In fact, every connection and transfer of data using an API can provide a door for hackers trying to steal data or carry out malicious acts. Subba Ayyagari, chief technology officer at Black Knight, has outlined several steps you can take to stand prepared and keep hackers out. Read more in Black Knight’s blog post, “Securing Your APIs From Threats.”

Do regulatory environment and enforcement actions keep you up at night? With ComplianceEase, staying compliant has never been easier or more efficient. ComplianceEase, by SitusAMC, is the leading web-based, automated compliance management system, facilitating comprehensive loan-level reviews of federal and state laws based on license types, exemptions and preemptions, as well as TRID (multi disclosure) tolerance testing. Findings are displayed in an interactive report in our RiskIndicator dashboard, listing results in key risk areas with five different severity levels to easily identify and correct issues. Gain efficiency with automation and streamline workflow. Integrated with top LOSs, investor, and regulatory platforms, and ComplianceEase onboarding client support teams provide seamless support. Most importantly, using ComplianceEase helps mitigate regulatory risk by identifying errors, so they can be corrected prior to closing. For a demo, contact us.

“Blue Water continues to revolutionize the MSR space by solving problems and creating customized solutions to alleviate operational burdens for our customers. One of Blue Water’s premier products is SuperTransfer™: Its agnostic (any client using any broker or LOS can plug into SuperTransfer™), provides in app exception remediation capabilities with severity tiers, uses OCR+ Blue Water proprietary models for document identification, is flexible & customizable, is lightning fast and provides a robust dashboard to support your team, and is affordable. “I recently completed an MSR sale with the team at Blue Water. Its technology is a game changer, and the knowledge and responsiveness of their team is simply amazing. In thirty years of selling bulk MSRs this was by far the easiest and fastest way to transact. I highly recommend them and will be utilizing them for future trades.” This is all achieved via a secure cloud-based environment accessible on your desktop. Connect with our Veteran Sales Team today and see how Blue Water can save you time and money across a variety of your Mortgage Asset needs. Services provided by Blue Water Financial Technologies Services, LLC.”

“Looking for an easier DPA program? Click n’ Close has you covered. Thanks to its simplicity and competitiveness, our SmartBuy DPA program has helped over 4,000 borrowers finance their home purchase. From start to finish, SmartBuy DPA offers a streamlined process for all parties. With lower capital requirements and short turn times, Lenders can be up and running with SmartBuy in a snap. In addition, wholesale loan program information is available in today’s leading PPEs, including Optimal Blue, MeridianLink’s Price My Loan, Lender Price, and Polly, and unlike state/municipal bond programs, brokered SmartBuy DPA loans are all processed, submitted, underwritten, closed & funded in one setting with CNC. With no maximum income requirements and other innovative features, such as a repayable option with a 30-year amortization and a 2-1 buydown, SmartBuy lives up to its name. Contact Adam Rieke, Soliman Martinez or Kerry Webb (wholesale) to get started today.”

“Turn fixed costs into variable costs on a dime. When the market zigs, lenders need the flexibility to zag. Richey May Advisory brings the mortgage industry expertise and agility you need to convert fixed costs into variable costs. Our difference maker is your ability to outsource services to highly trained experts in a model that fits your needs. Whether that means loan-level accounting, advisory, business intelligence, compliance support, cyber services, internal audits, or underwriting automation, we have the tools, knowledge, and experience to deliver value and improve your financial performance unlike any competitor, anywhere. You’ll feel it almost immediately in your day-to-day operations. Even better, you’ll notice the difference in your bottom line. Reach out or visit our website to learn more about how we can help your operation.”

TPO Channels for Lenders and Brokers

Are you a Non-Delegated Correspondent looking for solutions to help you easily control your company’s loan profitability at the loan officer level? This week, Rocket Pro TPO launched Target Profit Control, a new feature that enables principals to set desired profit targets using a loan-level price adjustment at the loan officer level, ensuring margins are achieved every time, regardless of loan changes. Available only from Rocket Pro TPO, Target Profit Control eliminates misquotes or loan adjustment errors and saves time monitoring loans for margin targets. This offering is the latest addition to Rocket Pro TPO’s Correspondent Assist Program, which provides a broad range of fulfillment options by leveraging Rocket Pro TPO technology for all your disclosure needs, including closing documents. Interested in learning more about a Broker or Non-Delegated Correspondent partnership? Contact Rocket Pro TPO to get started.

It’s no secret: Loan officers need to dig deeper into their toolbox to find new ways to stand out in today’s competitive market. One option is to position yourself as a government mortgage expert, especially if your lending partner is Flagstar Bank. For 35 years, Flagstar has made the government lending process easy. Flagstar has minimal overlays and allows for 580 or even no FICO score on USDA, VA, and FHA loans with multiple borrowers. They also offer VA loans up to $4 million and manual underwriting for borrowers with less-than-perfect credit. Their seasoned AEs, skilled underwriters, and insightful training programs can guide you through the nuances of government lending products so you can educate your borrowers with confidence. Contact your Flagstar Account Executive to learn more or sign up with Flagstar.

Conferences, Events, and Training

The kind of news you want to know, VIBE 2023, a very important broker exchange, is here! What is VIBE 2023?* The biggest growth mindset event for Mortgage Brokers featuring a VIP lineup of some of the most influential speakers in the country! Join us at the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA on 10/24/2023. Register to attend using your UNIQUE CODE**, provided by your Kind Account Executive. Learn more by visiting here. *VIBE 2023 event is open to all licensed Mortgage Brokers in the United States. No commitments to establish a partnership with Kind Lending are required to attend. **Unique Codes are provided by your Kind Lending Account Executive. If you do not have an account executive or are not yet working with Kind TPO, email us to learn more.

Millennials and Gen Zers represent the largest group of first-time homebuyers. In less than 10 years, 3.1 million will have entered the market. Of these buyers, roughly 75 percent of them report checking social media daily. Making social media a necessary strategy for loan officers. Join Homebot’s VP of Marketing, Ashley Remstad and Mortgage Advisor Sosi Avila as they discuss key strategies and tactics for using social media to your advantage. Register for the webinar here.

Sure, it’s mortgage tradeshow season. But if you’ve got to pick one, it ought to be the Greatest Mortgage Conference in The Known Universe. That’s the modest description for Originator Connect, the nation’s largest LO conference. A huge exhibit floor and tons of sessions that will help loan originators bulk up their pipeline, it’s also got special events such as The Non-QM Summit and the Private Lender Forum. Looking to start your own brokerage? There’s an entire half day Build-A-Broker program. And attendees can also get their federal NMLS license renewal class done while you’re there. It’s all free to NMLS-licensees and their support staff. Just go here and register using the code CHRISMANFREE. And if you want to know what’s coming your way, don’t miss keynote speaker Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

The California MBA’s Western Secondary will be August 21-23 at the Waldorf Astoria at Monarch Beach in Orange County. “Explore the possibilities of the 2023 Western Secondary Market Conference – a unique in-person event that brings together the most influential players in the secondary market.”

The Mississippi Mortgage Bankers Association is holding its fall conference September 7-8 in Jackson. Our theme for this year is “Building a Strong MS” We are focusing on building relationships, strategies, and opportunities for the real estate housing industry in MS. Our fall conference is open to loan originators, realtors, and other industry affiliates. Realtors will receive Continuing ED (CE) credits for attending the Fall Conference.

Save the dates of September 10-12 and join lending professionals from the Pacific Northwest at the Riverhouse in Bend, Oregon, for the Pacific Northwest Lenders Conference. This event promises to be a catalyst for professional growth, offering a unique platform to expand knowledge, build valuable connections, and elevate lending businesses in the region.

Register for the AzAMP Annual EXPO, Luncheon, and 8-Hour NMLS CE Class on September 27th and 28th at the We-Ko-Pa Resort and Casino. Don’t miss Luncheon Speakers Allen Beydoun, UWM EVP, and Rob Chrisman, The Chrisman Commentary Daily Mortgage News. Stay the night at the resort and attend all the events.

TMBA is working through the summer planning outstanding events including the 6th Annual Mortgage Symposium, November 6-7 at the Westin Dallas Southlake Hotel in Southlake TX. The Texas Women Mortgage Bankers event will be held on November 6 at the Westin Dallas Southlake Hotel.

Capital Markets

Economists and investors continue to ruminate on how the consumer price index increased 3% year over year and 0.2 percent month over month in June. The year-over-year increase marks the lowest rate of inflation since March 2021. Too early for the Federal Reserve to do a “victory lap” or a true soft landing?

Yesterday brought another strong rally in treasuries following more favorable inflation news, with the yield curve steepening extending further as investors ramped up bets that the Fed will hold rates steady through year end following a 25 basis points hike later this month. At the producer level, both headline and core inflation slowed more than analysts anticipated, another sign that inflation continues to moderate. Producer prices barely rose in June from a year earlier to post the smallest increase since 2020.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, San Francisco Fed President Daly said yesterday that it is too early to declare victory over inflation, reminding us that there is a 12-24 month lag in the transmission of monetary policy. And on the Fed front, St. Louis Fed President Bullard announced his resignation, effective immediately, though he will remain at the Fed in advisory capacity until August 14.

But back to inflation. The Federal Reserve’s mandate is to contain inflation and help the economy. It misjudged the early strength of inflation, which got out of control, though the June CPI showed inflation is moving toward the Fed’s target. Decelerating consumer prices could lead to lower mortgage rates, which would steadily lift home sales and increase home production. The Fed’s latest Beige Book that was released this week indicated that the economy is cooling, with modest growth and slower wage increases. Subsequently, the Fed’s July rate hike will probably be the last of this cycle unless the U.S. is hit by another inflationary shock.

Today’s calendar is a light one but does include more inflation-related reports in the form of import and export prices for June that didn’t move rates. Later this morning brings preliminary July consumer sentiment. Big bank Q2 earnings releases (JPM, Citi, and Wells Fargo) are all coming in better than expected. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices roughly unchanged from Thursday’s close and the 10-year yield’s unchanged at 3.76 percent. In the last week or so the yield on the 2-year has dropped .5 percent to 4.66!

Employment

A national mortgage lender is seeking to hire a strategic Chief Technology Officer with strong leadership skills. The CTO must excel in project planning, capacity models, process mapping, understand deployment of AI, multichannel customer engagement. Must possess strong communication skills and strong knowledge of Encompass and how to build proprietary tech solutions. Must also have led teams in accordance with the above. Confidential inquiries should be directed to Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt for forwarding; please specify the opportunity.

Looking to break the glass ceiling? C-Suite Executive seeking position as President, CEO, COO/CSO. Immensely competent with strategies, goals, team building, P&L Management, executing a pivot; no pixie dust just fast, agile, smart work with high output. Highly connected with GSEs, investors, regulators, industry vendors, PE money, and compliance executives. Broad industry experience in mortgage, building, land development, insurance, financial services, marketing, software development, capital markets, TPO, private lending, data analytics, tech stacks, M&A, turn arounds, project building/deployment, and leadership & team building. Entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial. Experienced in building tech/digital/DTC as part of strategic plan to build other channels while building traditional sales efforts. Fintech relationship a bonus. Comfortable with boards, C-Suite, and stakeholders. Ego is in check, even tempered, highly goal driven, innovative and creative problem solver, excellent communicator. Currently living on West Coast, relocation considered or will do long distance commute. Please email Anjelica Nixt for additional information and connection with the candidate.

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Source: mortgagenewsdaily.com

Apache is functioning normally

The investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW), a subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp., has bolstered its fintech and financial services group with the hire of three veterans from investment bank Berkery, Noyes & Co.

John Guzzo and Jason White will be managing directors at KBW, with a focus on mortgage technology companies and related sectors. Alexander Nanas has also joined as a senior associate.

Guzzo spent 16 years at Berkery, Noyes & Co., where he led dozens of transactions, for example, the sale of ComplianceEase to SitusAMC, a portfolio company of Stone Point Capital. (Disclosure: Guzzo also represented the former owners of HousingWire in its sale to Clayton Collins-led Riomar Capital in 2016.)

White joined Berkery, Noyes & Co. in 2016. He led sell-side and buy-side mandates, including the sales of United States Appraisals to Stewart Title Insurance Company and Pharos to IMC.

“They understand how the emergence of innovative technology is challenging the industry status quo in the real estate and mortgage sectors,” said Keith Meyers, head of the fintech and financial services investment banking at KBW, in a statement. The company has 50 professionals in North America and Europe dedicated exclusively to fintech and financial services.

How to Improve Mortgage Processing with Document Automation

Recent advancements in the application of AI and Machine Learning technology have led to a new breed of “smart” OCR software called Cognitive Capture. This eBook addresses the challenges faced by legacy OCR and RPA and then focuses on how Cognitive Capture Software (CCS) addresses and overcomes these challenges.

Presented by: Parascript

The executives will cover deals in the mortgage market. Originations are estimated to again reach about $4 trillion in 2021. “The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital mortgage. And we believe we’re really at the beginning of this revolution,” said Guzzo.

According to Guzzo, the industry is in a rare combination of massive consolidation and substantial technological innovation, ripe for mergers, acquisitions, and capital raises opportunities.

“Billions of dollars are being spent to either create and or acquire disruptive technology platforms, with the goal of automating,” added White. “Some businesses are very labor-intensive and often time-consuming through manual processes.”

Both Guzzo and White said that deals – including mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, etc. – have been highly active in the last couple of years, and they don’t see any sign of slowing down in 2022.

“The next five years will have continued activity, just because of how fragmented this market is and how much innovation is pouring into it,” said Guzzo. White added that “we will continue to see interest from large, publicly traded companies, as well as blank-check companies, called SPACs.”

Guzzo and White said an interview Wednesday that recent deals focused more on regulatory and compliance software companies within the mortgage and real estate sector. They have also been busy with deals in the appraisal and title spaces, they said.

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

The average 30-year-fixed rate mortgage remained flat for the third consecutive week at 3.55% for the week ending Feb. 3, reflecting the impacts of the Omicron variant in the economy, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey.

A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.73%. The PMMS report is focused on conventional, conforming, fully amortizing home purchase loans for borrowers who put 20% down and have excellent credit.

“This stagnation reflects the economic impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which we believe will subside in the coming months,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement.  

Mortgage rates usually moves in concert with the 10-year Treasury yield, which reached 1.78% yesterday, compared to 1.85% on the previous Wednesday. The 15-year-fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.77% last week, down from 2.80% the week prior. A year ago at this time, it averaged 2.21%.

Even though rates remained unchanged this week, most economists believe they will climb in the months ahead – but will still be close to record-low levels. The MBA forecasts that 30-year mortgage rates will reach 4% by the end of 2022.

“As economic recovery continues going into the spring and summer, mortgage rates are expected to resume their upward trajectory. In the meantime, recent data suggests that homebuyer demand continues to be elevated as supply remains low, driving higher home prices,” Khater said.

The originations landscape is shifting – is your business ready?

HousingWire recently spoke with Jon Gerretsen, SitusAMC Managing Director of Residential New Originations and Fulfillment Services, about the home buying boom and how lenders can gain market share and drive profitability in a white-hot purchase mortgage market.

Presented by: SitusAMC

The expectation of higher mortgage rates is based on the fact that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. The central bank said it will happen “soon,” though an exact timetable has not yet been disclosed. “With inflation well above 2% and a strong labor market, the Committee expects it will soon be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate,” the Federal Open Markets Committee said in a statement.

So far, borrowers are trying to secure a refinance before rates go even higher, increasing mortgage applications.  The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed on Tuesday that mortgage applications grew 12% for the week ending Jan. 28. The increase was buoyed by the trade group’s seasonally adjusted refinance index, which rose 18.4%. On the purchase front, the index was up 4% from the previous week.

Source: housingwire.com

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

Information Sharing, Home Equity, Fulfillment, Marketing Products; Conventional Conforming News

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Information Sharing, Home Equity, Fulfillment, Marketing Products; Conventional Conforming News

By:
Rob Chrisman

8 Hours, 4 Min ago

How can it be that it’s been 14 years since Michael Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication? (A drug that is used for the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia.) The world certainly took notice of his death, and moving into mortgage banking, any time the same news story contains words like “FHFA,” “socialism,” “Congress,” and “credit scores” everyone takes notice. People are taking notice of bank and credit union performance in this environment. Unlike non-depository lenders, they’re faring okay in this environment. Personnel can be shifted to other channels within the company, such as auto loans, credit cards, or customer service. They generally have a different set of concerns than independent mortgage banks. For example, how does the referral process work, and who is compensated along the way? How are potential non-mortgage customers identified? How are marketing expenses handled… does the mortgage arm of the bank do its own marketing? How are management costs allocated? What is the reporting structure: who does “mortgage” report to and how? Are mortgage employees actively trained on other bank channels such as auto lending or credit card work? IMBs, of course, must compete with bank and CU comp structures which often involved a salary (let’s say, $5k per month) plus commissions (let’s say, 50 basis points). (Today’s podcast can be found here and is sponsored by Visio Lending. Visio is the nation’s premier lender for buy and hold investors with over 2.5 billion closed loans for single-family rental properties, including vacation rentals. Through its top-rated Broker Program, Visio brokers can earn up to 5 percent. Hear an interview with Black Knight’s Frank Poiesz on the current regulatory environment and what parts of the origination cycle AI will likely benefit first.)

Broker and Lender Services, Products, and Software

Whether you’re looking to funnel more leads, increase repeat business or forge valuable connections, the Surefire℠ CRM and Mortgage Marketing Engine by Black Knight has got you covered! In its latest ‘Mortgage Marketing Essentials’ quick guide, Surefire breaks down some simple, cost-effective strategies used by many of the mortgage industry’s top-producing loan originators to help you hone your marketing efforts! In today’s difficult housing market, there’s no better time to kickstart your journey to the top of the lending leaderboard. Get a bite-sized overview of proven tactics from loan officers who have perfected their marketing skills by downloading the ‘Top Producer Quick Guide’ today.

Are you a warehouse lender seeking to optimize operations, reduce costs and enhance customer satisfaction? Look no further than ProMerit, the industry’s leading warehouse lending platform brought to you by SitusAMC. As a SaaS-enabled and cloud-hosted system, it offers the flexibility and resilience required to thrive in the ever-evolving technological landscape. Effortlessly manage, track, fund and secure repayments while supporting your reporting, audit, and compliance requirements. Seamlessly integrate with LOSs, general ledgers, wire systems, DDA systems and more, enabling more smooth data flow and streamlining processes. Experience the power of automation, allowing you to schedule and execute tasks, import files, generate reports, and receive notifications of work complete. Elevate your warehouse lending business with ProMerit. Discover a world of enhanced efficiency, reduced costs, and unparalleled customer satisfaction. Contact Anthony Beshara or Rich Berg.

“Do you want to win more business and gain more agents? Then you need Loangendary Marketing, a marketing partner for mortgage companies and loan officers. With the market wreaking havoc on budgets and marketing departments, Loangendary Marketing was created to help you affordably grow and scale your origination business without growing your team. With our customizable contract terms, our lightning-fast turnaround times, and our talented team of mortgage marketing experts, we’re here to help your business grow in any market condition. Imagine having a team of the best mortgage marketers in the business focused solely on helping you win more loans and growing your brand. That’s what we do. And with over 20 years of experience working with some of the leading mortgage companies in the country, we know what it takes to help you win more business. Book a discovery call today to see what we can do for your business!”

Cover your staff’s time off with Maxwell’s on-demand underwriting. As a mortgage professional, you know the value of an uninterrupted workflow. Maxwell Fulfillment services empowers you to seamlessly maintain your operations while your team enjoys time off this summer (and beyond). With direct integrations to your LOS, our experienced onshore team of underwriters provides a seamless, fast, and cost-effective experience. To learn more about Maxwell’s on-demand underwriting or other fulfillment services, click here or schedule a call today.

Homeowners with mortgages, which account for roughly 63 percent of all properties, gained $1 trillion in equity between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the fourth quarter of 2022. Along with this increase in equity, there has been an increase in demand by borrowers to tap into that equity. Join executives from FirstClose, Space Coast Credit Union and HousingWire this Wednesday for a 1-hour for a virtual event that will discuss today’s levels of home equity, and how to successfully help homeowners utilize their equity with different home equity products. Register today!

The CWDL mortgage banking leaders had a great time in California last week, as we co-hosted Power Lunches with Michael McAuley and Joe Garrett of the renowned consulting firm Garrett, McAuley & Co. Mark Wilson and Dustin Pfluger helped to facilitate roundtable discussions with C-level executives of leading lenders in both the San Diego and Bay Area markets, hitting on topics such as getting to breakeven, dealing with margin compression, when/how to acquire other mortgage companies, and strategies for profitability in a hyper-competitive market. If you’re interested in CWDL bringing these Power Lunches to your market in the future, reach out to Kasey English (619-302-0010), and learn more about our industry-specific tax, audit, accounting and consulting services here.

Conventional Conforming Products in the News

Freddie and Fannie’s policies, procedures, underwriting guidelines, and activities in the capital markets impact roughly 3/4 of current production. Let’s see what’s happening in that channel.

FHFA Released 1st Quarter 2023 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report.

Effective August 1, 2023, Freddie Mac is retiring the Loan SellingAdvisor® CTE01 environment. If you’re a current CTE01 user, you’ll need to migrate to the UAT Production Baseline CTE​. All functionality you have had access to in CTE01 will be available in UAT Production Baseline CTE.

Fannie Mae Positive Rent Payment Success Stories.

Fannie Mae June Appraiser Quality Monitoring (AQM) list.

Based on recent GSE feedback and QC findings, Pennymac clarified requirements related to documentation received with the loan file. Regardless of AUS documentation requirements, all documentation submitted with the loan file is subject to review and analysis and may be used for qualification purposes. PennyMac is analyzing the documentation to assess the impact.

All Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AUS Jumbo Product Profiles were recently updated.

In Announcement 23-45, Pennymac provided a reminder regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s condominium project insurance requirements and the importance of ensuring the insurance coverage is adequate to meet GSE requirements as well as protect the project from damage and loss.

Citi Correspondent Lending Bulletin 2023-05 contains credit policy updates regarding Quarterly Depreciating Markets List Update & New Format, Full Review Fannie Mae’s Condo Project Manager (CPM) –and Alternatives for Tax Filing Documents for DU Loans. The bulletin also provides notifications on Batch Funding for loan purchase wires and mandated screening for non-Obligated parties.

Impact of Fannie Mae SEL-2023-05 and DU/DO August Release Notes to AmeriHome Correspondent Products were posted in Announcement 20230606-CL.

PRMG Product Update 23-30: Conventional and Government Products updates include clarification on unique or non-traditional homes (such as barndominiums, tiny homes, geodesic dome, earth homes) are not eligible. Expanded Access clarification that Tax Professional Attestation Form allowed in lieu of written letter from Tax Professional (form ensures borrower’s Tax Professional meets all attestation requirements). Product codes added for High Balance options with repayable DPA on Chenoa Fund FHA. Clarification on requirements for Florida Assist and Florida HLP 2nd mortgage DPA documents.

Capital Markets

We had a little bond market rally in price to close last week as the market responded to releases of flash June Manufacturing and Services PMI readings from major economies which showed a clear trend of weakening activity. (When there isn’t much news, something 2nd or 3rd tier news can move prices in a thin market.)

This weakening activity comes at a time when central banks like the Fed, ECB, and the Bank of England are threatening more rate hikes. Domestically, the S&P PMI surveys for manufacturing and services were both lower, showing that the sector is contracting while growth in services also slowed. Other economic releases of note showed initial jobless claims were unchanged at 264k while the four-week moving average trended higher. While initial claims have been higher as of late, they are currently around the average seen from 2015 to 2017. Meanwhile continuing claims have been near their 2018 – 2019 range, consistent with 3.5 percent to 4.0 percent unemployment. Housing starts were higher than expected and may prove to be a boost to economic activity in the later part of the year. A 27 percent increase in multifamily starts led to the surprise reading. Builders continue to benefit from the lack of resale home supply as would-be sellers remain in place not wanting to give up their historically low fixed mortgages rates. The National Association of Homebuilders’ Housing Market Index increased from a revised 50 to 55 in June.

Despite being a slower week for economic releases last week, the sparse data points, as well as Fed comments, provided insight as to the strength of the U.S. economy. Fed Chair Powell reiterated the modest economic expansion that is being driven by consumer spending indicates that more work is needed to bring inflation down to the FOMC’s 2 percent target. Housing, which accounts for roughly one third of CPI, is being buoyed by limited supply as well as demographics which are keeping demand steady even with higher interest rates. Single-family permits increased for the fourth straight month and multifamily units under construction tied a record high. There was a slight uptick in resale home inventory last month as available homes increased to a still low 3.0 months’ worth. Single-family home prices rose for the fourth consecutive month in May to a median price of $401,100 due to low inventory and stabilizing demand.

This week concludes with month and quarter-end trades on Friday. Data includes regional Fed surveys, housing data, durable goods, consumer confidence, and final Q1 GDP before concluding with May PCE on Friday. Fed Chair Powell is scheduled to appear on Wednesday before the ECB Forum on Central Banking. Today’s calendar kicks off with the non-market moving Dallas Fed Texas manufacturing for June and a Treasury auction of $42 billion 2-year notes. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices better .125-.250, the 10-year yielding 3.68 after closing last week at 3.74 percent, and the 2-year is at 4.70 for no real reason, although there is some talk of the Russian political scene’s unrest.

Employment and a Retirement

Ready to take your career to the next level? Making certain borrowers have a smooth experience is vital in today’s competitive market, which is why Mortgage One provides all the tools you need to succeed. Through its partnership with Lender Toolkit, the Michigan-based lender helps its loan officers streamline the underwriting process with AI Underwriter™️ , which automates and applies underwriting conditions in 60 seconds. With just one click, you can review credit reports, income, assets, appraisals, loan data, fraud reports and more. “Research shows that consumers don’t like being asked for documents more than once, and AI Underwriter makes sure that doesn’t happen,” says Mortgage One CEO Mark Workens. “By moving underwriting upstream, we’re able to deliver a better customer experience, giving our loan officers more repeat and referral business from satisfied borrowers.” If you’re looking for a company that invests in your success, check out Mortgage One’s careers page today.

A Mortgage Boutique, the wholesale division of First Community Mortgage, has several zero or low down payment options: Conventional up to 97 percent, USDA 100 percent, VA 100 percent, FHA 100 percent CLTV, and HomeZero just announced NO income limitations! A Mortgage Boutique is looking for skilled Account Executives nationwide to join its team. Committed to delivering exceptional service to clients and partners, A Mortgage Boutique considers top talent as a crucial element in achieving this goal. If you are passionate about excellence and seeking to join a thriving team, consider a career with A Mortgage Boutique. Contact DJ Ziggas to learn more.

FHA job opportunity to make up to $166k per year: Director in its Real Estate Owned Division. Duties include reviewing technical reports of property damage, coordinating the completion and processing of necessary documents, and overseeing the preparation of deeds and mortgages and close sales.

“Liz Scott, Regional Managing Director with National MI has decided to retire from National MI after serving 11 years with the company. Her career has spanned more than 30 years in the mortgage industry, and we are deeply and sincerely grateful for Liz’s contributions. She was one of the first salespeople hired at National MI during its founding stage, and she helped craft our customer development strategy. She steadfastly believes that achieving homeownership offers the ability to improve families’ quality of life and has held the privilege of fostering broad and deep relationships with customers and members of the industry she considers partners and friends. She has built and led a best-in-class team of exceptional National MI sales advisors in the western territory who will continue to serve our clients with the highest standard of service. Liz looks forward to spending more time with her family, enjoying international travel, and soon welcoming her first grandchild to her family. We are grateful for the opportunity to have worked with Liz and wish her the best in her retirement as she begins a new life chapter.”

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Source: mortgagenewsdaily.com