UWM is hiring after banner year for purchase mortgage lending

In a year when home sales hit a three-decade low, the nation’s biggest mortgage lender made $96.1 billion in loans to homebuyers — the company’s best year ever. Continue reading

Mortgage rates climbing again on hot CPI report, Powell testimony

Trump calls for lower interest rates after release of January CPI report. Powell says Fed is in no hurry to cut rates, and bond market investors who fund mortgages are taking him at his word. Continue reading

Pullback in mortgage rates spurs refis but not purchase loans

Requests to refinance were up 12 percent week over week and 17 percent from a year ago last week after rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans pulled back to the lowest level in six weeks. Continue reading

Elevated mortgage rates continue to chill homebuyer demand

Mortgage rates hovering near “key psychological level” of 7 percent, a likely factor in the slow pace of applications for both refinance and purchase mortgages: MBA chief economist. Continue reading

Mortgage demand crumbles as rates are on the rise again

With mortgage rates back to where they were last summer, purchase applications are coming in at the slowest pace since February 2024, Mortgage Bankers Association lender survey finds. Continue reading

New York City real estate mogul Jacob Chetrit dies

Alongside his brother Juda, Jacob led the Chetrit Organization, which owned notable properties, including a 366,000-square-foot building at 1 Whitehall Street in New York’s Financial District. The duo also had major prospects underway in Pompano Beach … Continue reading

LoanSnap’s business dried up. Now regulators are after its licenses

Connecticut has entered into a consent decree revoking the fintech mortgage lender’s license, and LoanSnap has been put on notice by California regulators that they intend to do the same. Continue reading

Mortgage rates bounce back before homebuyers can pounce

The big drop in mortgage rates did more to spur refinancing than homebuying, according to a weekly survey of lenders by the Mortgage Bankers Association, and now rates are rising again. Continue reading

Fewer homeowners constrained by mortgage lock-in effect

Two years ago, nine out of 10 mortgages had rates below 5 percent. Today, there are 5.8 million fewer sub-5 percent mortgages in the market and 1 in 4 borrowers has a higher rate. Continue reading

Freddie Mac will dip a $2.5B toe into the second mortgage market

Modest pilot program approved by federal regulators was opposed by banks who have traditionally provided most home equity loans. Nonbank lenders have already made inroads into the business. Continue reading