Mortgage rates dropped last week, but it wasn’t enough to spur mortgage demand. The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, declined 0.8% for the week ending November 25 after rising 2.2% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The index fell by a
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The conforming loan limit for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will pass the $1 million mark for the first time in 2023, reigniting a debate about the government’s role in the mortgage market and its persistent affordability challenges. Meanwhile, desperate for volume in a high-rate environment that’s
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Given the market contraction and numerous layoffs in the industry, it may be surprising to think that loan officer recruitment and retention could be a focus for some lenders and independent mortgage banks right now. But due to the reduction of volume, it’s extremely important for lenders and IMBs to
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Mortgage fairness for Black and Native Americans is no better today than it was 30 years ago, according to a new mortgage fairness report. The report, issued by “fairness-as-a-service” solution firm FairPlay AI, was based on a study of more than 350 million mortgage applications from 1990 to 2021. The
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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Tuesday announced that the baseline conforming loan limit for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2023 will be $726,200, an increase of 12.21%, or $79,000, compared to 2022. Through the government sponsored enterprises, the federal government for the first time
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Yearly home-price growth continued to slow in September, with the year-over-year price gain shrinking for the sixth consecutive month, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, released Tuesday. Nationwide home prices posted an annual gain of 10.6% in September, bringing the index to a reading of 300.41. In
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Economic reports over the Thanksgiving holiday paint a complicated picture of what’s happening, and where we are on recession watch. The big economic surprise was the strength of Black Friday sales, where consumers spent a record $9.12 billion online. Another surprise was the Atlanta Fed’s forecast of 4.3% GDP growth
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JPMorgan Chase will soon be issuing its first non-prime MBS secured exclusively by investor loans that are underwritten based on rental income. JPMorgan Mortgage Trust 2022-DSC1 is secured by 980 debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) loans with a balance of $308.2 million, according to a Kroll Bond Rating Agency presale
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Pure wholesale lender Homepoint will provide a $500 credit on appraisal costs for borrowers buying primary homes that are designated as Fannie Mae HomePath properties, the company announced on Monday. This is the second initiative to be launched by Homepoint this year to reduce costs for borrowers who use the
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Many lenders are not getting a sense of déjà vu with the current mortgage industry downturn, according to mortgage advisory firm Stratmor Group. “This one feels different,” a recent Stratmor report states, citing executives in the mortgage industry. This time around, the fast mortgage rate increase, the large origination volume
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In mid-November, the Federal Bureau of Investigations released its 2022 Congressional report on business email compromise (BEC) and real estate wire fraud. According to the report, in 2021, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received BEC-related complaints with claimed losses exceeding $2.4 billion, far higher than the $360 million in
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Last week the Wall Street Journal published a story by Andrew Ackerman stating that the Biden administration wants to target nonbanks for tougher oversight and additional regulation. The story states, “the Biden administration is laying the groundwork to target nonbank firms with stricter federal oversight as regulators grow concerned about
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