Mortgage delinquency rate nears historic low

The overall mortgage delinquency rate declined to 2.79% in August from 3.6% in July, according to a report by Black Knight. The delinquency rate is just 4 basis points above the historic low of 2.75% in May 2022. August saw 20,300 foreclosure starts, a 15% rise from July, but remained

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Wells Fargo discloses another layoff in Iowa

Amid a decline in mortgage business, Wells Fargo last week notified Iowa state authorities of its plans to lay off 36 employees. The workforce reduction came from its Des Moines, Clive, Ankeny and West Des Moines offices, according to a WARN notice filed in the Iowa Workforce Development. The Des

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Federal judge rules in favor of FHFA on net worth sweeps

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has been granted summary judgment on the last remaining claim by investors in a lawsuit alleging the government overstepped its authority when it adjusted its stock-purchase agreements with the agencies and allowed net worth sweeps. The plaintiffs, Fairholme Funds Inc., et al.,

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The Real Brokerage to acquire LemonBrew Lending

Publicly traded real estate firm The Real Brokerage has struck an agreement to acquire the mortgage brokerage arm of real estate and mortgage technology company LemonBrew. The Real Brokerage, headquartered in Ontario, Canada, will pay $1.25 million to acquire the tech-enabled home loan platform, which does business in 20 U.S.

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Thrive Mortgage to acquire American Mortgage Service Company

Texas-based independent mortgage bank Thrive Mortgage has signed a letter of intent to acquire the Ohio-based lender American Mortgage Service Company (AMSC). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition will strengthen Thrive’s retail channel and bring with it new territories amidst arguably the most challenging mortgage market

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LOs, senior managers among the 300+ cut in latest Caliber layoff

Caliber Home Loans, owned by publicly-traded Rithm Capital, issued pink slips to at least 300 employees earlier this week as soaring mortgage rates thin out already-declining origination volume. The lender has made at least four rounds of layoffs this year, multiple sources told HousingWire.  An internal document viewed by HousingWire

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Opinion: CRA doesn’t work for banks or IMBs

Last year, in a Housing Wire op-ed, Community Home Lenders of America took the lead nationally in opposing calls to extend the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to independent mortgage banks (IMBs).  The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) then returned the volley in an op-ed by Jesse Van Tol advocating for

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Opinion: SFR companies not to blame for lack of inventory

A recent article, “Stop subsidizing Wall Street buying up homes,” perpetuates an uninformed stereotype of single-family rental home companies while revealing a serious neglect for the important contributions industry firms bring to today’s housing market. Contrary to their portrayal as indiscriminate buyers of properties far and wide, providers of single-family

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