Real Estate Broker/Agency News

Mortgage rates hold steady at 3.55%

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

Read more

Rising interest rates trigger an exuberant MSR market 

Incenter Mortgage Advisors was flooded with a surge of mortgage-servicing rights business in January — with bulk MSR sales approaching in one month what the firm normally tallies in an entire year. Denver-based Incenter’s managing director, Tom Piercy, said he expects the rising tide of business to continue for the foreseeable

Read more

Old Republic produces third consecutive record-setting year

A year of low mortgage rates and high demand for housing was certainly good for Old Republic International Corporation. During the firm’s fourth quarter earnings call on Thursday, Craig Smiddy, Old Republic’s president and CEO, announced that the firm’s pre-tax income, excluding investment gains, was $335.1 million for the fourth

Read more

MBA’s Mike Fratantoni on measuring mortgage competition

Mortgage industry participants may disagree a great deal on several different topics. However, I expect that you would find no argument with the following statement: Mortgage lending is a highly competitive business. While the scope of the market, which totaled roughly $4 trillion in volume each of the past two

Read more