As origination volumes hit record highs in 2020, Truework’s verification experts saw a spike in fraud, and expect that trend to continue this year. HousingWire recently spoke with Jeffrey Morelli, General Manager of Truework Verifier, about what lenders can do to prepare for and overcome the growing threat of fraud and data inaccuracy. HousingWire: As…
The average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan is now just 3 basis points away from 3%, after a 16 basis point jump last week pushed mortgage rates to 2.97%, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The average mortgage rate hasn’t risen this high since the end of July 2020, but Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s…
Zillow is putting their money where their Zestimate is, at least to a point. The “Zestimate,” Zillow’s catchy (and soapy) name for estimated home values, will sometimes be used as the initial offer Zillow plans to pay to purchase a home, the company said on Thursday. Zillow’s own estimated home value is to guide the…
Finicity, an open-banking solutions provider that was acquired by Mastercard in October, announced that it is dipping further into the mortgage space. Finicity’s latest product, dubbed its “mortgage verification service,” will allow prospective borrowers to provide certain permissions that allow mortgage lenders to verify assets, income and employment on one platform. The company’s verification system…
Borrowers with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be eligible for an additional forbearance extension of up to six months, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Thursday. On Feb. 9, the FHFA extended forbearance plans an additional three months past beyond their initial 12 month expiration. With the latest edict, the agency is now allowing borrowers up to…
Rocket Companies, the parent company of Rocket Mortgage, cleared another $2.48 billion in profits during the fourth quarter, giving the nation’s biggest mortgage lender a total of $9.5 billion in profits for 2020. Rocket originated $107.2 billion in mortgages, with net rate lock volume of $96 billion in the fourth quarter, the company disclosed in…
As record-low mortgage rates spurred high origination volumes in 2020, lenders across the housing industry looked for ways to fulfill borrowers’ needs in the most efficient, streamlined manner possible. For many lenders, the past year put a magnifying glass on processes that could not withstand the unparalleled volume. And while it was tempting to say…
New home sales in 2021 picked up right where they left off in 2020, near their highest levels in more than a decade thanks to low inventory. The state of the market means increased competition among homebuilders, who are grappling with how to keep prices affordable as their own costs rise. Sales of new single-family…
Extreme increases in lumber prices have caused some people to go bearish on new home sales. Not this one! If we play a version of rock, paper, and scissors with lumber prices and mortgage rates, mortgage rates will win. Mortgage rates have a much more significant influence on the new home sales market than lumber prices,…
HousingWire recently spoke with Propertybase CEO Vance Loiselle about real estate tech and how the past year has accelerated the need for digital collaboration tools across the entire customer journey. HousingWire: What role has the increase in technology played for both businesses and consumers in the real estate space? Vance Loiselle: In the 20th century, the…