August 2025

Title insurers see margins rise, sales still weak

The disappointing spring home purchase season influenced the second quarter results of the publicly traded title insurance underwriters. Certain metrics were strong, with pretax title margins at three of the companies’ showing significant gains versus the second quarter. Stewart was up 630 basis points, First American reported a 530 basis point rise and Fidelity National […]

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President Trump envisions November launch for mortgage IPO

The oversight agency for two government-sponsored enterprises sent out an image from President Trump over the weekend depicting a public offering for some of their shares near term but experts question the timing. The illustration from President Trump’s Truth Social post, like some others he’s posted around his policy initiatives, is designed to depict an

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Veterans Affairs mortgage executive John Bell III departs

John Bell III, executive director of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Loan Guaranty Service, is leaving his role.  The longtime mortgage professional and U.S. Navy veteran had been the executive at LGY since 2022, and spent 15 years at the VA, according to his biography. In a Linkedin post late Sunday night, he announced his

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Why there’s renewed interest in financing factory-built homes

Freddie Mac has expanded its program for loans on real-property factory-built homes that have features in common with traditional houses like pitched roofs, attached garages and permanent foundations. The government-sponsored enterprise said it is now buying single-section CrossMod homes loans for the first time, making it possible for borrowers to get reduced rates for housing

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Did lower mortgage rates already lower housing inventory?

Housing inventory growth has been slowing down since the last two weeks of June, as mortgage rates have been trending lower. However, last week we saw an actual decline week to week, which is rare for this time of year compared to recent years.  What does this mean? Has active inventory peaked? Our new listings

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Trump seems to confirm 2025 timing for Fannie, Freddie IPO

On Saturday, President Donald Trump seemed to acknowledge reporting by The Wall Street Journal on Friday that he plans to IPO Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the end of this year. Trump posted an AI image on Truth Social of him at the New York Stock Exchange with the words: MAGA LISTED NYSE and

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Appeals court throws curve ball in potential class-action suit against Unison

The line between reverse mortgages and home equity sharing products got a little blurrier on Thursday when a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed a lower court’s dismissal order in a proposed class-action suit against Unison. The opinion found that the plaintiffs suing Unison have shown that their arrangement with the company amounts to

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Tech Pulse: ICE integrates with Freddie Mac, AI Summit welcomes experts

Welcome back to Tech Pulse — HousingWire‘s weekly series rounding up the latest in technology news, including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Here’s what happened this week: ICE integrates Mortgage Analyzer with Freddie Mac’s borrower verification tool ICE Mortgage Technology has integrated Freddie Mac’s AIM Check API into its Mortgage Analyzer, enabling faster, AI-powered income

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Trump’s GSE stock offering plan challenged by analysts

Analysts are tempering expectations after reports that the Trump administration aims to sell shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the end of 2025 at a combined valuation of $500 billion — more than double some market estimates. They’re concerned about the feasibility of completing all necessary steps by year’s end. Meanwhile, the federal

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