Mortgage applications decreased 1.4% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Aug. 15. Without taking seasonal adjustments into account, the index decreased 2% compared with the previous week. The refinance index decreased 3% from the previous week but was 23% higher […]
Mortgage applications shrink as VA loan demand declines Read More »
Clifford Rossi speaks from the vantage point of someone who has been inside the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). In different periods during the 1990s and 2000s, he served as a senior financial economist at Fannie Mae and as senior director of single-family risk management at Freddie Mac. Rossi was among the earliest advocates of merging the
Ex-GSE risk chief makes case for Fannie-Freddie merger Read More »
Housing market dynamics have grown more favorable for buyers and sellers in August, and it’s possible that the fall of 2025 could see even better conditions if mortgage rates return to 6%. But they haven’t approached that level in nearly a year and haven’t been consistently below that threshold since late 2022. Rates have been
Mortgage rates continue their slow march toward 6% Read More »
It isn’t news that ICE Mortgage Technology had planned to shut down some of its older tech systems — mainly the Encompass SDK — by Oct. 31, 2025. Users were supposed to switch to newer, API-based technology called Encompass Partner Connect (EPC) by that deadline. Now, the Halloween deadline has been pushed. Instead of 2025,
Why are some vendors dragging their feet on the ICE SDK transition? Read More »
Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) delivered a pretax net production profit of $950 per loan in the second quarter of 2025, rebounding from a $28 loss in the prior quarter. The improvement was fueled by seasonality, cost reductions and higher average loan balances. The data, released on Tuesday, comes from the Mortgage Bankers Association report covering
IMBs swing back to profitability in Q2 with $950 per-loan gain Read More »
RE/MAX Holdings has appointed Vic Lombardo as its president of mortgage services. Lombardo will succeed Ward Morrison to oversee mortgage brokerage franchise brand Motto Mortgage and third-party processing solution wemlo, the company announced on Monday. Lombardo brings more than two decades of experience to the role. He most recently served as chief operating officer of
RE/MAX turns to Vic Lombardo to scale Motto Mortgage, wemlo Read More »
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Builder Application Survey data for July 2025, released on Monday, shows that mortgage applications for new-home purchases increased 6.8% compared from a year ago. Compared to June 2025, applications increased by 7%. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns. “Purchase activity for new homes strengthened in
New-home purchase mortgage demand kept growing in July Read More »
In the debate over whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should merge, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has remained consistent: “We don’t think that would be a good idea,” chief economist Mike Fratantoni said. The trade group supports a stock offering that preserves stability in the secondary mortgage market while advocating for privatization with an
MBA opposes GSE merger, supports explicit government guarantee Read More »
Several senior executives in Better’s control and finance teams, including chief financial officer Kevin Ryan, have taken additional jobs or left the company as it navigates financial pressures, according to public announcements and updates to social media profiles. In July, Ryan also joined investment bank Houlihan Lokey as a managing director in its capital solutions
Better’s Kevin Ryan adds Houlihan Lokey role amid executive shake-up Read More »
The promise that artificial intelligence brings to the mortgage ecosystem through faster processes and reduced expenses is also accompanied by the potential threat it poses to human roles. While the next two years could see an acceleration of AI-related job losses, Diane Yu urges mortgage professionals to adopt a “mindset of abundance” when approaching the
TidalWave’s Diane Yu on AI’s impact to mortgage jobs Read More »