Rocket Cos. has closed its acquisition of Mr. Cooper, just six months after the transaction was first announced, with a near $5 billion increase in valuation. The transition has already begun; Mr. Cooper and all servicing functions are being rebranded under the Rocket umbrella. Right now, the company is being branded as Mr. Cooper powered […]
Mr. Cooper costs Rocket $5B more than first announced Read More »
US mortgage rates rose for the first time in five weeks, thwarting a budding recovery in housing demand and abruptly halting a recent flurry of home refinancing. The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage climbed 12 basis points to 6.46% in the week ended Sept. 26, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. Adjustable-rate
Mortgage rates rise, stalling nascent recovery in home demand Read More »
Rocket Pro has rolled out a broker portal for borrowers to find local originators. The Detroit-based mortgage giant’s brokernearme.com allows consumers to search for brokers near their address and access profiles which include social media accounts. The site today includes thousands of broker profiles, and they aren’t “ranked” on the site, Rocket Cos. CEO Varun
Rocket Pro launches broker search platform Read More »
The amount of tappable home equity Americans hold continues to increase, growing annually by 5% for the second quarter, a Transunion study found. Several operators in the market, whether lenders themselves or tech providers, have launched products and platforms over the last few days to serve these equity-rich homeowners. As of June 30, the total
More home equity, more lending options for lenders Read More »
The average starter home in the United States sold for a record high last month, yet sales notably increased. The average price of a starter home rose 2.2% from last August to $206,508, while starter-home sales increased 3.8% year over year, according to a new report from Redfin, a subsidiary of Rocket Cos. August marked
Starter home sales climb despite record-high prices Read More »
The potential government shutdown that’s looming this week due to an impasse between political parties in budget negotiations has some new risks for housing. In addition to more typical concerns, an Office of Management and Budget memo issued last week means the usual furloughs could be layoffs that compound the impact of previous public sector
New dangers for housing in looming shutdown: How mortgage lenders can prepare Read More »
Analysts at Morgan Stanley have downgraded UWM Holdings, the parent of United Wholesale Mortgage, citing valuation risk, given the 55% increase in its stock price since the end of July through today. But at various points between those two milestones, the gain in UWM on a percentage basis was even higher. On July 31, UWM’s
UWM downgraded by Morgan Stanley on stock valuation risk Read More »
Long-time mortgage industry executive Jerry Halbrook has been named president and chief operating officer of insuretech Covered Insurance. Halbrook’s hiring is the latest sign of the convergence between the lending process and insurance, the company said. Jerry Halbrook is president and COO of Covered Insurance Property insurance costs have increased in recent years, and in
Former Black Knight exec Halbrook joins Covered Insurance Read More »
In the real-estate investment market, business operators are more frequently buying and selling among themselves, according to new Batchdata research. While businesses that buy homes with the intent of flipping or renting them out might purchase from a variety of sources, over half resell those properties to other investors, a second-quarter report published by the
Who buys investor properties? Increasingly, other investors Read More »
Adobe Stock OCMBC is retiring a controversial name it does business under, Jet Advantage Mortgage, and is replacing it with a new one, the company announced this week. But the new moniker does not resolve outstanding legal issues OCMBC has with a local rival. GIANT Lending will serve as the company’s nationwide wholesale lender with
OCMBC launches new business name, retires old one Read More »