As the mortgage industry continues evolving toward a 100 percent, end-to-end digital mortgage, automation and collaboration are playing essential roles, according to some top vendors. Bob Brandt, vice president of marketing and alliances at Optimal Blue, said, “The digital movement in the mortgage industry is all about automation – automation of the mortgage process truly from end to end: from lead generation to point of sale to processing and closing and the delivery of loans ...

Homebuyers’ “typical mortgage payment” has climbed about 10 percent in 2017 and may climb another 11 percent in 2018, according to a new analysis from CoreLogic. Company analysts attributed the payment change to rising mortgage rates over the past year. Typical mortgage payment (TMP) is a mortgage-rate-adjusted monthly payment based on each month’s median home-sale price. It is calculated using Freddie Mac’s average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with ...

A lack of homes for sale is limiting the first-time homebuyer share of home purchases, according to the National Association of Realtors. NAR’s latest annual profile of homebuyers found 34 percent of respondents were first-time homebuyers, down from 35 percent in the 2016 report and the fourth lowest share for first-time homebuyers since 1981. The historical norm for first-time homebuyer share is 40 percent, according to NAR. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said a “severe drought” ...

Recent guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency aims to allow banks to originate mortgages with high loan-to-value ratios to help borrowers in distressed areas complete home improvements. The OCC released guidance in August addressing originations of mortgages with LTV ratios above 90 percent, even allowing for LTV ratios above 100 percent in certain circumstances. Keith Noreika, the acting Comptroller of the Currency, discussed lending in ...

Three analysts at Wells Fargo Securities discussed in a new report this week what could happen to the agency MBS market as a result of pending tax reform, one version of which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this week. As always, the devil is in the details; hence, the bitter in-fighting among entrenched interests on Capitol Hill.

Self-employed borrowers whose incomes were determined with bank statements account for 35.0 percent of the collateral.

The Ginnie Mae/Veterans Affairs task force is meeting regularly to find a solution to the VA churning problem that is triggering rapid prepayments to the detriment of MBS investors – and a test currently used by the FHA might provide the answer.

Fannie Mae is considering a pilot program to help consumers more easily get construction loans. While the program is just in the early stages of consideration, the government-sponsored enterprise sees the program as a way to increase affordable housing options for homebuyers.

Freddie said it plans to close its first investment in January 2018.

Conventional mortgages that meet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase guidelines remained the biggest source of new home lending during the third quarter, although other product types saw sol-id increases in origination volume as well.