The FHFA director believes mortgage fraud is rampant at Fannie and Freddie. That includes allegations that New York Attorney General Letitia James, a nemesis of President Trump, fraudulently obtained GSE-backed loans. James denies the allegations.
The parent company of Better Mortgage reached an agreement with SoftBank to restructure debt, prompting a jump in Better’s stock price. However, Better’s cash reserves are dwindling.
New bills in Congress aimed at the housing market have some bipartisan support; Trump fires Democrats on NCUA board; Trump administration looks to boost mortgage activity at smaller banks.
Nonbanks accounted for 65.2% of the residential mortgages originated in 2024. All of the top five lenders were nonbanks and they all gained market share. (Includes two data tables.)
Origination giant Rocket is purchasing servicing behemoth Mr. Cooper at a premium. The biggest risk for Rocket is that mortgage rates might finally decline markedly in the coming quarters. Or is that an advantage?
FHFA directed the GSEs to end their SPCPs, prompting renewed concerns that the Trump administration could take further actions to limit special purpose credit programs in the mortgage market.
The amount of available home equity ticked down during the fourth quarter and lenders saw a fall in demand from homeowners for home equity loans. Still, for the full year, home equity lending increased by 10.8%. (Includes three data tables.)