More first-lien mortgages are originated through retail lending operations than either of the other main production channels, but correspondents gained some ground during the first quarter. An exclusive Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of survey data shows that the market share for correspondents rose in all three major loan categories: conventional conforming, jumbo and government insured. Correspondents have their deepest penetration in ... [Includes two data charts]

Lenders cited various technology issues, costs and difficulties getting loan officers to change behavior as barriers to digitizing the mortgage process.

Agency MBS data suggest the purchase market hit its low spot in January and has been slowing building momentum ever since…

Larry Charbonneau, who conducts warehouse lending reviews for commercial banks, said usage rates are definitely improving this spring.

Roughly 10.8 percent of the mortgages were sourced through the Federal Home Loan Banks’ Mortgage Partnership Finance program.

In the first quarter, PennyMac ranked fourth among all home lenders, trailing Wells Fargo, Chase Home Finance and Quicken, according to a ranking from Inside Mortgage Finance.

Purchase-mortgage lending saw a big drop in volume during the first quarter of 2017, but indicators suggest that the sector has been rebounding in recent months and will post a solid gain by the time the year is over. An estimated $205.0 billion of purchase mortgages were originated in the first quarter, a sizable 19.6 percent decline from the previous period. But with an even bigger 44.6 percent slump in refinance lending, purchase mortgages accounted for over half (53.2 percent) of total first-lien originations in the first three months of the year. It was...[Includes three data tables]

Citadel Servicing Corp. and Angel Oak Companies – two of the most active nonprime lenders operating today – are looking at record originations for the second quarter and all of 2017. But don’t expect a torrent of conventional lenders to jump into the space anytime soon. According to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance in recent weeks, there’s plenty of interest in the “new” subprime market, a business predicated on sober loan-to-value ratios and rigorous underwriting, but most conventional lenders do not see it as safe. At least not yet. “Right now, there’s...

With interest rates projected to rise, lenders are putting an increased emphasis on purchase mortgages. A little-used feature in post-crisis originations could help boost purchase-mortgage originations: temporary interest rate buydowns. A temporary buydown can help increase a lender’s “market potential” by offering borrowers lower initial payments and the stability of predictable payment increases, according to Freddie Mac. Temporary buydowns generally last...

Almost every week it seems like a lender launches a digital mortgage process allowing for loan applications to be received and processed online effortlessly and efficiently. However, according to a recent survey of lenders, a number of barriers stand in the way of digital mortgages. Lenders cited various technology issues, costs and difficulties getting loan officers to change behavior as barriers to digitizing the mortgage process. Some 73 lenders participated in the survey administered by the Strategic Mortgage Finance Group earlier this year. The top barrier to digital mortgage offerings was...