After a respite of sorts, the insatiable appetite for mortgage servicing rights revives. Meanwhile, Better.com and its founder find themselves on the wrong end of a civil damages claim.

Refinance lending plummeted in the first quarter of 2022 but still clung to a narrow lead over purchase-mortgage originations. Refis may account for only 30% of the market for the rest of the year. (Includes four data charts.)

Data from multiple listing services show that the housing inventory shortage is acute, with closed and pending home sales outpacing new listings.

According to new research paper, nonbanks use their MSRs to help fund operations in a rising rate environment, resulting in stronger originations in comparison to banks.

How do you know when a mortgage cycle has reached its nadir? When originators produce loans at a loss. We’re not there yet but we could be close. Meanwhile, just because a lender announces a stock buyback that doesn’t mean it will happen.

Retail, correspondent and wholesale-broker all saw sharp declines in production volume in the first quarter, but retail may have been the most profitable. (Includes six data charts.)

Spreads on interest rates between jumbos and conventional-conforming mortgages are at some of the widest levels ever seen, driven by uncertainty on monetary policy and strong demand from banks for jumbos.

The SEC has a proposed rule that would mandate climate-related disclosures. The Federal Housing Finance Agency and federal banking regulators are also incorporating climate-change assessments.

Despite a significant decline in indictments and convictions, the FHFA IG’s Office of Investigations secured more than six times as much in restitution than in the prior period.

Expanded-credit mortgage was the only product line to show any growth in the first quarter of 2022, and more lenders are sizing it up as agency and jumbo markets wilt. (Includes two data charts.)