The two REITs have seen success even as profits from mortgage lending decline thanks to diversification efforts involving business-purpose lending and venture capital investments.

It stands to reason that as origination activity declines, some CEOs might earn less money this year than last. But a few are sharing the pain by taking a salary of $1 a year.

While the Federal Reserve intervened in the mortgage market to lower rates, lenders did not pass along all the savings to homebuyers, the former Freddie chief said.

Industry economists expect home lending to deteriorate through the rest of 2022 as gains in purchase-mortgage lending fail to offset the meltdown in refinance activity. (Includes two data charts.)

Trade groups representing smaller nonbank seller/servicers say it’s the larger nondepositories, with nearly 70% of the market, that pose the biggest risk to Fannie and Freddie.

Rather than encouraging lending in flood-prone areas, mandatory flood insurance requirements limit mortgage originations for borrowers with low income or low credit scores, researchers at the NY Fed found.

The Biden administration’s move to reduce the impact of medical debt from consumer credit reporting will make it easier for some homebuyers to qualify for government-backed mortgages.

Receiving borrower tax transcripts from the IRS, which usually takes 48 hours, is stretching on for weeks since the start of the tax filing season, according to lenders.

The company sees demand for contract underwriting from mortgage lenders trying to originate purchase mortgages and other new products amid margin compression.

The mortgage origination “correction” has arrived, with some shops pondering their options. As one dealmaker put it, “Many lenders will need to find a safe port in the storm.”