Critics say the data giant’s exclusive contracts with data providers and strategic acquisition of potential competitors make it impossible for new market entrants to gain scale or price competitively.
The broker channel remains the smallest of the three primary origination channels, though it showed the most growth in the first quarter. An estimated 19.1% of first-lien originations came through brokers.
Hometown Lenders has filed for bankruptcy citing issues stemming from interest rate trends. Plenty of conventional lenders have folded their tents the past two years, but there hasn’t really been a groundswell in bankruptcy filings.
Researchers find evidence that, in areas with significant flood risk, lenders charge higher interest rates and assess lower home values, even if those areas are not included in FEMA flood maps.
Banks reduced their non-agency jumbo lending in the early months of 2024, with nonbanks picking up some of the slack. Deliveries of high-balance mortgages into agency MBS also declined in the first quarter. (Includes three data tables.)
The program provides borrowers a 3% downpayment assistance second lien with up to $15,000 in financing. The loan does not accrue interest and does not require a monthly payment.
During refinance booms, loan officers can be worth their weight in gold but during a downturn LO costs need to be adjusted. That reckoning may be underway now.
Sales of both existing and new homes declined on a monthly basis in April. Still, home sales and mortgage originations are expected to pick up as interest rates decline.
Originations of government-insured mortgages increased by 11.0% in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter. Conventional-conforming and nonconforming products lost share during the quarter. (Includes two data tables.)
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