Despite low inventory and financing conditions that can favor other types of homebuyers, first-timers are increasing their market share, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage FinanceHousingPulse Tracking Survey. First-time homebuyers accounted for 38.9 percent of home purchases in April, based on a three-month moving average. That was up from a 38.1 percent share the previous month and a 37.2 percent share in April 2015. “Demand from first-time homebuyers is...

“If nothing is done in the near term, the natural progression could be a spillover of mortgage originations that favor the private-label market,” S&P said.

UWM is offering “rate incentives” for jumbo borrowers with FICO scores north of 740, and a promise to close the loan in 25 days or less…

But Moody’s acknowledged that mortgage warehouse securitizations can be operationally complex.

“This is a seminal change,” one GSE observer told us.

The average credit score for purchase loans securitized last month was 749.7, the first time that measure has been below 750 in over two years.

PennyMac Financial is a top-10 ranked lender and may soon break into the top-10 in servicing as well…

To significantly reduce credit risk, all mortgages sold to Ginnie 2.0 would require a private credit enhancement attached to the loans…

In the first quarter, 11.2 percent of Fannie/Freddie purchase loans had credit scores below 700 and LTV ratios of 81 percent or higher. That was up from 7.4 percent in the fourth quarter…

“The QM rule needs to stand on its own two feet … The FHFA should not be in charge of setting national mortgage underwriting,” said MBA chief Dave Stevens.