Blackstone it set to issue its first non-agency MBS backed by investment-property mortgages. Most of the loans in the deal were originated by lenders affiliated with Blackstone.

Varde agreed to sell non-QM lender Deephaven to Pretium, an investment manager involved in single-family rentals along with mortgage credit. Transaction details weren't disclosed.

Bank of America overtook Chase and Wells Fargo as the top originator of adjustable-rate mortgages in the first quarter of 2019. The ARM share of total originations also increased slightly.

A number of lenders announced improvements to their investment-property mortgage programs. Verus simplified its offerings, Velocity launched a new product and Civic entered the correspondent channel.

Fix-and-flip loans are offering attractive returns to some non-agency players even as others are reducing their exposure to the market, citing concerns about slowing home-price appreciation.

The correspondent share of jumbo originations declined in the first quarter of 2019 after reaching relatively high levels in the second half of 2018. The retail channel remained the main source of production while brokers gained  market share.