Tomo was founded by two former Zillow executives with a sole focus on purchase mortgages. Meanwhile, three-year-old Lower recently completed a $100 million Series A funding round.

The regulator released additional data collected from the survey of 5% of new mortgage borrowers each quarter. The data covers originations through the third quarter of 2020.

A few more mortgage IPOs could hit the stock roulette wheel by yearend. The reason: another potential reprieve on rates.

One lender says that when refinances go bust, the industry can’t expect to waltz into the purchase market without there being casualties. Others are more sanguine.

It would appear mortgage job security is at an all-time high these days. Credit the pandemic and lower interest rates.

There are signs that the “adverse market refinance fee” is pushing some business away from Fannie and Freddie toward government mortgage insurance programs. (Includes two data charts.)

With refi business expected to decline later this year, a number of shops are rethinking their hiring plans. Lenders are set to face margin compression, excess capacity and consolidation.

In a split ruling, the Fourth Circuit upheld a trial court’s decision to impose a $9.7 million fine against the nonbank lender for allegedly influencing appraisers to raise their valuation if it didn’t match a refi borrower’s estimate.

If mortgage originations are operating in a typical three-year cycle, profits will likely fall this year, according to industry analysts. The wild card: how lenders react to continued demand for refis.

Banks and credit unions increased their mortgage production from the second to the third quarter, but not nearly as fast as state-licensed nonbanks. (Includes data chart.)