Carlyle, an investment firm, agreed to purchase up to $300 million of Unison's new equity-sharing mortgage products.

The investor count on rated securitizations from Unlock increased three- to four-fold compared with the unrated deal the firm issued in 2022.

The broker share of originations declined from 19.1% in the first quarter to 18.2% in the second quarter, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance.

The issuance will bring Rocket’s securitization volume of closed-end second liens to $3.30 billion this year.

The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage declined to 6.20% this week, according to Freddie Mac.

Morningstar DBRS created rating criteria for securitizations of home equity investments in mid-2023. Since then, issuance has blossomed, and the sky’s the limit, according to industry participants.

ABS backed by home equity investments are offering unlevered returns in the low double digits. The first rated HEI ABS was issued in October and industry players are anticipating exponential growth.

United Wholesale Mortgage faced a minor setback in its quest to have brokers account for 50% of mortgage originations. Both the retail and correspondent channels gained market share in the second quarter. (Includes six data tables.)

Rocket Mortgage is taking steps to boost its market share and production of purchase mortgages. That includes an effort to increase wholesale lending.

Home equity investments allow homeowners to receive cash in exchange for a share in home price appreciation. Activity in the sector has grown to the extent that there was a conference dedicated to HEIs last week.