Freddie said the promotions in its multifamily division reflect the GSE’s commitment to grow talent and provide stability and affordability to the market.

Volatility in the secondary market has led to a 49-basis-point interest rate spread between jumbo and comparable conventional loans.

The expanded-credit market was the only sector to see originations increase in the first quarter. The products accounted for 2.2% of total mortgage originations. (Includes data chart.)

Participants in the non-agency market note that the loans are more difficult to underwrite than typical agency mortgages. But given that agency refi business is falling, there’s still plenty of business to be had in the non-agency space.

ARMs are getting more popular with borrowers as interest rates increase. In the non-agency market, ARM originations are currently dominated by banks.

Non-agency originations of higher-priced mortgages increased by nearly 60% on an annual basis in 2021. The top lenders include a mix of expanded-credit producers and lenders that focus on manufactured homes. (Includes two data charts.)

Originations of expanded-credit mortgages helped to boost nonprime servicing portfolios in the first quarter of 2022. (Includes data chart.)

Homeowners have plenty of equity and nonbank lenders are looking to replace refinance business, leading some large nonbanks to start offering HELOCs. One complication: what to do with the assets.

Impac increased its emphasis on non-QM lending in the first quarter of 2022 and ended up taking a loss. Officials at the nonbank said hedging and other activities couldn’t overcome volatility in the non-QM market.

Altisource setting up alternative lending operations; Reverse Mortgage Funding offers non-agency MBS with proprietary reverse mortgages; Dovenmuehle assessed as “above average” by Moody’s.