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Inside Mortgage Trends

March 13, 2015

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GSE Buybacks Up in 4Q14, But Focus Is Shifting to More Recent Production

Mortgage lenders repurchased or paid losses on $710.1 million of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans during the fourth quarter of 2014, a 30.8 percent increase from the previous period, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of earnings reports. While increased buybacks are never a good thing for lenders, the fourth-quarter total was the second-lowest repurchase amount disclosed by the two government-sponsored enterprises ... [Includes two data charts] Read More

Banks Took on More Servicing in 4Q14

For the first time in nearly three years, commercial banks and thrifts increased their mortgage servicing rights accounts during the fourth quarter of 2014, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call reports. At the end of last year, banks serviced residential mortgages with an unpaid principal balance of $4.416 trillion for other investors, an increase of $3.6 billion from the third quarter. That represents a tiny 0.08 percent increase ... [Includes one data chart] Read More

Wholesale Lending Seen as Primed for Growth

After gaining market share in the fourth quarter of 2014, the wholesale-broker channel is poised for further growth, according to Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage. “Wholesale brokers are making a comeback,” Ishbia said this week during a webinar sponsored by his firm, which was the second-ranked lender in the broker channel in 2014, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. “We see it growing again in the first quarter, second quarter and beyond ... Read More

Mortgage Hiring Outlook: Mostly Flat

Although residential lenders saw their pipelines swell early in the year thanks to rapidly declining interest rates, few firms are feeling overwhelmingly bullish about the origination side of the business and remain skittish regarding hiring plans for the months ahead. But there are exceptions. Certain fast-growing national lenders such as Freedom Mortgage and loanDepot LLC remain hungry for loan officers, but want mortgage professionals with close ties to real estate agents ... Read More

Homebuilders, Lenders Announce One-Stop Shops

A number of homebuilding firms and mortgage lenders have recently announced joint ventures or affiliated business arrangements to offer one-stop shopping for homebuyers and homeowners. 1st Alliance Lending has announced a national mortgage lending platform that would expand its ability to offer government-backed mortgage financing to underserved borrowers with tainted credit who want to purchase a home. Based in East Hartford, CT, 1st Alliance offers ... Read More

FHA More Costly Than Private MI

If a borrower went shopping for a mortgage loan in 2014, he or she would have found FHA insurance costlier than private mortgage insurance even with a 20 percent downpayment, according to a new report from WalletHub, a web-based organization that monitors a variety of financial services. FHA mortgage insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2008, when conventional loans with private MI grew scarce and FHA became the only game in town for ... Read More

Altisource Entities Look for Way Forward

Altisource Residential and Altisource Asset Management abruptly cancelled their scheduled earnings calls this week as the firms work on modifying an asset management agreement. Both of the companies have ties to Ocwen Financial, which has faced its own operating issues in recent months. “Despite the negative headlines surrounding our primary mortgage servicer Ocwen, our performance has remained strong,” said Ashish Pandey, AR’s CEO. The real estate investment trust had ... Read More

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