https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/rss en-us bivey@imfpubs.com Originations of jumbo mortgages increased by 50% on an annual basis in the first quarter of 2026. The bulk of the volume is in non-agency jumbos, with the conforming jumbo sector also holding up. (Includes three data tables.) http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237696 Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:09:00 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237696-jumbo-production-market-share-on-the-rise bivey@imfpubs.com MBS investors aren’t sure how VantageScore scores compare with classic FICO scores. And a variety of systems used in the mortgage market need to be updated to allow for two scoring models. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237694 Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:08:00 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237694-many-hurdles-to-widespread-adoption-of-vantagescore jdohnert@imfpubs.com VantageScore’s CEO said he doesn’t think FICO’s trended data score will be operational with the GSEs anytime soon. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237695 Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:07:00 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237695-vantagescore-ready-to-take-on-fico-in-mortgage dhollier@imfpubs.com Critics say the FHFA director is woefully underqualified to lead national intelligence. The impact on FHFA is also unclear. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237701 Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:04:00 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237701-director-pulte-vs-dni-pulte dhollier@imfpubs.com Following adoption by the 30-largest lenders, VantageScore will focus on making sure technology providers and smaller lenders are prepared to implement its new credit score model. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237638 Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:08:00 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237638-whats-next-for-vantagescore-40 dhollier@imfpubs.com Lender trade groups argue that the expanded use of alternative valuations by the GSEs will improve the reliability of appraisals. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237646 Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:02:00 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237646-mortgage-industry-endorses-appraisal-modernization dhollier@imfpubs.com Early interest in the VantageScore 4.0 pilot has been strong, but participants note that the new score can be up to 100 points different from Classic FICO. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237532 Thu, 21 May 2026 12:00:10 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237532-vantagescore-uptake-matches-expectations nbhatia@imfpubs.com On a year-to-date basis, Rocket’s deliveries to the GSEs more than doubled from the first four months of 2025, driven by its acquisition of Mr. Cooper, which was finalized on Oct. 1. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237504 Mon, 18 May 2026 11:59:00 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237504-rocket-mortgage-top-gse-seller-in-april bivey@imfpubs.com FICO and VantageScore disagree on how lenders in a GSE pilot are using VantageScore. FICO’s CEO claims there are LTV ratio limitations and a haircut with VantageScore. VantageScore said that’s not the case. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237403 Thu, 07 May 2026 12:07:18 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237403-policies-for-vantagescore-use-involving-gses-murky dhollier@imfpubs.com Despite ending his long hiatus on GSE talk, Trump fails to persuade skeptics that he’s ready to take Fannie and Freddie out of conservatorship anytime soon. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237398 Thu, 07 May 2026 12:06:20 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237398-trump-comments-revive-ipo-speculation dhollier@imfpubs.com Stakeholders are speculating on the next steps for bringing the new credit scores to market without complete transparency. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237337 Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:06:39 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237337-operational-challenges-for-lenders-implementing-vantagescore-40 sclark@imfpubs.com The trade group said a single-pull credit report is enough, if there are proper guardrails in place to prevent lenders and borrowers from “gaming the system.” http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237322 Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:05:41 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237322-mba-offers-more-parameters-for-single-pull-credit-score dhollier@imfpubs.com FHFA Director Bill Pulte said 21 large lenders will roll out the new score with the GSEs, though all lenders are eligible. FHA also plans to accept VantageScore and FICO 10T. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237281 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:10:06 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237281-vantagescore-40-is-a-go dhollier@imfpubs.com Industry watchers believe the abruptly cancelled FHFA/HUD press conference was tied to implementation of VantageScore 4.0. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237195 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:25:30 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237195-fhfa-and-hud-postpone-major-housing-announcement jdohnert@imfpubs.com Real estate professionals argue that private listings can be a net negative for homebuyers and sellers. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237207 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:23:42 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237207-private-listings-may-impact-home-valuations dhollier@imfpubs.com Stakeholders believe that while the new rules will reduce insurance costs, they will raise other costs, including for condo dwellers who don’t plan to buy, sell or refinance. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237029 Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:06:25 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/237029-concerns-emerge-for-new-condo-rules bivey@imfpubs.com Two Harbors seeking more votes in favor of acquisition by UWM; GSEs to ease standards for condo insurance; DOJ subpoenas to Fed rejected. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236972 Thu, 19 Mar 2026 13:49:13 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236972-grapevine-two-harbors-vote-extended-gses-loosen-homeowners-insurance-standards dhollier@imfpubs.com The three major consumer reporting agencies are using discounted pricing and other strategies to drive adoption of VantageScore 4.0 among mortgage lenders. The score is the main competitor to FICO. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236905 Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:39:48 -0400 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236905-vantagescore-pricing-dips jdohnert@imfpubs.com Talk of a capital raise for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has waned in recent months, leading some policy experts to question whether the Trump administration has the appetite to take the GSEs public. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236774 Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:05:06 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236774-uncertainty-grows-on-gses-exiting-conservatorship dhollier@imfpubs.com House Republicans said they’re drafting legislation that would end the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236697 Thu, 19 Feb 2026 11:52:18 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236697-congress-returns-to-the-conservatorship-debate dhollier@imfpubs.com The big homebuilders are purportedly planning to build a million starter homes to sell through a rent-to-own program. The Trump administration has distanced itself from any such proposal. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236644 Thu, 12 Feb 2026 11:35:18 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236644-the-trump-homes-proposal dhollier@imfpubs.com Former Freddie CEO believes most prospective remedies to the affordability crisis will benefit only borrowers who don’t need the help. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236656 Thu, 12 Feb 2026 11:34:20 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236656-are-gses-an-efficient-tool-to-address-affordability dhollier@imfpubs.com Documents released under a FOIA request indicated that the GSEs’ assessment of the new credit score requirements found that a single-bureau credit pull significantly underperformed both the tri-merge and bi-merge. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236577 Thu, 05 Feb 2026 11:58:00 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236577-vantagescore-40-was-not-approved-by-gses jdohnert@imfpubs.com Pete Mills, a senior vice president at MBA, believes housing affordability initiatives are more likely to come from executive orders this year. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236578 Thu, 05 Feb 2026 11:57:30 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236578-gse-privatization-unlikely-during-election-year dhollier@imfpubs.com The president wants to address housing affordability but also wants home prices to remain high because it has made a lot of people wealthy. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236574 Thu, 05 Feb 2026 11:52:41 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236574-trumps-housing-affordability-conundrum bivey@imfpubs.com In mid-December, MBA was projecting interest rates would hold at 6.4% throughout 2026. However, MBA now anticipates the average rate will be 6.1% in the first quarter and hold at that level through the year. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236502 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 11:48:44 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236502-economists-make-adjustments-on-rate-forecasts dhollier@imfpubs.com The trade group representing credit reporting agencies said MBA’s proposal to move to a single-bureau report is more about lowering costs for lenders than saving money for consumers. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236517 Thu, 29 Jan 2026 11:46:45 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236517-credit-reporting-industry-disputes-claims-about-the-tri-merge jdohnert@imfpubs.com President Trump’s directive to lower interest rates helped spur a tightening in mortgage spreads, but economists are skeptical of the long-term impact of the move involving GSE purchases of MBS. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236439 Thu, 22 Jan 2026 11:55:31 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236439-major-long-term-rate-reduction-unlikely-after-gse-mbs-purchases bivey@imfpubs.com President Trump’s announcement that the GSEs will buy $200 billion of agency MBS prompted mortgage spreads to tighten by about 20 basis points and some lenders to offer mortgages below 6.00%. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236382 Thu, 15 Jan 2026 12:08:00 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236382-lenders-expect-rush-from-gse-mbs-purchases dhollier@imfpubs.com Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed industry speculation that President Trump directed the GSEs to purchase $200 billion in MBS to offset Federal Reserve policy. http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236381 Thu, 15 Jan 2026 12:07:00 -0500 https://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/articles/236381-trumps-mbs-purchase-plan-runs-counter-to-fed-policy