Mortgage News
The latest real estate and mortgage industry news, digested. Look beyond the headlines to better understand what’s really happening.COVID-19 Is Pushing Home Buyers to Move Sooner
Sometimes you need a little push to get things going, especially when it’s a big something like purchasing a home. Well, it turns out a pandemic can be that driving force, as evidenced by a new survey from real estate ... Read More »
Home Prices Are the Most Affordable They’ve Been Since 2016
With real estate white-hot and property values continuing to skyrocket despite a worldwide pandemic, homes remain surprisingly affordable. At first glance, it’s kind of odd, both that home prices continue to rise amid a pandemic, and that they’re still quite ... Read More »
How About a 1% Mortgage Rate?
Well, maybe not exactly 1%, but in the 1% range? More specifically, starting with the number “1,” which on its own sounds too good to be true. It’s now a reality thanks to, you guessed it, United Wholesale Mortgage, who ... Read More »
UWM’s Exact Rate Lets Borrowers Choose Exact Mortgage Rates
The mortgage industry can be a little bit old school. Similar to how the stock market used to operate in sixteenths, and later eighths, mortgage rates are mostly offered in eighths. Before 2001, the stock market only allowed price movements ... Read More »
Homeowners in Forbearance Plans Have Lower Credit Scores, Higher DTI Ratios
The latest weekly Forbearance and Call Volume Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) revealed that 7.80% of outstanding home loans were in forbearance. That number was up slightly from 7.74% a week earlier, putting roughly 3.9 million homeowners in ... Read More »
Knock Home Swap: Buy, Sell, a Get a Mortgage with Just One Company
One of the trickiest aspects of homeownership is unloading an existing property while acquiring a replacement. Aside from being stressful, it can also be difficult it not impossible thanks to financing constraints and unwanted contingencies, which a home seller likely ... Read More »
15-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates Just Hit Record Lows: Should You Consider One?
While 30-year fixed mortgage rates tend to steal all the headlines, 15-year fixed mortgage rates quietly reached record lows this week as well, per Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. This morning, Freddie announced that the 30-year fixed fell to a new ... Read More »
A Look Inside the Books of Rocket Companies, Inc.
Thanks to a newly released SEC Form S-1 associated with their upcoming initial public offering (IPO), we now know a lot more about closely held Quicken Loans, aka Rocket Mortgage, aka “Rocket Companies, Inc.” The company, which bills itself as ... Read More »
Now Home Prices Are Expected to Fall By 2021 Thanks to COVID-19
While the housing market has been coming up roses lately, even in the face of COVID-19, it might turn out to be a short-lived affair as widespread unemployment takes hold. A new report from CoreLogic today revealed that despite a ... Read More »
The Top 25 Mortgage Lenders of 2019
If you’re curious which mortgage lender closed the most home loans in 2019, I’ve got your answer. You probably already guessed it was Detroit, Michigan-based Quicken Loans, which also led on total dollar amount in recent quarters. But if you ... Read More »
