Mortgage REIT Two Harbors hopes to save a ton of money by servicing its $215 billion-plus MSR portfolio in house. It also wants to be a major player in the subservicing arena and is building an origination platform to protect against a refi wave.
Not every mortgage company can issue unsecured notes at a decent price, but a handful of larger shops can, especially if they own a ton of servicing rights.
Freddie Mac’s pilot program could dramatically reduce the frustrations lenders face due to repurchase requests for performing loans. For now, the initiative covers 15 lenders.
Counterintuitively, the bi-merge will increase the number of credit pulls necessary to complete the average mortgage loan application. Consumers will ultimately pay for those extra pulls.
Over the years, warehouse finance has been a good business for Texas Capital, but the pain suffered by its nonbank clients over the past year has affected the bank as well. Relief could come when the Fed starts cutting rates.
The commission structure for real estate agents looks likely to change as the National Association of Realtors and brokerages face charges of price fixing. The move is unlikely to have a major impact on mortgage lenders.
Three-plus weeks into the new year, a handful of large servicing deals are afoot. Arvest Bank is an active seller and Wells Fargo is contemplating its options as well.