Word is spreading that CrossCountry Mortgage of Brecksville, OH, is in the hunt to buy other lenders. As for who, that’s a different matter.

Requiring homebuyers and sellers to each pay their own agent’s fee would dramatically increase the upfront cash needed to buy a home.

Usage of Freddie Mac’s Loan Prospector is largely confined to mortgages that will be delivered to the GSEs while usage of Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter is more widespread in the mortgage market.

Renters are finding it more challenging to become homeowners as increasing rents eat into downpayment funds and rising interest rates push homes further out of reach.

Higher interest rates didn’t have much of an impact on home price appreciation in March; Freddie Mac launched new automated underwriting capabilities; Fitch shifts its outlook for ratings of Finance of America Companies to negative; MISMO remains busy.

As retail and correspondent loan sales to the agencies fell by 20%, lenders became visibly less discerning about credit quality, with credit scores dropping and DTI/LTV ratios rising. (Includes two data charts.)

Rising interest rates helped to push up income tied to mortgage servicing rights more than they reduced income from originations among a group of publicly-traded nonbanks. Results varied to some extent, with one large mortgage company even taking a loss in the quarter. (Includes data chart.)

If projections by the MBA are correct, interest rates for mortgages are levelling off, which should relieve some of the pressure lenders are facing on originations and profit margins.

It’s no secret that mortgage bankers and brokers are cutting workers as lending ebbs in a much higher rate environment. But with the exception of Better.com, the layoffs have not been huge. Yet.

A growing sector in home financing involves power buyers, who with all-cash offer guarantees help homebuyers compete against investors.