Better is touting investments in artificial intelligence to help slash costs tied to originating refis. The lender is also building a distributed retail operation to increase production of purchase mortgages.

MBA increases odds of a recession within next 12 months; new tools to verify employment, income; downpayment size increases in 2024; new proposals from MISMO; lender raises funds; Cardinal offers processing for brokers; new hire at Nationwide Mortgage Bankers.

The bulk of home equity lending remains in HELOCs by banks.

Sachem's expenses spiked in 2024, including a $26.9 million provision for credit losses on loans held for investment.

Fannie Mae projects that the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage will fall to 6.3% by the end of 2025.

The securitization rate for non-agency jumbo mortgages more than doubled on an annual basis in 2024. And the non-agency MBS share of originations of expanded-credit mortgages increased. (Includes data table.)

Moody’s proposed using two home-price forecasts when assessing loans in residential MBS. Currently, the rating service uses one fairly conservative forecast for home prices.

On some recently issued expanded-credit MBS, servicing fees have been as low as 5 basis points. S&P and some other rating services review deals applying assumptions for higher servicing fees.

The amount of available home equity ticked down during the fourth quarter and lenders saw a fall in demand from homeowners for home equity loans. Still, for the full year, home equity lending increased by 10.8%. (Includes three data tables.)

The spring homebuying season might not be as strong as initially expected. Interest rates are challenging and employment trends are faltering, reducing demand for purchase mortgages.