Origination

NewOak announced the appointment of Neil McPherson as head of business development. McPherson, who was part of the original business development team when NewOak launched in 2008, returns to the firm with responsibility for coordinating NewOak├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós client development efforts across all its business lines: valuation and risk advisory, litigation consulting and dispute resolution, mortgage credit services, and financial technology solutions.

Michael Cannatti, a nearly 40-year veteran of the housing finance industry, has joined Mortgage Master as Texas Regional Manager, the super-regional mortgage bank announced.

A recently released borrower survey on shopping habits shows increasing reliance on online tools when mortgage shopping, though many still find the learning curve too steep.

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), one of the nation's fastest-growing wholesale lenders, has good reason to celebrate going into 2014: The company was ranked on Mortgagestats.com as the No. 1 wholesale lender in the country for the third quarter of 2013.

Mortgage rates began 2014 with a round of increases, kicking off a trend many experts believe will continue through the rest of the year. Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.53 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending January 2, up from the last week of 2013, when it averaged 4.48 percent. Meanwhile, Bankrate.com reported the 30-year fixed at 4.69 percent, a gain of 6 basis points.

McLean Mortgage Corporation announced the release of its RateFlex Program, a new concept designed to aid homeowners and prospective homebuyers in today's volatile interest rate environment.

Effective January 1, Ken P. Wilson, MAI, SRA, will take over as president of the Appraisal Institute, the group announced.

The new year will bring some clarity to the housing market and likely some loosening of credit, though an air of mystery does still surround some aspects of the industry, according to FBR's outlook for 2014. With Mel Watt, a former Democratic senator from North Carolina, taking the helm at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and three openings at the Federal Reserve, some uncertainty persists despite some clarity surrounding Qualified Mortgages (QM) and other regulations in the housing industry.

The National Association of Realtors sent out a national survey in July, 2013 to buyers and sellers who made a transaction at some point in the last year. Among other findings, the survey showed increased use of online resources throughout the process. The first step in the process for 42 percent of buyers was searching online for properties. Use of the Internet to search for homes rose slightly to 92 percent. Eighty-eight percent of buyers purchased their home through an agent or broker--a share that has steadily increased from 69 percent in 2001.

What does it take to be a successful originator in the new age? While some firms bend over backwards to keep their strategies under wraps, a few are willing to open up a little bit on the subject. In MReport's September cover story, contributor Sandra Lane talked to the leading minds at Mortgage Master, Equity Loans, and Guardian Mortgage, among others--all of whom agreed to let readers take a peek into their shops and glean the secrets of their success.