News

The availability of mortgage credit has dropped more than a full percent over the last month, indicating lenders are continuing to tighten their credit standards. Overall mortgage credit availability fell 1.1 percent in May and 0.2 percent in April. Broken down by loan type, government credit availability saw the biggest drop, falling 1.9 percent over the month. Conforming credit dipped 0.3 percent, while conventional and jumbo credit availability headed the other direction, rising 0.2 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. Jumbo loan credit availability, which has risen 13 out of the last 15 months, has helped to offset falling credit availability in other sectors.

LoanCare announced that Adam Saab has assumed the role of EVP and COO. Saab had previously held the position of SVP at PNC Mortgage where he was responsible for core servicing for all mortgage and consumer products for the bank, as well as for the home lending integration as PNC combined the mortgage and home equity products onto the Black Knight MSP platform.

U.S. Real Estate Services, Inc. (USRES) announced Monday that Tiffany Malm-Ruiz has joined the USRES Management team. She will be responsible for the oversight and management of the REO Division. Her experience boasts a broad understanding of mortgage servicing, operations, and vendor and asset management.

It is no surprise that the home market has favored the seller this buying season, but what is interesting is how millennials have treaded the challenging and sometimes expensive market. Ellie Mae’s April Millennial Tracker showed steady increases in home loans among the demographic. Certain metropolitan areas saw a larger boom than others.

Two weekly reports show that mortgage rates are down—the lowest they’ve been in seven months, and mortgage application volume is up. Seasonally adjusted, purchase index is on the rise while unadjusted remains down over 10 percent. 10-year treasury yield also fell this week.

JPMorgan Chase COO Matthew Zames will be stepping down from his role after 13 years, the bank announced on Thursday. According to sources, Zames is leaving to start his own business. “I have been in this business almost 25 years. I spent the vast majority of my time running businesses, driving things forward, facing off against clients, taking business risk. But at its core … I want to get back to running the railroad…”

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a landmark bill--233 to 186--that, in its current form would dramatically change the future of financial regulation. The Financial CHOICE Act, originally introduced by Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Financial Service Committee, on April 26, 2017, significantly amends the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The CHOICE Act is the Republican response to reforms put in place after the 2008 economic collapse.

New survey results show urban, rural, and suburban American homebuyers have “drastically different” profiles. Aside from agreeing on the importance of homeownership, the three groups vary greatly on most homebuying-related topics. The biggest differences lie with the urban buyer, who is younger, more transient, more likely to be an immigrant, and has a bigger budget. The average urban buyer is just 38 years old—nearly a full decade younger than the average suburban and rural buyer.

Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson was met with strong words Thursday morning when he appeared with the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Appropriations to defend the proposed budget for the fiscal year. He remained poised, articulate, and open as the subcommittee members took turns voicing their specific concerns. Secretary Carson went on to say that the playbook had to be changed, as there was only so much money to go around.

A white paper released on Thursday claims the emergence of the Loan Originations System (LOS) as a stand-alone product has led to “technology sprawl,” wherein mortgage tech platforms are disparate, disconnected, and overall less effective. According to the paper, titled “Reducing the Sprawl in Mortgage Lending,” the mortgage industry is plagued by disconnected technology that slows the process down—and cuts into the bottom line. Lenders should move toward a singular, more comprehensive LOS that can handle the mortgage process from cradle to grave, the paper reports.