Morning Roundup (2/20/2024) — Winning Team

Good Morning! Today is Tuesday, February 20. The U.S. and U.N. are negotiating a resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza. Capital One will buy Discover in an all-stock, $35M deal. More serious rain is expected in California this week.

The Mortgage Note Reports

Winning Team: Having motivated mortgage professionals has helped Agave Home Loans grow since it was founded at the beginning of 2020. Co-owner Marshall Gottlieb talked with Editor Kimberley Haas about how they have found success.

Ardley Autopilot: Mortgage tech company Ardley rolled out an automatic underwriting engine that creates instant conditional loan approvals for qualified buyers.

Building Slowdown: Multifamily construction slowed last month as developers pulled back, dragging down overall residential construction numbers.

In other mortgage and housing news…

Home Ready: GPARENCY now uses lender-matching technology to match its CRE clients with tenants at no additional cost, having just made its first match.

“Great Compression”: The era of the 400-square-foot subdivision house is upon us, thanks to soaring home prices.

Slowing Market: Has annual home price appreciation already peaked? First American thinks so, based on its latest Home Price Index.

Tomo Real Estate: Mortgage start-up Tomo launched an AI-based home search platform that matches buyers to homes based on conversational descriptions.

Company News: Truv integrated with Empower; First Home Mortgage opened a new branch in Bethesda, MD; Guaranteed Rate named returning employee Jeff Nelson as Southeast Divisional Manager.

International: China’s central bank has cut its key mortgage reference rate by 25 bps, a record amount, as it ramps up efforts to stem a prolonged property crisis.