Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, February 7. Nikki Haley lost to the option “None of These Candidates” in Nevada and Donald Trump wasn’t on the ballot. A federal appeals court said Trump is not immune from prosecution over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Hamas proposed a 135-day ceasefire with complete Israeli withdrawal.
The Mortgage Note Reports
One-On-One: The leader of an analytics business that provides technology for companies in the mortgage space says they are on a mission to set a new standard for data integrity and trusted automation. Steve Smith, CEO of BaseCap Analytics, sat down with Editor Kimberley Haas.
Positive Movement: Mortgage applications increased last week by 3.7%, countering a slip the week prior, as rates remained relatively stable into February.
Fairway Leadership: Joy Knoch has been promoted to Chief Strategy Officer at Fairway Independent Mortgage, a new position.
Op-Ed: Chris Barstein, campus executive director at a Benchmark Senior Living continuing care retirement community located in Connecticut, talks about preparing for aging.
In other mortgage and housing news…
Shining Light: A survey-high number of consumers believe mortgage rates will drop in the next year, Fannie Mae said, though overall market sentiment remains constrained.
Leadership News: Embrace Home Loans promoted Ryan “Buddy” Hardiman to president; Thomas Yoon has been named head of Lead+ Wholesale Lending.
LoanSnap Win: LoanSnap is now the first mortgage company ever to be accepted into Visa’s prestigious Fintech Fast Track program.
New Program: First Home Mortgage announced the First Home ONE Program, which enables buyers to purchase a home with 3% equity but only a 1% down payment.
Leveling Up: American Financial Network selected Snapdocs’ eClosing and eVault solutions to accelerate digital closing adoption and elevate borrower experience.
Misconceptions: Rent is coming down for the wealthy, but rents for middle- and low-tier apartments were up 2% in December and remain 20% higher than 2020.