Accurate Group and Mortgage Cadence have joined forces to offer end-to-end digital mortgage technology, leaders at the companies announced Tuesday. Lenders will be able to access Accurate Group’s appraisal, title data, analytics, and e-closing solutions via Mortgage Cadence’s digital loan origination platform, Collaboration Center. “Accurate Group’s vision is to deliver end-to-end digital mortgage technology that combines quality and speed for a strategic advantage,” said Paul Doman, President and CEO of Accurate Group. “The integration with Mortgage Cadence strengthens this mission by allowing lenders to leverage Accurate Group’s full real estate technology and service suite directly within the Mortgage Cadence Collaboration Center. This significantly reduces time spent navigating between different systems, fosters better collaboration, and delivers agility needed to compete in…
Rate-lock volumes fell 21.5% in November despite 30-year rates dropping 48 bps over the course of the month, according to Optimal Blue’s Mortgage Market Indices from Black Knight. Rates are 3.3% higher YOY but have declined in recent weeks. But affordability struggle and continuing stock shortages have diminished buyer demand, pushing rate-locks down 39% in three months and 68% from the same time last year. Purchase locks fell 22%, while rate/term refis and cash-outs dropped 17% and 18%, respectively. Total refi locks accounted for only 15% of November’s activity. The Thanksgiving holiday and normal seasonal slowing also contributed to low lock volume, but Optimal Blue President Scott Happ noted that these cannot account for dwindling activity by themselves. “While we…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The housing market traditionally cools during the holiday season as people focus on family and friends but industry leaders say it is a good time for potential sellers and buyers to weigh their options. After mortgage rates recently surged above 7%, real estate activity and consumer sentiment took a nosedive. Home delistings hit a record high in November as sellers and buyers pulled out of the market, according to journalists Lily Katz and Ben Walzer at Redfin. Markets where home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic are now cooling the fastest. In Sacramento, Calif., an average of 3.6% of active listings were delisted per week during the 12 weeks ending on November 27, up 1.6 percentage points from one year earlier.…
Inventory saw a record uptick in the four weeks ending December 4th as buyer demand dwindled and homes lingered on the market, according to new data from Redfin. The total number of homes for sale rose 15% YOY in that period, the largest increase recorded in Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index. New listings fell by 20%, however, suggesting the stock shortage will be ongoing. Demand has dwindled as many homebuyers were priced out of the market by sky-high prices and rates. Buyers who could afford a home when interest rates were at historical lows found that in 2022, they couldn’t afford anything. But homebuyer demand did rebound from an all-time low, up 5% from a week prior as rates continue to…
Mortgage interest rates slipped again last week, marking the fourth consecutive week of decline, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.33%, down from 6.49% the week prior. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.10 percent. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 5.76% to 5.67%. A year ago, it averaged 2.38%. “Over the last four weeks, mortgage rates have declined three-quarters of a point, the largest decline since 2008,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “While the decline in rates has been large, homebuyer sentiment remains low with no major positive reaction in purchase demand to these lower rates.” Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index broke…
Fairway Independent Mortgage is rolling out a new program for first-time homebuyers in select communities, the company announced in a press release. The program, called Fairway Community Access, will offer qualifying first-timers up to $7,000 towards the down payment and $500 in the form of an appraisal credit, should appraisal be necessary. Borrowers who plan to purchase a home warranty will also receive a credit toward one year of warranty. Buyers in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, and Philadelphia will be eligible for the program. They must currently reside in the designated community, have no ownership interest in any other property, and the home must be their primary residence. Fairway says FCA is designed to help buyers combat high-interest rates…
Foreclosure activity fell 5% in November from the month prior, remaining lower than pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report from ATTOM Data. Foreclosure filings were up 57% YOY due to last year’s moratoriums pushing activity to near zero and pushing data to artificially scary highs. But activity remains below what ATTOM considers normal levels. Starts and completions are both up annually as well, by 98% and 64%, respectively, but they too fell month-over-month. Though starts almost doubled YOY, they are just barely above 80% of pre-pandemic activity. “We may be at or near a peak level of foreclosure activity for 2022,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. “We may continue to see below-normal foreclosure…
Mortgage loan application volume declined again last week despite rates falling for all loan products, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey. The adjusted Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by 1.9%. The adjusted purchase index fell 3%, though the unadjusted purchase index increased by 31% and was 40% lower YOY. The 30-year fixed rate dropped to 6.41%, having now fallen 73 bps from just a month ago. It remains 3 percentage points higher than December of 2021. “Purchase activity slowed last week, with a drop in conventional purchase applications partially offset by an increase in FHA and USDA loan applications. The average loan size for purchase applications decreased to $387,300 – its lowest…
Mortgage-as-a-service provider Pylon has raised $8.5 million in seed funding for the development of its embedded mortgage infrastructure platform, the company announced in a press release. Funding is led by Conversion Capital with participation from Fifth Wall, Peter Thiel, and QED Investors, among others. Zillow, Blend, Ramp, SoFi, and Figure offered additional funds as angel investors. “Mortgages are rapidly becoming commoditized across rates, loan products, and operations as indicated by the nearly identical rates amongst the top 10 lenders,” said Pylon co-founder Trent Hedge. “We are long overdue for the infrastructure layer that standardizes these commodities through software – allowing our customers to focus on building highly differentiated, revenue-generating mortgage offerings at a fraction of the time and cost.” Pylon…
Home price appreciation is now half of what it was in April, its lowest recorded point since early 2021, according to new data from CoreLogic. October’s CoreLogic Home Price Index recorded a 10.1% increase YOY. Though still elevated, it continues to decrease from record highs earlier this year. The coming months are expected to push growth back into single digits. Month-over-month, prices were down 0.1% from September. Low inventory, waning buyer purchase power, and economic uncertainty are at the heart of the issue, CoreLogic leaders say. Price growth is expected to cool through next spring when the housing market may go negative before slowly rebounding in the latter half of 2023. CoreLogic predicts appreciation will be 4.1% next October. “Following…
