Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, November 10. Moderna is locked in a patent dispute after excluding three government researchers who worked on the vaccine from its application. General Electric will split into three companies focused on aviation, energy, and healthcare. A federal court denied Donald Trump’s attempt to withhold records from the committee investigating the January 6 riot. And in mortgage and housing news… HUD Awards $36M For Affordable Housing: HUD announced $36 million in “capacity-building” grants to boost affordable housing programs across 250 communities. Mortgage Credit Up: Mortgage credit availability rose slightly in October but remains tight overall, posing “significant” problems for first-time buyers. Applications Rise Alongside Rate Drop: Mortgage loan application volume rose 5.5% last week, responding to…
Good Morning! Today is Monday, November 1. World leaders are gathering in Glasgow for a climate summit. American Airlines scrubbed more than 1,900 flights over the weekend, the latest in a series of cancellations to disrupt travelers’ plans. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tested positive for Covid-19. And in mortgage and housing news… Rocket Mortgage Partners With Salesforce: Rocket Mortgage announced a new partnership with Salesforce in a bid to expand its market share. 60% Of Households Priced Out Of New Construction: Prices for newly-constructed homes outpaced median income, pricing out most Americans, according to a study from real estate tech firm Knock. Haunting History: Halloween may be over, but it’s never a bad time to find out how many deaths have been reported in your home. New CFPB Leadership: The…
Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, October 20. The White House announced a plan to vaccinate 28 million children between the ages of 5 and 11. Kidnappers in Haiti are demanding $1 million per person for 17 members of a U.S.-based missionary group. Southwest Airlines has dropped its plan to put unvaccinated workers on unpaid leave starting in December. And in mortgage and housing news… Applications Down: Mortgage loan application volume fell 6.3% last week while refis hit their lowest level since July. Rocket Enhancements: Rocket Mortgage’s Rocket Pro TPO announced tech changes to help brokers grow and strengthen their businesses. Ex-UWM Exec Joins Scott Griffin: Scott Griffin Financial has announced that former UWM exec Judie Levitt has joined its senior…
Former United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) executive Judie Levitt joined Scott Griffin Financial as chief growth officer, the company announced in a statement. Chief growth officer is a new position at Scott Griffin. In that role, Levitt will focus on expanding the company into new markets. “We are very excited to have Judie join our team at Scott Griffin,” said Aliza Falk, chief operating officer.” “With our founder Scott Griffin hosting a national show on CNBC, it made sense to expand the mortgage division to the national spotlight, and Judie has a proven track record of recruiting the perfect talent for growth. We are so thrilled to bring on such a talented and passionate industry leader.” Levitt worked at UWM for…
Good Morning! Today is Friday, October 15. An FDA panel recommended booster shots for high-risk Moderna recipients. LinkedIn is shutting down in China, the last major social network to shutter there. Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in September from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said. And in mortgage and housing news… Black Knight: Forbearances dropped another 10% this week, and they are now at their fastest rate of improvement since the pandemic began. Was Ishbia’s Crypto Move a ‘Stunt?’: After accepting just six cryptocurrency mortgage payments, UWM has signaled it’s not ready to do more. Millennials Vs. Boomers: A Zillow report found Millennials and Boomers are competing for housing, and Boomers are winning. Redfin: The number…
Over the summer, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) created a “bang” in the marketplace with the news it would begin accepting cryptocurrency for mortgage payments. But now it appears the initiative may be reduced to a whimper. “We’ve evaluated the feasibility, and we’re looking forward to being the first mortgage company in America to accept cryptocurrency to satisfy mortgage payments,” CEO Mat Ishbia told investors in August. Among the currencies on the list: Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum. But just two months later, Ishbia announced that UWM has processed just six such mortgage payments thus far, and it will not be widely accepting the experimental currencies after all. “Due to the current combination of incremental costs and regulatory uncertainty in the Crypto…
Good Morning! Today is Monday, October 4. New Covid cases have fallen by 35% since September 1. Migrants are surging at the southern U.S. border due to the economic devastation wreaked by the pandemic on South America. Vice President Kamala Harris sold her Washington, D.C., condo for $1.85 million. And in mortgage and housing news… Is Mat Ishbia Leading UWM Into A Title IX Lawsuit?: Ishbia’s monthly stipends for male student athletes could lead to Title IX challenges. Worst Since 2008: The median American household would need to spend 32.1% of its income to cover mortgage payments on a median-priced home, the most unaffordable mortgage payments have been since the 2008 recession. PennyMac: PennyMac is raising conforming loan limits by almost 14% through broker and correspondent channels, anticipating cap…
When United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia announced his company would be paying $6,000 stipends to all 133 Michigan State University men’s basketball and football players this school year, some sports fans cheered. But advocates for women’s issues and equity jeered. Ishbia and UWM are longtime supporters of Spartan sports, so it was no surprise when he announced nearly $800,000 in company-funded stipends to all football and basketball players for the 2021-22 school year under the NCAA’s new “Name, Image and Likeness” (NIL) rules. But the lack of support for women’s sports did not go unnoticed. “In 2021, this sort of blatant sexism is unacceptable,” Democratic Michigan state Representative Laurie Pohutsky said when Ishbia announced his plan. “All athletes, regardless of their…
Good Morning! Today is Wednesday, September 22. The House passed a bill to keep the government open and prevent a debt default, but Senate Republicans will likely block it. The Taliban asked to participate in the U.N. General Assembly this week to gain international representation. The DOJ and six states are challenging American Airline’s partnership with JetBlue, alleging it violates anti-trust laws. And in mortgage and housing news… Mortgage Loan Apps Up: Mortgage loan application volume rose 4.9% last week, the MBA weekly survey found. Anthony Casa Abuse: The case of Anthony Casa, the AIME Chair who threatened and sexually harassed a competitor’s wife last year, perfectly demonstrates the difficulty of holding individuals accountable, Christine Lenzo writes. August Housing Starts: …
11 months, 16 days. That’s how long it took former Association of Independent Mortgage Experts boss Anthony Casa to get back into AIME’s good graces after resigning in the wake of his lewd and misogynistic video texts about the wife of a rival. Casa, who took a leave of absence in July and officially stepped down in October, will participate in a panel discussion Friday at AIME’s annual Fuse conference – billed as the “largest nationwide gathering of independent mortgage professionals” – at the swanky Bellagio in Las Vegas. The panel will be moderated by Casa’s successor, AIME CEO Katie Sweeney. United Wholesale Mortgage – a longtime backer of AIME and Casa – is the title sponsor of the conference. …
