Lending and Originations

The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies will present a discussion on how granting landlords, employers, and other gatekeepers access to criminal records can create serious barriers to housing, jobs, and other opportunities.

A deceleration in inflation has sent mortgage rates tumbling for the fifth consecutive week, pushing mortgage apps upward to launch the spring homebuying season.

The MBA reports that overall mortgage application volume rose this week, jumping after a week of declines, as fixed-rates continued to slide toward the 6% mark.

“With the spring buying season underway, lenders are grappling with the threat of a recession and tighter overall financial conditions following the recent bank failures,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s VP and Deputy Chief Economist.

According to NAR, 48% of seller agents reported that staging a home not only decreased a property’s time on the market, but also increased the dollar value offered by between 1% and 5% compared to similar homes on the market that were not staged.

A nine-year participant in the originations market, Homepoint has announced the sale of certain assets of the company’s wholesale origination channel to national wholesale lender The Loan Store Inc.

Average production volume was $2.6 billion (8,371 loans) per company in 2022, down from $4.9 billion (16,590 loans) per company in 2021.

Ron Vaimberg, President of Ron Vaimberg International, speaks about the keys to origination success in today’s challenging economic environment.

Even as mortgage rates edge closer to the 6% mark, homebuyers nationwide are faced with the prospect of low inventory, with new listings having fallen 21.8% year-over-year nationwide.

Continued low mortgage rates have not equated into a strong start to the spring homebuying season, as the MBA reports a decline in overall application volume after four consecutive weeks of increases.