May 2025

Stay the course: Why stability is a winning strategy for originators right now

Originators are entering the spring homebuying season with a set of new challenges: President Trump’s tariffs have disrupted markets, leaving an uncertain path forward in terms of housing construction and threatening homebuyers’ purchasing power. Meanwhile, the Fed has signaled a rate cut will likely be further delayed amid continued inflation concerns. In a market full

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Trump’s CFPB drops more than half of all pending litigation

Trump’s CFPB drops more than half of all pending litigation

The former headquarters of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with signage removed.Catherine Leffert The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has dismissed or withdrawn more than half of its pending enforcement cases as the Trump administration clears the docket of work it inherited from the Biden era.  Since February, acting CFPB Director Russell Vought has dismissed 17

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Fathom stays optimistic about agent compensation plan even as losses mount

Fathom Holdings Inc. is under pressure to turn its business around, and CEO Marco Fregenal thinks its new agent compensation model can do that. On the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, Fregenal touted Elevate, which provides agents with a 20% commission split and support systems to streamline their work. Launched at the beginning of

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Why foreclosures are still below pre-pandemic levels

According to the most recent credit data from the New York Fed, foreclosure data for the housing market is still below 2019 levels. Although foreclosure rates rose in the last quarter, we are far from the stressful levels that we saw during the run-up to the housing bubble crash in 2008. Credit data in general

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Appraisal Institute executive accused of harassment withdraws from public appearances

The Appraisal Institute (AI) executive who’s been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women has decided to keep a lower profile. AI Vice President Craig Steinley will cease making public appearances after an expośe by the New York Times detailed accusations against him of inappropriate comments and groping by current and former AI employees. The

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Texas Capital Bank appeals case against Ginnie Mae over reverse mortgage collateral

After lawsuit challenging the government’s authority to extinguish stakes in securitized Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) was recently decided in favor of Ginnie Mae, the plaintiff in the case has made good on its promise to appeal the decision. Texas Capital Bank (TCB) — which initially filed the lawsuit against Ginnie

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ServiceLink expands closing technology

Mortgage solutions provider ServiceLink has introduced updates to its EXOS Close platform aimed at increasing scheduling flexibility for lenders and borrowers. The latest enhancements allow users to schedule closings in real-time with expanded options for online and in-branch appointments, and add automatic eligibility checks for remote notarization. Among the new features is a system that

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Mortgage delinquencies rise slightly in Q1

The delinquency rate for U.S. residential mortgages rose slightly in the first quarter of 2025. This was partially driven by an uptick in conventional loan delinquencies and rising foreclosure inventory, particularly among loans backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Tuesday that the seasonally adjusted delinquency rate

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HUD announces $1.1B in funding for affordable housing in Tribal lands

In one of the most robust housing assistance funding announcements of the second Trump administration so far, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Tuesday that it is making $1.1 billion in Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) funding available for eligible Native American Tribes and Tribal communities to “carry out affordable

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